Marine

Lift Foils $12,000, 25 mph electric hydrofoil surfboard set to launch in September

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The eFoil can be recharged from a household power outlet in 2.5 hours, or the $3,000 Lithium Ion battery can be swapped for continuous usage.
Lift Foils
The eFoil board will initially be available in two sizes: 168 cm x 71 cm (5 ft 6 in by 28 in) for the standard E1 eFoil, and 152.5 cm x 63.5 cm (5 ft 6 in by 25 in) for the E1 Sport model. 
Lift Foils
Lift Foils 25 mph electric hydrofoil eFoil surfboard
Lift Foils
A variety of mast heights and foil wings for specific purposes, such as surfing, will be available.
Lift Foils
Lift Foils 25 mph electric hydrofoil eFoil surfboard
Lift Foils
The eFoil has a top speed of 22 knots (25 mph), and deliveries will begin in September of this year for US$12,000.
Lift Foils
The eFoil has a top speed of 22 knots (25 mph), and deliveries will begin in September of this year for US$12,000.
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil has a top speed of 22 knots (25 mph), and deliveries will begin in September 2017 for US$12,000.
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil has a top speed of 22 knots (25 mph), and deliveries will begin in September 2017 for US$12,000.
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The eFoil board will initially be available in two sizes: 168 cm x 71 cm (5 ft 6 in by 28 in) for the standard E1 eFoil, and 152.5 cm x 63.5 cm (5 ft 6 in by 25 in) for the E1 Sport model. "The standard eFoil is more stable with the bigger deck, while the smaller board is more nimble and turns quicker," according to Lift Foils founder Nick Leason.
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil has a top speed of 22 knots (25 mph), and deliveries will begin in September 2017 for US$12,000.
Lift Foils
"At that speed (22 knots), you're burning quite a bit of juice and although I've never actually run it at full speed for that long, I'd expect you might only get 20 to 25 minutes from a full charge," said Leason. "I'm 175 pounds and typically I ride anywhere from 45 to 55 minutes at my cruising speed of 16 to 17 knots."
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil has a top speed of 22 knots (25 mph), and deliveries will begin in September 2017 for US$12,000.
Lift Foils
The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils
The eFoil can be recharged from a household power outlet in 2.5 hours, or the $3,000 Lithium Ion battery can be swapped for continuous usage.
Lift Foils
View gallery - 25 images

Activity in the electric hydrofoil watercraft arena has been hectic in recent times with the advent of electric-powered hydrofoil boats such as the eDorado and Quadrofoil Q2, and more recently, and a demonstration of the electric Jetfoiler without plans to commercialize the concept. Now, it looks certain we'll see a commercial electric-powered hydrofoil surfboard on the market in the form of Lift Foils' new eFoil.

The power of the eFoil electric hydrofoil surfboard is controlled by a wireless hand controller and the rider's "body English," with the waterproof controller using Bluetooth connectivity and designed so that it floats if it should be dislodged from the rider's hands.

The eFoil has a top speed of 22 knots (25 mph), and deliveries will begin in September of this year for US$12,000.

The eFoil board will initially be available in two sizes: 168 cm x 71 cm (5 ft 6 in by 28 in) for the standard E1 eFoil, and 152.5 cm x 63.5 cm (5 ft 6 in by 25 in) for the E1 Sport model. "The standard eFoil is more stable with the bigger deck, while the smaller board is more nimble and turns quicker," according to Lift Foils founder Nick Leason.

Both models will be available in four colors: carbon black, carbon free, carbon blue and carbon purple. A variety of masts and foil wings for specific purposes, such as surfing, will also be available.

The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils

Production will begin in September with volume production scaling up in October, though the order books are already threatening to overwhelm production capabilities and if you want one prior to Christmas, be quick.

"The top speed of the eFoil is about 22 knots (25 mph), though it's a pretty exciting ride at that speed, and my preferred cruising speed on the eFoil tends to be a bit less than that where the ride is not quite as crazy," Leason told New Atlas.

"At that speed (22 knots), you're burning quite a bit of juice and although I've never actually run it at full speed for that long, I'd expect you might only get 20 to 25 minutes from a full charge," said Leason. "I'm 175 pounds and typically I ride anywhere from 45 to 55 minutes at my cruising speed of 16 to 17 knots."

For those who want to get the most from their eFoil, the battery is a stand-alone unit with an integrated carrying handle and easily swapped, with a second battery available at $3,000. The battery can be recharged via a normal home power outlet and the 1,200 watt charger that comes with each eFoil, with recharging taking around two and a half hours.

The Lift Foils eFoil
Lift Foils

"Inside the board is a big waterproof compartment that houses the battery and other electrics," said Leason. "To access the battery, you open two compression latches and the battery is secured by a seat belt arrangement. It's easily accessible and can be swapped out easily and quickly."

"The battery is two kilowatt hours (2 kWh) though, so it offers quite a long ride and I don't think that most people will need a second battery," he added.

Lift Foils is run by American Nick Leason from Puerto Rico, though the majority of the eFoil's components are being manufactured in Asia, including all composite components and the hand controller, while the batteries are being manufactured in San Francisco.

"Everything is being assembled here in Puerto Rico where we can monitor the quality assurance and ensure everything is exactly as we want it to be," said Leason. "That will change in the future, but only once we're confident we can maintain the quality.

"We'll be scaling up production one step at a time, and I'm currently bringing on additional suppliers for each of the components and we'll continue to scale up production across 2018 in preparation for manufacturing a broader range in 2019.

"The aim is to have a couple of different price points and a couple of boards with different construction materials. I'm hoping for a linear growth in our production capacity over the next few years."

You can see more of the eFoil in the mini documentary video below.

Source: Lift Foils

View gallery - 25 images
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7 comments
Asgard
I think for a rich or well off person's toy; this could be a lot of easy going fun and it's best feature is it fits right in a car or SUV. I have a feeling most people would put that money toward something a bit more exciting that could last all day though. Something like a jet ski or maybe a jet pack with the tether/jet in the water.
Carl246
I think $2000 would be overkill but $12,000 yeah right, good luck with that one.
Nelson Hyde Chick
Another toy for the wealthy while the poor are allowed to rot away.
ljaques
Love it, love it, love it! Waaaaaay too expensive. Battery life is waaay too short. Hey, if Tesla can sell a 14kWh battery for $5,500, why are these 2kWh batteries $3k a pop? . But I'll bet they sell a million of them. So cool.
Jason Catterall
Wow, $1,500 per KWH for the battery. That's a bit steep. Wish them all the best but this product looks more like $4-6k than $12k to me. At $5k I'm in, at $12k I'm laughing.
Buzzclick
This toy is not light. The battery pack has to be substantial enough to give that little motor/prop unit enough oomph for a good hour of fun, but I wouldn't take it out too far in open water. The fun factor is obvious once you see the video footage but Leason has to bring his costs down to make it realistically a viable expense for the consumer. $3-5K tops. Even less. Is there a concern that having it fully made in China means copies will be produced too easily? Probably. But the trade-off may be necessary if he wants this concept to catch on.
SaysMe
Why again is it $12000? I could buy a decent electric car for that amount... That I could use for getting to work...