Marine

Carbon fiber electric boat is so light it rides to water on a car roof

Carbon fiber electric boat is so light it rides to water on a car roof
The EB Eins has enough battery power for 45 minutes of high-performance motoring or up to 10 hours of slow cruising
The EB Eins has enough battery power for 45 minutes of high-performance motoring or up to 10 hours of slow cruising
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Kaebon reckons the EB Eins is so light, it can ride to the water atop a car or SUV
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Kaebon reckons the EB Eins is so light, it can ride to the water atop a car or SUV
Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
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Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
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Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
Kaebon offers the choice of Torqeedo
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Kaebon offers the choice of Torqeedo Cruise 6.0 or Cruise 12.0 electric outboard drives
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The EB Eins is 17.2 feet long with a
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The EB Eins is 17.2 feet long and 5.6 feet wide
The Kaebon EB Eins bow soars through the water
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The Kaebon EB Eins bow soars through the water
Enjoying on-water testing
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Enjoying on-water testing
Kaebon presents a lighter, cleaner vision of motor boating
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Kaebon presents a lighter, cleaner vision of motor boating
The Kaebon starts at under 200 lb in weight and carries up to 1,080 lb of people and gear
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The Kaebon starts at under 200 lb in weight and carries up to 1,080 lb of people and gear
On water with the Kaebon EB Eins
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On water with the Kaebon EB Eins
Kaebon uses carbon fiber construction in making a vessel that's light to transport and drive
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Kaebon uses carbon fiber construction in making a vessel that's light to transport and drive
The EB Eins is Kaebon's first vessel and will soon be followed by the EB Sechs (Six)
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The EB Eins is Kaebon's first vessel and will soon be followed by the EB Sechs (Six)
The EB Eins has enough battery power for 45 minutes of high-performance motoring or up to 10 hours of slow cruising
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The EB Eins has enough battery power for 45 minutes of high-performance motoring or up to 10 hours of slow cruising
On water with the Kaebon EB Eins
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On water with the Kaebon EB Eins
Hide and seek while skating along the water
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Hide and seek while skating along the water
Kaebon founder Kai Krouse at the helm
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Kaebon founder Kai Krouse at the helm
A little cold-water testing
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A little cold-water testing
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Kaebon EB Eins
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Kaebon EB Eins
Kaebon EB Eins
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Kaebon EB Eins
Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
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Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
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Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
View gallery - 23 images

Optimized for the lowest weight possible, the Kaebon EB Eins (One) electric boat is a smooth, monolithic hunk of carbon fiber designed to glide silently through the water. It's so lightweight, in fact, it can ride atop an SUV like a canoe, eliminating the need for a trailer or boat slip. Its sleek shape ensures that boaters enjoy their time on the water and get as much of it as possible, whether they're going full throttle or dialing it back for an afternoon-long cruise.

Imagine boating on a pristine alpine lake, your vessel the only sign of humanity within sight or earshot. You're surrounded by little more than raw nature and the impressionistic reflection it leaves rippling through the glassy water surrounding you. And yet, there you are running a loud, thundering gas engine and spewing all the exhaust and oily residue that come along with it.

That's not how that scene should play out. Instead, the surroundings should be respected like the living art they are, enjoyed via a boat that can coast along in near silence, leaving behind nothing more than a fading wake.

Kaebon was born in Munich, Germany with just such a vision, founded in 2021 by Kai Krause (a boat maker's name, if ever we've heard one) with the express goals of building the lightest motorboats in the world and advancing a cleaner, more sustainable form of boating.

Kaebon presents a lighter, cleaner vision of motor boating
Kaebon presents a lighter, cleaner vision of motor boating

"I thought it was about time to finally make power boating more sustainable without having to put pleasure on the back burner: power boating without regret," Krause recalls.

Krause and company referenced the lightweighting achievements of industries like aerospace and high-performance automotive in opting for an advanced composite build. Kaebon's first vessel, the EB Eins is crafted from vacuum-tempered foam-core prepeg carbon fiber, chosen for its combination of low weight, strength and durability.

Kaebon EB Eins design rendering
Kaebon EB Eins design rendering

To further bolster the vessel's potential for efficient propulsion, Kaebon carved the hull into a dramatic wedge-like shape with wave-piercing bow and long waterlines. Looking at it in its entirety – from sharply angled stern, through robust, swooping curves, to precisely sliced bow, the craft appears to us like a wave surging forward from the water, even when it's completely still.

The great thing about weight savings in vehicle construction is that they multiply naturally – light, efficient hull construction means a smaller powertrain can handle propulsion without undercutting performance, and such a powertrain saves weight compared to a larger one. Kaebon says the EB Eins can glide efficiently under power from a small motor, and it offers two Torqeedo e-drive options. The Cruise 6.0 premium drive promises propulsive power comparable to a 9.9-hp gas engine, while the Cruise 12.0 performance drive upgrades that to a 25-hp equivalent.

The EB Eins is 17.2 feet long with a
The EB Eins is 17.2 feet long and 5.6 feet wide

Kaebon continued to shave weight as obsessively as a hypercar designer when it came to smaller details, leaving behind ounces wherever it could. For instance, it replaced traditional metal cleats with textile loops that serve the same function but with a lesser weight penalty.

All that innovative weight optimization results in a 17.2-foot (5.3-m) e-boat with a base curb weight of just 196 lb (89 kg), which Kaebon qualifies as light enough to carry on the roof of a vehicle. Drivers will want to make sure their vehicle is capable of holding that dynamic weight, plus the weight of the rack system, and also keep tabs on overall payload, but the very idea of being able to roll to the water with a stylish four-person motorboat on the roof and no trailer in tow is certainly an intriguing one.

Kaebon reckons the EB Eins is so light, it can ride to the water atop a car or SUV
Kaebon reckons the EB Eins is so light, it can ride to the water atop a car or SUV

After boating season ends, the EB Eins can store away in a garage or backyard rather than requiring a special boat storage solution on water or land.

Kaebon hasn't published an estimated top speed, but it says the EB Eins will have enough battery power for 45 minutes at full performance and up to 10 hours when cruising slowly. The standard charger takes the battery from 0 to 100 percent in 10 hours, while the available quick charger does the same in under two hours.

Kaebon gave the EB Eins a Düsseldorf Boat Show debut earlier this year. The vessel is available to order now, and prices start at €59,900 (approx. US$65,400) for the Torqeedo Cruise 6.0-powered model and €74,900 ($81,775) for the Torqeedo Cruise 12.0 version.

Source: Kaebon (German)

View gallery - 23 images
7 comments
7 comments
paul314
There are big canoes that probably weigh in that range. Albeit you would want some help getting it down and in the water.
Username
And how do you get that 200 lb object on top of your car? Also, with two passengers in front of him can the driver see anything? And then there's the price.....
itstherightone
Is that 200 pounds with the boat motor and battery? i wouldn't want to try to lift it manually off a roof. Isn't carbon fiber supposed to be light.
1stClassOPP
As a boat builder of long ago, I’m judging that too much wake is generated by that design. The flatter the hull, the easier to get it to plane, plain and simple. You also know that when you put in four passengers, your cruise time will be decimated.
jayedwin98020
With regards to the pricing mentioned in this article, it would be interesting to know how
many "volunteers" the company will get, over the next twelve months, willing to cough up
what their per boat asking price is.
.

Obviously, not a boat designed for the masses!
BlueOak
Beautiful lines. But “with wave-piercing bow and long waterlines”? Only seeing signs of that in the fake, renderings, not in the real world shots, where the hull appears to perform more like a displacement rather than a planing design. The boat does look beautiful sitting motionless in the water. Would love to see who buys it at $65,000.
anand7
I wonder if that's the same Kai Krause who created the famed Photoshop plug-in suite known as Kai's Power Tools