Hydrofoiling devices are starting to become more common as electric propulsion systems continue to develop. This one's a board you can stand on and accelerate up and out of the water to cruise at a low-drag 28 mph (45 km/h) for up to 80 minutes.
The Neptun X, from Chinese company eFoilFly, is a fairly simple device following in the footsteps of other boards like the Lift eFoil. Made from carbon fiber, with fiberglass, EPS foam and resin sections to keep it cool enough to touch when it's been sitting in the sun, it's a 66-inch (1.68 m) long, 43.4-inch (1.1 m) wide board with a removable battery and a detachable, full carbon hydrofoiling wing underneath measuring 31.5 inches (80 cm).
Mounted to that wing is a 48-volt electric motor rated at 3 kW nominal, 12 kW peak, and a shielded prop capable of spinning at 6,500 rpm. Stand on the board, squeeze the trigger of the gun-shaped remote, and the board will begin to accelerate, rising higher out of the water the faster you go, up to its maximum speed. It can carry passengers up to a rated 287 lb, or 130 kg.
Once the board's up out of the water, there's very little drag to slow it down, giving a feeling of easy, relaxed cruising as you glide across the water looking like Jesus on holiday, leaning left or right to steer the thing as you go. Mind you, you'll want to take it easy on the throttle, as 12 kW will easily accelerate it out from under you if you're not gentle.
The battery is a Samsung unit holding 2.3 kilowatt hours' worth of charge. eFoilFly claims a charging time around 2 hours and up to 80 minutes of runtime. At the end of your ride, you can pop the wing off the bottom of the board and stick it all in your car. Mind you, it's got some heft to it, at 77.7 lbs (35.3 kg) all up. But the board itself is the heaviest bit at 36.3 lbs (16.5 kg), and the rest of it comes apart easily, so most people will be fine carrying it to the car themselves.
Like the Lift board, it ain't cheap. The price of entry is €12,000, so many people will only get to experience something like this by renting one, at least in the near future. But as a neat, eye-catching, "how the hell does that work" way to get from A to B across a body of water, the Neptun X looks the goods. Video below.
