Wakeboarding sure looks like a lot of fun, but it does have at least one limiting factor – you need to find someone else to go out on the water with you, to pilot the boat. Swedish entrepreneurs Alexander Lind and Philip Werner decided to do something about that, and created the Radinn electric wakeboard. While it doesn't provide you with a wake on which to do tricks, it does let you go out when and wherever you want.
Currently in working prototype form, the Radinn has a carbon fiber body, a salt water-resistant jet propulsion system, and is powered by a lithium battery pack. That pack sits in a watertight compartment, and it can be removed for easy charging – this also means that if users get an extra battery, they can swap it in as soon as the first one gets low. The whole board, including battery, weighs about 29 kg (64 lb).
Speed is controlled by a wireless waterproof handheld remote. The board currently can travel at up to 25 knots (29 mph or 46 km/h), although the final commercial version will likely be able to go faster. One charge of the battery should reportedly be good for 45 to 60 minutes of use at mixed speeds, or 20 to 30 when going full-out.
Regular wakeboard foot bindings are used, and they can be removed for people who are still learning – with the bindings out of the way, newbies can start by lying or kneeling on the board.
Lind tells us that the Radinn was just launched at the Cannes Yachting Festival, and is priced at €15,000 (about US$19,375). It should go into production this winter (Northern Hemisphere), with delivery to people who have pre-ordered planned for next year.
The board may face some direct competition, in the forms of the less-expensive Waterwolf and Aquila electric surfboards. Other possible competitors include the gas-powered PowerSki JetBoard, and – for people who are OK with not standing while riding – the Kymera powered body board.
You can see the Radinn being put through its paces, in the video below.
Source: Radinn
