100% ELECTRIC SKI NAUTIQUE -- very cool tech in a sweet looking package!

[freespirit]

this thing looks amazing! hopefully they will be able to decrease the charging time before too long...

i think it would sound amazing to be going for a morning set with nothing but the sound of the water under you.

video link: http://bcove.me/nkiqmzc4

(haven't figured out all the bells and whistles to embed vids yet, if someone else would like to, feel free...)

i bet the price tag will be pretty hefty though...

[LuckyStrike]

Cool concept, certainly make it easier to hear the tunes while you're riding. I still love the sound of the Nautiques with the 351 and dual exhaust though.

I'm sure it does cost a fortune, as all Nautiques do, but charge times don't seem too bad if you could be out for a few hours, come back eat something charge it and head out again.

[freespirit]

with a gas powered wakeboard boat you could easily spend over $100,000, i could see this unit costing at least 15% more, no problem. as far as the recharge times go, as a rider, i would find it torturous to have to wait 4 hours to recharge the batteries in the boat. many times you only have a small window of opportunity to ride in prime conditions, and it would be really frustrating to have to sit on the dock waiting on the batteries, watching the butter-smooth lake turn to chop.

apparently, EPIC has a hybrid boat that would avoid this problem, also the gas powered engine recharges the batteries.
it would really suck to get stranded in the middle of the lake if your batteries die, ya know? lol

[chad]

electricity in the water seems like a bad combination to me.

[freespirit]

the electricity is in the boat, the boat is in the water...lol

i wouldn't worry too much about a series of batteries in the boat electrocuting me, when i used to install docks and marine railways, sometimes i would be standing in waist-deep water welding brackets and hinges onto shoreline mounting plates...lol

the trick is, DON'T DROP THE STINGER! lmao

[LuckyStrike]

as a rider, i would find it torturous to have to wait 4 hours to recharge the batteries in the boat. many times you only have a small window of opportunity to ride in prime conditions, and it would be really frustrating to have to sit on the dock waiting on the batteries, watching the butter-smooth lake turn to chop.


Move down here and ride year round :)

[LuckyStrike]

electricity in the water seems like a bad combination to me.

Yeah my initial though was, you better hope the fatsac doesnt spring a leak

[Ponce]

OK, it recharges in 4.5 hours.........but........for how long will it run? or how far?

[freespirit]

Yeah my initial though was, you better hope the fatsac doesnt spring a leak

not sure what the weight is of the nautique's electric set-up, but i was reading that the Epic hybrid carries 800lbs in batteries.
i imagine the nautique is similar. with that much weight already added to the boat, you wouldn't need a fat sac.


Ponce-- they were sort of figuring 3-4 rider sets, which to me means approx. 1/2 hour per set, so maybe 2 hours (i'm guessing)...
for what will surely be a $125,000+ wakeboard boat, it should be able to charge faster or run longer. 4 hours of charging for a 2 hour session doesn't seem like a fair trade to me...but being new tech, they still have room for improvements. like anything else, you may not want the first one they come out with...wait a few years, and let them work the bugs out. lol

i do like the idea though...

[LuckyStrike]

i do like the idea though...

Me too, the torque is incredible and like you said a quiet boat would be pretty cool to ride behind.

I remember when gas first hit 2 bucks a gallon, I was in HS and we went wakeboarding everyday it was all we could do just to keep gas in the boat. Now with gas close to 4 you can easily burn through 100 bucks in a day and if you have to trailer your boat somewhere you can double it. Not a cheap hobby, but none of them are I guess.

[Awoke]

it would really suck to get stranded in the middle of the lake if your batteries die, ya know? lol

Yes, it sure would.

Especially if there were no other boats on the lake to tow you! HAHA.
Great idea, but I think that some other companies will improve on the charge time now that they have blazed the trail.

Nautique has always been a personal favorite of mine.

[freespirit]

Nautique has always been a personal favorite of mine.

mine too, i always found them to be very well appointed, with a classic look, and let's face it, they throw one of the best wakes going. (IMO)