Navier, the Silicon Valley-based startup developing electric hydrofoiling boats backed by Google Cofounder Sergey Brin, officially “took flight” with its N30 over the weekend during Art Basel in Miami, making it the first commercially available electric hydrofoiling boat in America. The N30 is a bigger 30-ft variant of the previously announced 27-ft concept built by Lyman-Morse (see Futurride‘s coverage here). According to Navier, no other EV company—for land, air, and water—has gone from sketch to production molds in a year timeline and has gotten to a production-ready state in its seed stage.

Initially launching in the recreational vessel market, the bigger mission of the company is to unlock waterways, moving into water taxis and beyond while aiming to decrease emissions and optimize the world’s waterways. It has raised over $10 million in seed funding from not only Brin but also NextView Ventures, retired NFL superstar Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures, GFC (Global Founders Capital), and Primavera Capital—one of the largest China-based funds focused on climate.

Navier makes some bold claims for the boat. Among them are that the N30 is the world’s longest range 100% electric boat; the boat is ten times more efficient than traditional gasoline boats thanks to its electric hydrofoiling technology; and it is the first electric boat with compelling range, utility, and luxury combined.

The cost of owning a boat is expensive. Still, Navier says it has developed a platform that will alter the unit economics, convenience, and comfort of small marine vessels, unlocking a new form of scalable, waterborne transportation for congested coastal cities where 46% of our population resides.

“It is important to understand this boat functions and operates more like an airplane,” said Navier Co-founder & CEO, Sampriti Bhattacharyya, a Ph.D. from MIT in robotics and formerly an aerospace engineer. “We’re rethinking the boat from the ground up—with software at the core—enabling us to deliver a vessel that is highly differentiated on customer experience and performance (efficiency). With Navier, the goal is to free our oceans and lakes from fossil fuel pollutants while delivering a luxury- and performance-based boating experience. I always thought I would build for the sky, but the world’s waterways represent the largest opportunity to innovate and create long term impact.”

Traditionally, pleasure boats emit about 28 billion lb of CO2 emissions, consume 1.2 billion gallons of gasoline, and are 15 times more expensive to run than a car. Hydrofoils allow the N30 to fly over the water, eliminating the high hydrodynamic drag and increasing range and efficiency.

Navier says that the N30’s differentiation is in its software-driven approach, which culminates in full autonomous navigation that will eventually remove labor costs that account for 50% of total cost base for commercial operations. In addition to producing zero tailpipe emissions, it has a minimal impact on the sensitive marine environment.

Operating under the radar for most of the development phase, the reveal event was the first time the public saw the boat in person. Navier shared full features and pricing of the N30 and allowed visitors to sign up for test rides and reserve on site.

With a carbon-fiber hull, the lightweight boat glides above the water with America’s Cup technology, carrying up to 10 people. Two 90-kW electric motors and hydrofoils enable the 8 ft, 6 in-beam N30 to glide over waves that would otherwise cause uncomfortable motion. Active Foil Control is enabled by aerospace stabilization technology, and Variable Draft allows the boat to float over 3-4 ft seas or retract the foils for beaching.

The technologies allow the boat to be 90% more efficient than a traditional 27-ft boat. They give the N30 a takeoff speed of 15 kt and max speed of 35 kt. In its standard configuration, maximum range is 75 nmi at 20 kt. Shore-power charging is done overnight on a 240-V line found in marinas, with DC fast charging taking 30 min.

The N30 offers three operating modes. Eco is the most efficient mode of operation and optimizes for range. Comfort makes it easy for anyone to ride and drive—and optimizes for the smoothest ride.

In Sport mode, the N30 is said to be the only hydrofoil boat that provides an option to control all three axes with a side stick, giving its thrill-loving users a feeling of flight over water. It unlocks a steeper bank angle of about 30 degrees, a higher speed limit, and gives the user more manual control over the boat—including enabling skid turns and direct control over altitudes. The company says that “this is for people who might enjoy flying a fighter jet.”

The company claims that the N30 comes with first-in-class software and features that take boating to a new level. They include advanced autopilot, hazard alert/collision detection, waypoint following, and options for joystick docking and auto docking—the most requested feature.

For the auto docking function, with one click the N30 can autonomously direct the boat safely to a user-selected docking slip without any further input from the captain. The system uses advanced computer vision and additional sensors to estimate the location of the boat with respect to the selected slip while compensating for external conditions such as wind while also avoiding obstacles. Notably, the N30’s independently steerable twin motors can perform some docking maneuvers such as pure translational and turning movements that other single and fixed rear-engine hydrofoil boats cannot. Once in the final docking position, the system actively keeps the boat in a fixed position to allow it to be secured to the dock. The advanced steering and maneuvering capabilities can also be used in manual docking mode via a joystick at the helm.

Connectivity is handled by an app that allows owners to check in on your boat anywhere in the world via a smartphone. And there are over-the-air updates for the software.

The company plans to continue its technology momentum by aiming to release an over 100-nmi range next year, in what would be a huge leap—as the current industry standard for that range would require extremely slow speeds.

The N30 comes in opentop, hardtop, and cabin versions, with a base price of $375,000. While the 2023 edition has already sold out, customers can reserve the 2024 edition for a refundable deposit of $1000 at https://www.navierboat.com/. With pre-orders already underway, delivery is estimated for Q3 of 2023.