A 10-seat foiling electric boat is expected to be plying the waters of the Hauraki Gulf from next September in a partnership between Fullers360 and sustainable boat builders Seachange.
Max Olson, the chief executive of Seachange, said he was “chuffed” with the deal, which will see Fullers operate one of Seachange’s F8 designs.
The boat will offer high-end tourism trips to Waiheke and other Hauraki Gulf islands.
Seachange engineers have designed the zero-emission, eight-metre vessel, being built at the company’s Mt Wellington facility.
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With a range of 55 nautical miles (101km), Olson said the F8 was well suited to cruising around the gulf.
Fullers360/Supplied
Fullers360 has commissioned a 10-seat electric foiling vessel for use on the Hauraki Gulf from 2023.
The deal with Fullers is the four-year-old company’s first commercial partnership.
Olson said Seachange had fielded interest from commercial operators eyeing up the lower running costs of electric versus diesel vessels.
His company has deals under way with seven other commercial operators from New Zealand, the United States and Europe.
Fullers360 chief executive Mike Horne said the collaboration was a milestone in the ferry and tourism business’s decarbonisation journey, and the new vessel and tourism product would tie in nicely with Tourism New Zealand’s direction.
“It’s clean, green, decarbonised, quiet – all those things that are compelling.
“In some cases the government is looking to fund these sorts of developments, but we’ve gone ahead and done it ourselves.”
Horne said the foiling aspect of the F8 was an entirely new direction for Fullers. The foiling technology meant the boat travelled above the sea surface, making for smooth, comfortable travel and providing reliability in rough weather.
“The exciting thing is, these are New Zealand designers, New Zealand innovation, New Zealand boat builders. And they are not the only ones. We have very clever people in New Zealand.”
Jason Dorday/Stuff
Seachange chief executive Max Olson says the deal is the company’s first commerical partnership.
Construction was under way on the F8, with the vessel expected to be available to be booked from September 2023.
A Fullers spokesperson said specific destinations and pricing to book the vessel would be determined closer to the boat’s completion.
Auckland’s first electric public ferry is due to be in service in 2024.
A total of seven electric or electric hybrid ferries are currently on order for Auckland’s ferry network.
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