Feature-packed e-bikes have been around for several decades. The designs keep evolving, along with battery technology, control algorithms and construction materials, all of which help the e-bikes go faster, better, longer. Today, boaters who want to carry e-bikes on board are benefiting from advancements intended to make the cycles powerful enough to replace cars in urban areas.

That’s the goal of the company Fuell, which says it has developed the longest-range e-bike in the world. The aluminum alloy Fuell models called Flluid 2 ($5,995) and Flluid 3 ($5,495) have reported ranges from 110 to 225 miles at speeds as fast as 28 mph.

“We used the knowledge gained from our initial foray into the electric bike market with Flluid 1 to develop a superior urban-transportation solution, making sure that Flluid 2 and 3 are true and viable alternatives to cars,” said Erik Buell, Fuell’s chief technology officer.

Buell is best known as a motorbike racer who founded Buell Motorcycle Co., which later merged with Harley-Davidson. In 2019, Buell partnered with French financiers to create Fuell, focusing on e-bikes. The pandemic slowed production, but more models are now rolling out, following a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. As of early June, it had raised more than $1.1 million.

What sets these new models apart from the initial Flluid e-bike design, according to the company, is not just range (which is achieved with two removable battery packs) but also a Valeo Cyclee Mid-Drive Unit with automatic and predictive gear shifting. This system adjusts the flow of power to the bike, including on uphill climbs where other e-bikes can have trouble with the incline. Riders on Fuell e-bikes can still shift gears manually, but the technology is designed to smooth out the power use.

The tech on the new Fuell models also includes features that boaters use regularly to prevent onboard theft, such as geolocating, remote locking and an alarm. All of those features can be accessed through the e-bike’s app, which also keeps track of usage statistics and other rider information.

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Riva, which has been launching boats in Italy since 1842, continues to broaden its brand with numerous products and experiences that fans can enjoy, separate from the exhilaration of spending a day out on the water aboard a Riva-built yacht.

New this year, for instance, is a Riva Privée that recently opened at the Cristallo, which is a luxury resort and spa in Italy. The temporary space will be open to guests at the resort’s Stube 1872 restaurant, where the chef has created a specialty Riva menu that highlights flavors evocative of the sea.

For fans of the Riva brand who can’t make it to Italy this summer to enjoy a taste or cruise, there is the Riva Boutique, which is accessible online. This shop for all things Riva has grown into a sizable store with offerings now available in multiple departments, including clothing, accessories, furniture and collectibles. 

Riva’s products are intended to suit all kinds of tastes, from pocket knives to cashmere hats to toys for the kids. Visitors to the online store will also find pillows, beach towels, sushi sets, coin trays, polo shirts, scarves, robes, bathing suits, lamps, tables, chairs and more. Serious collectors can choose a bronze fountain pen ($1,666) or metal scale models of some of the most popular boat models Riva has launched throughout the shipyard’s history.

Riva makes two versions of its pocket knife: the Aquarama (seen here), with a classic wooden handle, or “hull,” and the Rivamare, whose handle has the kind of silver finish seen on some of the builder’s newer boats. The handles have different shapes, just like the boat hulls, and, when the knives are open, they look like boats underway. The two are sold in a set ($1,212). 

This leather Backgammon set ($5,050) is made with mahogany, maple, steel and leather—all materials that can be found aboard Riva yachts. A Mambo fabric set ($2,828) is also available.

The Mareminerale fragrance diffuser ($133) is a way to bring home the scent of dawn over the sea, making just about any place reminiscent of a walk along the shoreline. 

Riva worked with Italy’s Borgo Cashmere to create this hat ($222), which is inspired by the classic sailor’s wool cap. Note the Riva logo in chrome-plated metal.

This balancing holder Atmosphere set($338) can hold and tilt either the Riva diffuser or candle ($66), both created by Culti Milano for the Riva home collection.  

This is just one boat in the four-piece Riva toy set ($515), which includes an Aquarama, an Aquariva, a Rivarama, and a toy truck to deliver any of them to the water. 

Built of grooved mahogany, the Riva trunk (price on request) can be used to store footwear, towels or whatever owners want aboard a yacht, in a home foyer or elsewhere.

Riva is working with other Italian-based brands, such as Borgo Cashmere and Culti Milano, to bring ever more products to market. They all share the styling that boaters will recognize aboard any Riva yacht, with colors and materials that can blend in aboard or bring a slice of the sea into various parts of a home ashore.  

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Radinn, a swedish company whose name is short for radical innovation, built its first ­electric jetboard in 2015. People liked riding along coastlines in silence, and the company learned important lessons about manufacturing.

“The biggest problem was that we weren’t a big company with established service centers around the world, but our clients have yachts and go from port to port,” says Head of Brand Experience Alex ­Fuehrling. “We learned that we needed to design it very modular, so we could ship just one module if a repair is needed.”

The second generation of that electric jetboard is the Radinn G2X, which became available about a year ago. So far, about 150 have been built, and Fuehrling says the company will soon start producing 100 a month, with manufacturing in Poland.

The idea is simple: Combine the fun of surfing with the silence of ­electric power in a way that is intuitive for ­beginners. Riders hold a silicone-molded controller and depress a button either a little or a lot, depending on how fast they want to go. When battery power gets low, the controller’s lights change and the controller vibrates, letting riders know it’s time to head back to the yacht and either recharge or swap out the battery.

“Everything is connected to an app as well,” he says. “You can see the GPS ­coordinates of where you’ve been riding or where the board has been. You could race a friend around an island and see which one took longer.”

The basic package ($11,490) includes the board, a battery pack and an overnight charger that charges the board in about eight hours. Upgrade to an extra-large battery pack (PowerPackXL) for $4,990 which provides users with an extra 45 minutes of use. The ultra-fast charger is $1,695 (100% charge in 2 hours; no added ride time), and additional battery packs ($3,490) can be swapped out.

This past summer in the Mediterranean, private yacht owners bought one or two battery packs, while charter yachts stowed three, Fuehrling says, adding that quite a few early adopters commented on how it feels to jetsurf silently: “It’s a very nice way to discover the surroundings.”

Take the next step: radinn.com

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Here’s a fun fact: Hobie, the California-based company best known for its Sunfish and catamaran sailboats, has spent the past two decades or so seeing 15 percent to 25 percent growth year after year in demand for fishing kayaks, according to Morgan Promnitz, Hobie’s senior fishing brand manager. During the past five years, he says, kayak-fishing has gone mainstream, with manufacturers of rods, tackle systems and more making gear for anglers who plan to kayak to the fish stealthily, instead of cruising there in a tender with an outboard engine that scares the catch away.

“It’s probably been the fastest-growing segment of the fishing industry in the past six years,” he says of kayak-fishing.

The fact that so many novices want to try the sport is why Hobie just launched its Mirage Passport 10.5 kayak. At $1,299, it’s not intended to compete with the company’s $3,500 tricked-out models for hardcore anglers. Instead, the Mirage Passport 10.5 is an all-purpose kayak for exploring and shoreline fun, but with just enough standard features and removable options that die-hard fishermen also will be happy when they’re the ones heading out.

“The Passports have a track system on either side of the cockpit, on the gunwales, so you can use any accessory that fits into the track: a camera mount, extra rod holders, tool holders, a fish-finder mount, flags, lighting systems—we sell all of them,” Promnitz says. He adds that everything can be removed for safekeeping when the fishing is done and the kids want to play on the kayak.

Key accessories for yachtsmen who want to fish, he says, include Hobie’s H-Crate, which fits in the back of the kayak with tackle stowage, as well as four rod holders and a way to clamp on accessories.  “We also make a livewell, which actually has a battery and a pump in it with three rod holders on the back,” he says. “It plugs into the rear scupper holds. If you want to fish with live bait, you can put it in this livewell and take it with you.”

For owners who offer their yachts for charter, the kayak is not only versatile, but also built to take a beating. Unlike Hobie’s roto-molded kayaks, the Mirage Passport 10.5 is made with thermo-forming technology, which means a machine heats the plastic to create two polyethylene pieces that are welded together. The process lets Hobie offer the kayak at a lower price while maintaining strength.

“It’s a plastic that is very, very durable,” Promnitz says. “You can bang it into rocks or drag it over boat ramps, and it’s going to hold up for a long time.”

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Vespa scooters, which Piaggio makes in Italy, have been icons of European style since the first model premiered in 1946. Countless mega-yachts carry Vespas on deck and in lazarettes for launching onto the roads from Antibes to Monaco. Americans have long loved Vespa’s style too; Hollywood A-listers dating back to Charlton Heston, Audrey Hepburn, John Wayne and Marlon Brando have ridden them on- and off-screen for decades.

Now comes the 21st-century incarnation of the Vespa. Called Elettrica and priced at about $7,200, it is the first silent, electric-powered, zero-carbon-emissions model from the manufacturer. As Vespa puts it, the Elettrica is “a work of art with a technological heart that is born as the symbol of our modern times and the years to come.”

The Elettrica’s power unit can produce continuous juice at 3.5 kW and peak power of 4 kW, allowing for performance that Vespa says is superior to that of a traditional 50cc scooter’s, especially when accelerating or going uphill. Riders have a choice of three modes: eco, power and reverse. In eco mode, speed is limited to about 18 mph, to conserve battery power. Top speed is 30 to 40 mph, as with many traditional 50cc scooters.

The lithium-ion battery recharges with a plug and takes four hours to store a charge that allows for a range of 62 miles—an efficiency that Vespa says will happen without maintenance for 1,000 charging cycles, or about 31,000 to 43,500 miles of use.

In true ­21st-century style, the Elettrica and some of its ­accessories connect to an app. That includes the backpack (shown at left), which has LED piping that can be turned on and off via the app for safety when riding at night. The Vespa app also can be set up to provide push notifications about the scooter’s battery status, statistics on the rider’s 30 most recent trips and number of battery recharge cycles to date.

Digital information for riders is also presented on a 4.3-inch TFT screen, which has four brightness levels and a twilight sensor for switching to night mode. The screen shows typical dashboard information such as battery-charge level and residual range.

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Back in August, we told you to be on the lookout for U.S. sales to begin soon for the Manta5 Hydrofoiler XE-1 bicycle.

And now, the time has come. Presales to U.S. residents just opened, with an asking price of $7,490 (slightly higher than the predicted price of $6,895 that we originally reported).

The Hydrofoiler XE-1 is designed to replicate the cycling experience, only on the water. It took seven years’ worth of prototypes and tweaking to come to fruition, and is built with three electric-assist modes: training, cruise and performance. There’s self-leveling design forward to handle light wind and chop, and the manufacturer says users can hit 13 mph on flat water.

Shipping of the first units is expected to start in late 2019. To reserve one of the bikes, buyers can place a 10-percent, refundable deposit now.

What yachties are saying: Company creator Guy Howard-Willis told us back in August that a yacht captain called him and said, “Every yacht owner is going to want a few of these. It’s almost like an adventure cycling sport.”

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“It’s easier to find a qualified buyer than an experienced captain these days,” my yacht broker pal Tom explained in frustration.

I mentioned my captain friend John, who’d been marooned ashore with endless honey-do lists. “He’s got a bit of water under his keel, but he’s one of the best,” I suggested.

“Does he have any water-toy experience?” Tom asked.

“Huh?” I replied.

Tom told me that today’s serious new-build projects require not only a yacht designer, interior designer, yacht stylist and builder, but also a water-toy consultant. “You can’t keep Gen Xers and millennials engaged with foosball and video games,” Tom said. He directed me to an image of a popular yacht listing. She had a massive in-ocean swimming pool stuffed with water toys tethered to her “teak beach” (transom platform).

“Coyle, I’m sure your captain friend can keep the tiller straight, but if he wants to get back into the game, he’s gonna have to get up to speed on this stuff,” Tom said. “He’ll need training: Jet Skis. Flyboards. Semi-submersibles. Amphibious vehicles. That sort of thing. Of course, it’d be great if he happened to have a pilot’s license or any experience with undersea vehicles.”

“Submarines?” I asked in disbelief. “Geez!”

“Coyle, a Coast Guard license just isn’t enough anymore,” Tom insisted.

I was sure John was still good for the job. I tracked him down at his internment camp in the Midwest. Back in the day, he’d managed a crack crew and a pristine yacht before he laid a paddle over his shoulder and wandered inland until someone asked: “What’s with the paddle?” When he retired, he’d had it with skippering, but I was sure he’d now prefer life at sea to raking leaves. After catching up, I told him about the demand for skippers and shared Tom’s images of yachts in amazing locations for inspiration.

Reluctantly, John took a look and focused quickly on a 200-footer. “What the hell is that mess hanging off the boat deck?” John inquired.

“That is an inflatable rock-climbing wall,” I answered.

“On a yacht? Do you wear hiking boots or a life jacket?” John wondered. “What’s with the guy standing on the end of the high-pressure hose?”

“It’s a Flyboard,” I said. “People do that for fun.”

John seemed mystified.

“Is that some sort of evacuation chute?” he asked.

“No,” I explained. “That’s an inflatable waterslide.”

“This is not yachting!” John barked in disgust.

I explained to John that these days, water toys are a big part of what draws folks to the pastime. John seemed confused. “You can get up to speed,” I told him. “I understand there’s training.”

“Training, for God’s sake,” John grumbled. “On my last charge, the only water toy we needed was a center-console equipped with fishing rods, snorkeling gear and a pair of water skis. Ya didn’t need training to have fun.”

John rejected the lure of a modern command. “I’ll stick with the wife’s to-do list and my Bacardi and Coke, Coyle. You don’t need a yacht captain. You need an amusement park manager.”

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Recently Triton Submarines in conjunction with EYOS Expeditions and Victor Vescovo of Caladan Oceanic held a press conference at the Manhattan headquarters of the Discovery Channel to announce an exciting new project. Vescovo will be piloting Triton’s 36000/2 submarine down to the deepest points of all five oceans.

The name of the project is The Five Deeps Expedition and it features the first commercially certified, manned submersible capable of going all the way to the bottom of the ocean — approximately 11,000-meters deep. The expedition will take Vescovo to places never before seen by the human eye. The sub, which is called the Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) Limiting Factor, will be toted around the world aboard a support vessel named Pressure Drop. The five deeps that the submarine will visit include the Puerto Rico Trench in the Atlantic (8,648 meters), the South Sandwich Trench in the Southern Ocean (8,428 meters), the Java Trench in the Indian Ocean (7,725 meters), the Mariana Trench/Challenger Deep in the Pacific (10,898 meters) and the Molloy Deep in the Arctic (5,599 meters).

Notably, Vescovo will also explore the Pacific’s Tonga Trench, which has been marked to within 100 meters of the Mariana Trench, and which could possibly become the new deepest known part of the ocean if there’s an uncharted dip in the bathymetry. It’s very exciting stuff. “If I do find that place in the Tonga Trench,” Vescovo said with a smile, “the first thing I’m going to do is call James Cameron.”

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The Iguana X100 is a different kind of RIB. Powered with twin 300 hp outboards, the tender can reportedly make 48 knots. With the push of a button, the vessel’s tracks drop and this faux amphibian crawls onto the beach without getting a drop of water on anyone’s toes.

The Iguana X100 can be outfitted with an L-shaped settee, rod holders and Garmin electronics. It has hypalon 380 tubes and a cooled hydraulic land drive, enabling what the builder calls “unlimited land use.”

Whom it’s for: The yacht owner who has had the traditional center-console and wants a versatile vessel that makes a statement.

Picture this: There’s a beachside bar in the distance. The sound of a batch of rum runners in the blender catches your ear. You could take the inflatable, but you want to make an entrance. Your crew hops into the Iguana X100, runs it up to where the sea meets the sand and shifts the boat into land mode. The Iguana X100 eases up the beach, you get your tasty treat, and you all head back to the water in your fiberglass lizard, leaving onlookers’ jaws on the bar.

The post The Iguana X100 Takes You Anywhere You Want to Go appeared first on Yachting.

We’ve all been there: alone on a kayak at the end of an afternoon paddle, near the edge of the harbor, where the land is about to give way to what looks like an endless ocean. What felt like a short distance during the exhilarating paddle out now seems awfully far, looking back toward the yacht with tired biceps and shoulders. And with the wind and current picking up. In the wrong direction.

It’s the moment for which the Torqeedo Ultralight Outboard Motor was created — the moment when you still have a little bit of gas left in your tank, but when a 1 hp kick from a battery-charged engine would sure help.

Torqeedo makes two Ultralight electric motors with mounting brackets that fit most kayak brands. The 403 model ($1,799) weighs about 20 pounds and can go almost 25 miles on a battery charge, while the 403 C ($2,299) weighs a little more than 23 pounds and can go nearly 75 miles, according to Torqeedo. Both models come with GPS-based range calculators, so kayakers will know how much time they have left before needing to recharge, and both have steer and tilt features that are designed to work with a kayak’s existing steering system. (Flats fishermen, take note.)

Spare batteries range from $599 to $899, for anyone who wants to paddle back to the yacht, swap out the power plant and keep the fun going. For those without a spare battery, recharge time is reportedly about 12 hours from a standard electrical outlet or USB port — and it’s possible to recharge underway using a foldable solar panel ($749) with an IP65-rated watertight connector.

For safety, Ultralight motors are hooked into magnetic kill switches that can attach to the paddler’s wrist or personal flotation device, much like emergency shut-off keys work aboard personal watercraft. The system disengages the engine if the paddler goes overboard into the drink.

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