Battery-powered floating camper arrives
Pol Lux electric party boat offers a caravan-like experience on the waterA Swedish partnership with a focus on minimising boaters’ impact on the environment has created the Pol Lux, what it claims is a battery-powered caravan for the water.
The Pol Lux is a 7.8-metre-wide, 2.5-metre-beam pontoon boat that is basically a platform bolted onto a canoe on each side. To be built by Swedish boatmaker Pol Boat, the Pol Lux’s modular design comes via another Scandanavian company, environmentally focussed design group Above.
The Pol Lux is described as an easy-to-operate and family-friendly water vessel that emulates a picnic on water or the feeling of camping on water, regardless of the weather.
“Its fully electrified drivetrain is powered by the sun, boasts lightweight water and wind-resistant materials, and is weather agnostic — everything necessary to keep you gliding and connected to nature year-round,” Above said.
“It’s a catamaran-type boat, which means there are two streamlined hulls (not dissimilar to a canoe) that allow one to have a large deck to create a usable space, without the need for a large single hull (which is what traditional boats are).
“So, the amount of contact the boat makes with the water is reduced, making it glide more efficiently, minimising drag and maximising the efficiency of the twin electric-powered motors.”
Modular design
The Pol Lux’s design allows owners to clip in or remove modules that can convert the boat from a daytime party boat to bunk-style accommodation for a sleepover for up to eight people.
Above has also talked up the boat’s commercial applications, suggesting an archipelago-based restaurant owner could use the Pol Lux to ferry customers to and from their business, and then remove all the seats to make room for weekly supply runs.
Storage space consists of waterproof duffel bags that fit in between the seats, while the catamaran’s roof can convert to a large solar panel for feeding electricity into the onboard bank of batteries. If you don’t want the solar panels, the roof can act as either more storage space or an elevated relaxation platform.
The as-yet unknown electric motors will be powerful enough to push the Pol Lux along at 12 knots, although if the boat is working off solar power alone that speed drops to a more leisurely 4.0 knots.
The first deliveries of the Pol Lux are due in June. Pricing is yet to be revealed.
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
