UK Shore-Power Facilities Compendium

[martinwinlow]

Well, as Dunedin predicted, insurance is proving to be challenging. Just finding someone (on the phone/email) who will quote... and it''s not the trip, base location or experience that is the problem apparently, just the boat 'type'. I guess hydrofoiling would be bad enough but combine that with electric and you have a double whammy of unfamiliarity.

So, does anyone have any suggestions as who I could talk to? There must be similar brokers to the car insurance industry that deal with one-offs, kit-cars and the like...?

 

[andsarkit]

Many decades ago I had to do some motion monitoring on a Seacat (monohull) fast ferry from Holyhead to Dublin. I needed over 2m waves and unbelievably I had to wait through January and February until March for a suitably rough period. It was exceptionally settled and calm that year so you never know, you might be lucky. The Seacat handled the seas very well when travelling at 28 knots.

 

[jakew009]

Well, as Dunedin predicted, insurance is proving to be challenging. Just finding someone (on the phone/email) who will quote... and it''s not the trip, base location or experience that is the problem apparently, just the boat 'type'. I guess hydrofoiling would be bad enough but combine that with electric and you have a double whammy of unfamiliarity.

So, does anyone have any suggestions as who I could talk to? There must be similar brokers to the car insurance industry that deal with one-offs, kit-cars and the like...?

I guess you could self insure it…

Or perhaps a form of third party fire and theft?

Have you asked candela who they insure with?

 

[KompetentKrew]

I found Pants' underwriter, Mike Hulbert, very helpful and chatty, although mine is a conventional sailing monohull.

 

[dunedin]

Well, as Dunedin predicted, insurance is proving to be challenging. Just finding someone (on the phone/email) who will quote... and it''s not the trip, base location or experience that is the problem apparently, just the boat 'type'. I guess hydrofoiling would be bad enough but combine that with electric and you have a double whammy of unfamiliarity.

So, does anyone have any suggestions as who I could talk to? There must be similar brokers to the car insurance industry that deal with one-offs, kit-cars and the like...?

What RCD Category is the boat certified for ? eOceanic

As I am sure you are aware, to qualify for Catg C it would need to be able to handle 2m waves, which sounds like that is beyond the 1m wave limit you mentioned earlier. Hence it is probably Catg D.
Though they have removed the previous category names, Catg D was previously described as for inland and lake use. That description is now removed, but I suspect that insurers might enquire about the Category assessment - not just for the ambitious delivery voyage, but also for the place it is planned to be kept. This could be a constraint, even before add hydrofoil//fast/rare/expensive to the risk appetite.

Incidentally, I presume if buying you will have contracted to get the boat also certified to the new UK RCR as well, as without this I don’t think it can be used in the UK. Shouldn’t be too difficult if done at factory, but might be tricky importing (and certainly reselling) if not got all the relevant paperwork for such a unique boat.

 

[dunedin]

I guess you could self insure it…

Or perhaps a form of third party fire and theft?

Suspect that would require a lot of bravery as, though not seen the list price, guess it is likely to be at least as much as a new HR, to use another Swedish example.

 

[SaltIre]

What RCD Category is the boat certified for ? eOceanic

As I am sure you are aware, to qualify for Catg C it would need to be able to handle 2m waves, which sounds like that is beyond the 1m wave limit you mentioned earlier. Hence it is probably Catg D.

Is the 1m limitation Martin mentioned not for cruising on the foils? The boat can be used in "displacement" mode and would presumably cope with 2m waves when chugging along in the water - not above it. A problem with that might be that its range would be significantly reduced...

 

[martinwinlow]

jakew009: As SaltIre points out, the 1m (and I not not sure it's even going to be that - your own Candela C-8: Could this foiling design make electric boats mainstream? article says max wave height is 1.4m on the foil). Off the foil I guess anything goes - up to a point! Speed and range both fall significantly as a planing hull - 20Nm at 18kts (with 4 crew). I'll check out the RCD/RCR Category with Candela. I did ask Candela before who they insure with but never got a response so I'll try again.

In the meantime, I have tracked down and made contact with the owner of the hydrofoiling ICE boat (a venerable Russian Volga - example here - Largs Boat Hire - their boat in action) based at Largs and he has provided me with his insurance brokers details who I will speak to shortly - along with the that suggested by KompetentKrew.

I signed the contract to purchase the C-8 yesterday.

 

[SaltIre]

jakew009: As SaltIre points out, the 1m (and I not not sure it's even going to be that - your own Candela C-8: Could this foiling design make electric boats mainstream? article says max wave height is 1.4m on the foil). Off the foil I guess anything goes - up to a point! Speed and range both fall significantly as a planing hull - 20Nm at 18kts (with 4 crew). I'll check out the RCD/RCR Category with Candela. I did ask Candela before who they insure with but never got a response so I'll try again.

In the meantime, I have tracked down and made contact with the owner of the hydrofoiling ICE boat (a venerable Russian Volga - example here - Largs Boat Hire - their boat in action) based at Largs and he has provided me with his insurance brokers details who I will speak to shortly - along with the that suggested by KompetentKrew.

I signed the contract to purchase the C-8 yesterday.

Is an update available?

 

[martinwinlow]

Is an update available?

Hi, If you mean about my trip unfortunately I have cancelled the boat for now as it seems unlikely that I will be able to get necessary facilities in place to look after it etc here on Colonsay before it was due to get here next summer.

That said, I did attend Candela's first open day in Stockholm 3 weeks ago and was very impressed with the whole set up. Over a hundred potential customers there from all over the world (including someone from New Zealand) and we all had a whizz about (at the controls) in one of the 2 C-8s they had available for the day in Frihamnen just north of central Stockholm and all followed by a very well organised evening of technical talks with partying and so-on... I also wangled a visit to the current factory in Lidingö (about 3 miles to the west of the HQ at Frihamnen) and was shown around by the factory manager (an Iranian, intriguingly - the workforce is amazingly international - even a guy from Chester there, IIRC he was a young ex-UK services electronics engineer - but that's Sweden for you!).

It really was a very difficult decision to make to cancel. I am really enthusiastic about the whole thing (electric hydrofoiling boats) and eagerly await the smaller version I have had on order from Slovenia since the beginning of the year - a Quadrofoil Q2S - essentially a 2 person electric hydrofoiling jet-ski. It'll have to do for now and is much more portable. And, no, I won't be sailing it back from Slovenia! (...but I do plan to drive down in the Tesla to collect it... and that'll be another EV adventure...)

I will almost certainly buy a Candela in the future but I'll have to get a few basic things sorted here first at least. Watch this space!