The Green Samba Electric Jet Ski Can Hit 65MPH

[rodney_ws]

Will this be able to compete with gas powered PWCs? No. 65 mph is GREAT, but everything else isn't. Too small and the range is too little. But is it a step in the right direction? Hell yeah it is. In the meantime I'll just stick with my '08 Seadoo Wake 215.

 

[mlopinto2k1]

[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]Clearly you've never had the idea to take a group of friends out to the lake house, grill out all day, hang out, and take turns on the 'jet ski.' I've never once gone out to the lake and put less then 5+ hours on my PWC. With the gas powered I can just bring it back, fill it back up, and send the next group out while the rest of us eat burgers and swim. With this electric thing one group goes out, the next group goes out, and then we sit and wait 5 hours for the thing to fully re-charge. Not practical. Talk about ignorant. Who goes to the lake for 3 hours?[/citation]Not practical for what or who.. you? Get a couple of them then. Think outside of the box for the sake of mother nature. Or have you forgot where you come from? When that lake you JetSki in eventually becomes contaminated and it isn't even safe to swim in.. who will have the last complaint?

 

[rodney_ws]

[citation][nom]zipzoomflyhigh[/nom]Grims, your gas jet ski lasts more than 3 hours?? I think not moron.[/citation]

And yes, plenty of Yamaha skis (technically they're called WaveRunners) running at a decent cruising speed (30 mph) can go for over 3 hours. www.boattest.com publishes a lot of tests on various skis and usually lists the ranges. No reason for name calling when you're the one who didn't fact check.

 

[utgardaloki]

[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]With the gas powered I can just bring it back, fill it back up, and send the next group out while the rest of us eat burgers and swim. With this electric thing one group goes out, the next group goes out, and then we sit and wait 5 hours for the thing to fully re-charge. Not practical.[/citation]

I think it's darn interesting going electric rather than using an engine.
Doesn't say whether this one has got it but with cartridge based battery designs charging times wouldn't be much of an issue if any. Most newer battery chemistries can be fast charged.

Electric motors can produce insane amounts of torque, many times more than any equal sized combustion engine. Batteries are still what's holding them back. A motor rated at 65 Hp continous output can easily output twice that in burst and peak power without over heating. Batteries are evolving quite fast for the time being and might even get a big boost regarding both capacity as well as power from newly discovered manyfacturing techniques in the near future.
In the rc model world where battery safety isn't as much of an issue as with full scale vehicles meant to carry people the electrics are rediculing the most powerful combustion driven counterparts with between 2-4 times greater power output for the same model using electric. The batteries are unsafe (lithium polymer) but operate at insane power levels considering their size or about 11000 watts continous, 22000 watts peaks for a 1500 gram battery.
As safety and capacity go up, putting something like that inside of this thing would probably be a blast.

 

[mlopinto2k1]

[citation][nom]mlopinto2k1[/nom]Right on bro.. I have a Rustler with the velineon motor and controller and with an 11.1v LiPo @ 5000mAh (minumum) it'll do 70+mph... besting the gas version of it. Which I believe tops out at 67 or so? I talking out of the box, RTR. One of those in that PWC would be insane.[/citation]I meant of course, the LiPo battery in general.. obviously not that voltage rating!

 

[mlopinto2k1]

[citation][nom]utgardaloki[/nom]I think it's darn interesting going electric rather than using an engine.Doesn't say whether this one has got it but with cartridge based battery designs charging times wouldn't be much of an issue if any. Most newer battery chemistries can be fast charged.Electric motors can produce insane amounts of torque, many times more than any equal sized combustion engine. Batteries are still what's holding them back. A motor rated at 65 Hp continous output can easily output twice that in burst and peak power without over heating. Batteries are evolving quite fast for the time being and might even get a big boost regarding both capacity as well as power from newly discovered manyfacturing techniques in the near future.In the rc model world where battery safety isn't as much of an issue as with full scale vehicles meant to carry people the electrics are rediculing the most powerful combustion driven counterparts with between 2-4 times greater power output for the same model using electric. The batteries are unsafe (lithium polymer) but operate at insane power levels considering their size or about 11000 watts continous, 22000 watts peaks for a 1500 gram battery.As safety and capacity go up, putting something like that inside of this thing would probably be a blast.[/citation]Right on bro.. I have a Rustler with the velineon motor and controller and with an 11.1v LiPo @ 5000mAh (minumum) it'll do 70+mph... besting the gas version of it. Which I believe tops out at 67 or so? I talking out of the box, RTR. One of those in that PWC would be insane.

 

[JonathanDeane]

Sounds great but I will hold my final opinion until I hear a price...

 

[utgardaloki]

[citation][nom]mlopinto2k1[/nom]Right on bro.. I have a Rustler with the velineon motor and controller and with an 11.1v LiPo @ 5000mAh (minumum) it'll do 70+mph... besting the gas version of it. Which I believe tops out at 67 or so? I talking out of the box, RTR. One of those in that PWC would be insane.[/citation]

Yeah I have an Electric Revo BL edition myself and at around 5000 watt peaks during acceleration it makes the nitro combustion version seem pretty lame (around 750 watts). I also have a few helis and the newest will eventually get a certain 10000 watts motor (around 12 Hp output). The nitro version produces around 2500 watts (3,4 Hp).
With a total fly weight of about 4,8 kilos (the electric setup) that heli almost reminds you of something straight out of science fiction rather than an rc model once it takes off. The power is unbeliveble.

Can't wait for something like this to become reality for normal vehicles

 

[anamaniac]

[citation][nom]NapoleonDK[/nom]I absolutely love the high powered roar of the larger PWC's, they sound positively evil! But something about the silent operation claim really intrigues me. If this performs like a high-powered device, yet is silent and highly maneuverable, then I REALLY WANT TO RIDE IT!!!Silent, fast, runs on electricity... Just like my computer! That must be why I love it lol...[/citation]
Silent? You mustn't own a air cooled i7.

 

[JonnyDough]

Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan are known for having a lot of lakes, although I can't imagine that every state has lakes. Alaska is a bit cold to make good use of this though I think.

As a citizen of Michigan (there is nothing else to do here in the summertime really) I can say that while some people really love to get vicious with their boating, many would enjoy the tranquility of an almost silent jet-ski. Not necessarily the jet-skiers themselves (although I almost always prefer quiet to roaring) but this jet-ski would indeed help with fishing, cleanliness of lakes (less oil and gas leakage), and the tranquility for fisherman who are out making use of trolling motors and trying to enjoy nature.

However, a lack of engine noise could actually make the lakes a bit more dangerous. If the turning radius is better on these things though that may help a little. I am concerned about the hicks who choose to drink and then hop on a jet-ski. Never a good idea, people just don't seem to realize that drugs and alcohol slow your reflexes a LOT.

Getting hit with a 200 lb vehicle vs a 600 lb vehicle seems a bit less scary though. The weight factor alone could actually save lives.

 

[grieve]

I own two 09 Sea-Doo GXT's and they haul ass! These machines will never run 3 hours without a fuel up. Perhaps if you are idling around the lake you might get 3hrs in. I think the electric PWC is a great idea especially when it comes to fuel costs… I spend sometimes upward of $200 a weekend on gas for my two pigs.

Also… I frequently need breaks while riding the Sea-Doo as they do take a fair amount of energy if you drive aggressive, thus allowing much time for a quick plug in. I suppose a really important feature would be the ability to only partial charge the unit… (Do you need to charge 100% to maintain battery life?)

The one thing I dislike about this article is this statement “”The group is currently perfecting the Green Samba, an electric jet ski that has a claimed top speed of 65 miles per hour and superior maneuverability.”’
Sea-Doo’s have been around forever and have incredible maneuverability especially the higher end models; I suspect the Green Samba will need some time to compete in this department. I have driven a few other types of PWC and none maneuver like a GTX Sea-Doo.

I will certainly be looking into these when they are released, assuming they are in a similar price range as a Sea-Doo.

 

[velocityg4]

[citation][nom]maxh2[/nom]I saw a thing on these on TV the other day and they are significantly different that your typical jet ski. They're around 200 lbs. while typical jet skis are around 600 lbs. You can make extremely sharp and fast turns and perform all kinds of tricks. The stance is to place the center of gravity where it needs to be for extreme maneuverability. You use your whole body to guide this craft, while a typical jet is more like driving a car where you sit on top and turn the handle bars. It's actually a pretty exciting new design.[/citation]

The sit down kind you are thinking of are the larger water crafts for 2 or more passengers. They also make small nimble stand up jet ski's such as the Kawasaki 800 SX-R which is designed for 1 person like this electric unit. So this small lightweight design is nothing new.

What I wonder is if that three hour run time is at 65 mph or something much slower like 10 mph? I couldn't see having one of these as I typically go to camp at lakes for four or five days and go to remote ones which do not have electricity and are 45+ minutes from the nearest little town.

I could bring a generator to recharge it but that defeats the purpose and those camp sites usually have rules about not running generators. Though I go early enough in the year and in during the week so my friends and I are typically the only ones at the lake.

 

[wawa sxm]

[citation][nom]groundhogdaze[/nom]I always thought PWC stood for PriceWaterhouseCoopers or how about "Pricey Water Coupe"[/citation]

Who goes to the lake with a group of persons and only one jet ski (who cares if its a brand everyone says jet ski or wave runners)..and 3 hours is plenty. when i go on trips with my friends (1jet ski per person..nobody wants a broken back) we leave at 11 come back 16h with a two hour stop on an island for lunch...depending how often i go it takes me 2-3 days to recover...its a sport you harldy sitting and always looking out for the next wave

 

[WyomingKnott]

Well, I'm not sure that a silent jet ski is a good idea. While most of them are ridden by reasonably sane people, there are always overly-agressive or intoxicated fools who are a danger to everyone in the water. And now I won't be able to hear them coming!
Remember when a similar argument was made about electric cars - add a noisemaker so that pedestrians would notice them?

 

[Guest]

Anyone know if this model would work for pulling a wakeboarder?