Italian Designed Personal Electric Watercraft
Normally when you talk about yachts, you’d imagine a boat with sails that’s about 40 feet long and is usually reserved for people with an abundance of financial resources. There are some individuals and design teams that are working to incorporate new elements and technology into classic yacht design. One of these is an Italian firm that came up with an innovative design which they called the Jet Capsule.
The Italians have it right with a persona jet water craft
The Development of the Jet Capsule
The idea for the Jet Capsule first took root in the mind of Italian Pierpaolo Lazzarini back in 2009. Initially, he wanted to make a superyacht that wasn’t expensive so that more people could experience the sensation of being in one. Although the technology for making a luxury personal watercraft was already present, the main challenge was how to make a one that was affordable. The solution that Lazzarini arrived at was to simply design a smaller watercraft that retained the luxurious amenities of larger superyachts. After going through various sketches for how this boat should look like, the design team finally settled on a design that was compact yet had enough space to accommodate a total of 13 people. What’s peculiar (innovative) with this design though was the fact that it used a jet propulsion system instead of propellers. This, along with its compact frame was supposed to give the Jet Capsule more mobility than older yachts.
The Sea Jet from the rear
Release, Specifications, and Customization Options
When it was finally released in 2013, this personal watercraft immediately caught a lot of people’s attention. At 12 feet by 19 feet, the Jet Capsule might have looked small but it made up for its size with speed and mobility. Its hull and capsule was made from a proprietary mix of carbon fiber and fiberglass respectively. The lighter weight of this watercraft meant less strain for the 370 hp Yanmar engines and HamiltonJet hydrojets to propel it forward (it has an impressive maximum speed of 32 knots). Additionally, the Jet Capsule design became such a success that it has now spawned numerous customization options that even include one for military use.
Is the Jet Capsule the Personal Watercraft of the Future?
Although the Jet Capsule’s design is undoubtedly innovative, it’s still too early to be saying that it is the future of marine mobility. The design of this personal watercraft still belongs under Category C. This means that it’s mainly for use in coastal waters, estuaries, lakes, or any body of water where wave heights are less than 2 meters and wind force on the Beaufort scale is at 6. With the customization options Lazzarini Design has come up with in the two years since the Jet Capsule was released, it might not be long before we see them release a Category A or B design. If that happens then there’d be no doubt that we’d be seeing a majority of our future boats and personal watercraft having designs derived from Jet Capsule’s.
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