The first ever electric hydrofoil watercraft in the US is coming to Lake Tahoe, promising to be the fastest craft on the water with "hydrofoil wings” that appear to make it fly.
On a day when parts of San Francisco might feel like a large body of water, we get big news about something coming to the largest alpine lake in America. That would be Lake Tahoe, whose 22-mile length from north to south makes it a pretty lengthy boat trip to get across. But a new venture is promising to make that trip in 30 minutes or less, as KTVU reports that Lake Tahoe is getting an electric high-speed hydrofoil, a futuristic watercraft whose unusual high-speed sailing can be seen below.
The hydrofoil is designed by a Swedish company called Candela, which apparently already runs a couple of these things in Stockholm. But it will be operated by a local Lake Tahoe-area company called FlyTahoe, whose website indicates that this is really their only venture.
"This ferry holds 30 people, holds bikes, holds skis, in my case a snowboard, and we are, of course, wheelchair accessible as well," FlyTahoe CEO Ryan Meinzer told KTVU. "That's one of our missions here. We want to make it a safe and comfortable ride that's accessible to all, locals and tourists alike. So you can imagine, if we're making six round trips a day, that's about 300 people a day."
The appearance of “flying” comes courtesy the craft’s hydrofoil wings that lift the boat’s hull above the water, which FlyTahoe says reduces energy consumption by 80% compared to normal boats, thanks to decreased water friction. Some startup promised hydrofoil taxis in the Bay Area back in 2017, but that never came to pass.
Per KTVU, FlyTahoe hopes to “develop a fleet of these ferries,” though does not disclose how many, and have them on the water by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
Related: Hydrofoil Water Taxi Startup Aims To Ferry Bay Area Commuters [SFist]
Image: FlyTahoe
