Vessev built an electric ferry that almost flies
Vessev built an electric ferry that almost flies
Vessev 打造了一艘“近乎飞行”的电动渡轮
“When will we start flying?” I asked Vessev co-founder and CEO Eric Laakmann, as we pulled away from the Brooklyn marina in the startup’s VS-9 electric ferry. “We already are.” I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed. I thought the moment when it transitioned from sailing like a regular boat to almost-flying as a surface-skimming hydrofoil would be more … momentous. “我们什么时候开始飞行？”当我们在布鲁克林码头登上这家初创公司的 VS-9 电动渡轮并缓缓驶离时，我问 Vessev 的联合创始人兼首席执行官 Eric Laakmann。“我们已经在飞行了。”我承认我当时有点失望。我原以为从像普通船只一样航行，过渡到像水翼船那样贴水面“飞行”的瞬间会更加……震撼。
I’ve been on my share of boats, including large ferries, small sailboats, and plenty of others in between, but never been on a hydrofoil and I was curious what flying along the water might feel like during the brief ride from the Brooklyn Marina out toward Governors Island on the East River in New York. It didn’t feel like flying, but it was a bit like a riding in a sports car. The wake when foiling in the VS-9 is minimal. 我坐过不少船，包括大型渡轮、小型帆船以及介于两者之间的各种船只，但从未坐过水翼船。我很好奇在纽约东河从布鲁克林码头前往总督岛的短暂航程中，在水面上“飞行”会是什么感觉。它感觉并不像飞行，但有点像坐跑车。VS-9 在水翼航行时产生的尾迹非常小。
Traditional boats of this size — about 30 feet — start to bounce and slap the water as they gain speed. But on a hydrofoil, that’s when the foils start to do their work. On the surface, the VS-9 looks like plenty of other catamarans. But under the hull are two wing-like structures that lift the boat as they slice through the water. Computer-controlled underwater flaps keep the ride smooth and stable. In the VS-9, most of the lifting is done by the front foil, with about 20% handled by the rear. 这种尺寸（约 30 英尺）的传统船只在加速时会开始颠簸并拍打水面。但对于水翼船来说，这正是水翼开始发挥作用的时候。从外观上看，VS-9 看起来和其他双体船没什么两样。但在船体下方，有两个像机翼一样的结构，它们在切开水面时将船身抬起。计算机控制的水下襟翼保持了航行的平稳和稳定。在 VS-9 上，大部分升力由前水翼提供，后水翼承担约 20%。
The rear foil also hosts the electric motor, which Vessev makes in-house. Why not outsource it? Laakmann said that it’s important to keep costs in line — eventually, you’ll have to bring production in house, so why not do it earlier in development? The only thing Vessev doesn’t build are the batteries. “Those have been commoditized,” Laakmann said. 后水翼还搭载了 Vessev 自主研发的电动机。为什么不外包呢？Laakmann 表示，控制成本至关重要——最终你还是得把生产环节收归内部，那为什么不在开发初期就这么做呢？Vessev 唯一不制造的部件是电池。“电池已经商品化了，”Laakmann 说。
By lifting the hull clear of the water, hydrofoils can operate more efficiently than other boats. That’s especially important for electric boats, where every kilowatt-hour counts. Shipbuilders have been experimenting with hydrofoils for well over a century. The design offers several advantages, including lower drag and a smoother ride. The subtle transition I experienced on the VS-9, from sailing to almost-flying, underlined just how smooth a hydrofoil can be. 通过将船体抬离水面，水翼船的运行效率比其他船只更高。这对电动船尤为重要，因为每一度电都至关重要。造船商研究水翼技术已经超过一个世纪了。这种设计提供了多项优势，包括更低的阻力和更平稳的航行体验。我在 VS-9 上体验到的从航行到“近乎飞行”的微妙过渡，凸显了水翼船的平稳程度。
Despite hydrofoils’ advantages, they’re not a panacea. The design works best in waters the boat can clear when sailing on its foils. For the VS-9, that’s about two and a half feet, or 0.75 meters. If the waves go higher than that, they start hitting the hull, ruining the smooth ride and sapping some efficiency. While they’re not ideal for the open ocean, hydrofoils make sense for other waterways, including lakes, rivers, and bays. 尽管水翼船有诸多优势，但它并非万能。这种设计在船只通过水翼航行时能避开水面障碍的水域效果最好。对于 VS-9 来说，这个高度大约是 2.5 英尺（0.75 米）。如果浪高超过这个数值，浪花就会开始拍打船体，破坏平稳的航行体验并降低效率。虽然它们不适合开阔的海洋，但水翼船在湖泊、河流和海湾等其他水道中非常有意义。
Vessev, which raised a $19 million Series A in August, is targeting transit operations to start. Laakmann thinks the combination of electric propulsion and hydrofoils can bring down the cost of operating smaller vessels and make them comfortable enough that they could augment urban mass transit systems. Somewhere like New York City could use them to zip people to Brooklyn or Queens without needing to build much new infrastructure. Vessev 在 8 月份完成了 1900 万美元的 A 轮融资，目前正以交通运输业务为切入点。Laakmann 认为，电力推进与水翼技术的结合可以降低小型船只的运营成本，并使其舒适度足以补充城市公共交通系统。像纽约市这样的地方可以利用它们将人们快速运送到布鲁克林或皇后区，而无需建设大量新的基础设施。
Hotels and tour operators are also an early target market, and public demonstrations like the one I attended have attracted wealthy individuals looking for another toy, Laakmann said. For now, the VS-9 I rode is one of a kind, but Laakmann said Vessev plans to build more. Eventually, the company might shift to producing electric hydrofoil kits, allowing other boatbuilders to design their own vessels around the technology, Laakmann said. Laakmann 表示，酒店和旅游运营商也是早期的目标市场，而像我参加的这种公开演示活动已经吸引了一些寻找“新玩具”的富裕人士。目前，我乘坐的这艘 VS-9 是独一无二的，但 Laakmann 表示 Vessev 计划制造更多。最终，该公司可能会转向生产电动水翼套件，允许其他造船商围绕这项技术设计他们自己的船只。