Most sailors will tell you how marvelous it is not to hear an engine. There’s only the sound of the hull carving through the water, and no whiffs of exhaust fumes. Electric-powered boating has similar appeal, which is what Italy’s Ferretti Group hopes to capture with the label E-Luxury. The first model under this banner is Riva’s El-Iseo.
The original, traditionally powered 27-foot Iseo was shown at the Cannes Yachting Festival back in 2011. Around 70 of them have been built since then. The first production El-Iseo splashed in late 2023 and was at Boot Dusseldorf in January. I got aboard a few months later to play with it on Lago d’Iseo, Riva’s home lake in northern Italy.
The El-Iseo has sky-blue metallic paint, a gorgeous sheerline, light-blue and off-white upholstery, gleaming stainless steel, and the deep gloss of the mahogany foredeck and cockpit detailing. All of it is pure class.
While the El-Iseo’s deep-V hull form is the same as the Iseo’s, the windshield and cockpit seating are a little different. Two bolster-cushioned bucket seats are abaft a wraparound windshield. Farther aft, a C-booth seats four people comfortably. Also on the El-Iseo is cuddy stowage forward beneath the foredeck. Abaft the cockpit, there’s an inset sun pad and a swim platform.
What’s missing in the engine bay of the El-Iseo is a typical engine. Instead, there’s a Parker GVM310 AC motor rated for continuous 250 kW power and 300 kW peak power, two sealed and liquid-cooled 800V battery banks providing a total of 150 kWh, a couple of heat exchangers that are part of a two-stage battery-cooling system, and plenty of chunky cables and hoses, fire-retardant insulation, gas detection and extinguishing systems. Thrust comes from a modified Mercury Racing Bravo X3R sterndrive leg.
There are three cruising modes: adagio, which limits speed to 5 knots, suppresses acceleration and allows a working range of 10 hours or 50 nautical miles; andante, with normal acceleration, a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 25 nm; and allegro, for gloves-off acceleration and 40 knots. When battery reserves drop to 20 percent, the boat switches automatically from allegro into andante mode. At 5 percent, it will trip into adagio mode, allowing for 1,000 rpm and 5 knots with a remaining range of 2 to 3 nautical miles.
Handling is well-mannered throughout the speed range. The boat accelerates much faster than a conventionally propelled runabout of this size, and it heels reassuringly into turns. I’m a big fan of the fully digital Böning custom dashboard, which presents all the essential system information. Owners can choose a 9- or 12-inch Simrad display amidships. A conventional-style gear shift/throttle, Xenta steering and Zipwake trim tabs integrate well in auto-trim mode, although skippers can trim manually too.
We went out with batteries at the recommended 80 percent and came back after 30 minutes showing 34 percent. We plugged into a fast charger, and the boat’s instruments informed us that it would take 90 minutes to restore to 100 percent. Riva quotes 75 minutes for a 20 percent to 80 percent fast charge, and eight hours for a normal charge.
Riva doesn’t publicize prices, but it says this level of technology does not come cheap. Running costs should be relatively low, and environmental consciences should feel eased.
If the Skies Change…
Riva’s El-Iseo is the only electric boat in Europe rated Cat B, with the help of Italian certification body RINA. Cat B boats can cope with F8 (gale-force) winds and 13-foot seas.
Take the next step: riva-yacht.com
