A new electric boat brand is now available: Forza X1. We attended the debut of this 22-footer and produced the following report.
We ran a brand new 22-foot Forza X1 electric center console in Palm Beach, Florida, with four large male passengers aboard and torque was still instantaneous when the throttle advanced. The outboard, rated at 180 hp, (get used to ratings in kiloWatts when discussing electric power) topped out at 25 mph. With just one passenger, factory specs claim a 40-mph top end. Cruising however dropped us to about 20 mph. If you’re looking for blazing speed or oceanic range, you might look elsewhere.
| LOA: | 22’0″ |
| Beam: | 8’6″ |
| Deadrise: | 20 Degrees |
| Draft: | 15″ |
| Maximum Capacity: | 6 people/840 lbs |
| Weight with Batteries: | 5,000 lbs |
| Dry Weight with Batteries: | 3,200 lbs |
| Bow Storage Boxes: | 190 qts |
| Floor Storage Box: | 135 qts |
| Console Cooler: | 36 qts |
Electric motors run virtually silently. So, I was surprised to hear noise when the Forza outboard shifted into forward. The engineers attribute that to several factors; water pumps that dissipate the considerable heat generated by the transfer of all that electricity, the gearing of the engine (the electric motor runs at 10,000 rpm while the prop – well – doesn’t) as well as harmonics from the lower unit all contribute. But it was deliciously quiet. Cruising speed gently proffered 85 decibels. Forza plans to debut its 300-hp outboard next year.
Batteries tip the scale at about 1,800 pounds and live under the center console. They are amazingly computerized and safeguarded 18 ways to Sunday!
Forza X1 does pretty much everything themselves: building the outboards, the hulls (ultimately three to choose from), building the batteries and co-creating the electronic monitoring system with Garmin. And of course, you can monitor every aspect of your boat (including geofencing) on your smartphone!
| Continuous Power: | 135 KW 180 HP (@ 450V) |
| Peak Power: | 200 KW 270 HP (targeted) |
| Motor/Inverter Cooling: | 50/50 Glycol |
| Lower Unit: | Proprietary |
| Tilt/Trim: | Manual Hydraulic & Touchscreen |
| Frame Construction: | Aluminum |
| Steering: | Manual Hydraulic & Power Assist Option |
| Features Under Development: | 360 POD Steering, Closed Loop Cooling, Auto Adjust Trim Tilt Jack |
Twin Vee, the 30-year-old parent corporation based in Fort Pierce, Florida expanded its holdings when it recently purchased Aquasport Boats. Two years ago, Twin Vee CEO Joseph Visconti – a vibrant, young, hard-charger – was driving his Tesla when he decided he wanted to create an all-electric boat. Today, a major factory is under construction in North Carolina.
Read Next: Electric Boats and Avoiding Range Anxiety
| Battery Type: | 104 kwh Dual Battery Pack |
| Battery Weight: | 1700 lbs |
| Max Speed: | 40 mph |
| Time to Charge: | 7.5 hrs (@ 11 kwh) 4 hrs (@ 22 kwh) |
| Range: | 12 miles @ 15 mph 23 miles @ 25 mph |
| Charger: | 6.6 kW 11 Kw 22 kW |
| Console Screen: | 16″ |
| User Interface: | Touchscreen, Garmin Navigation and Custom Forza X1 Interface |
| Telematics: | 4G Connectivity for monitoring system health, diagnostics, state of charge, trip logs, GPS tracking |
Forza’s first significant customer is mega-dealer OneWater who just signed on to purchase 100 X1s. Forza plans to market to boat rental clubs where people don’t generally run 30 miles offshore to fish. Rather, they’ll run to the sandbar, then to the waterfront restaurant for lunch, then perhaps spend a half hour tubing, all of which doesn’t add up to heavy mileage in a day. With current battery technology, the 22-foot Forza X1 center console’s cruising range extends to around 15 miles between charges which sitting in your garage will take about 10 hours. Highway supercharge stations and marina power pedestals can cut that time considerably.
Look for an in-depth review of this boat to come.
