OK, we get it. The Watercraft Journal has a nasty reputation (particularly as of late) for ill-timed April Fool’s Day jokes. Heck, we’ve even fooled thousands into believing a major manufacturer was offering an electric runabout years earlier. Rest assured, this announcement is no fabrication from our devious little minds; no, the Narke Electrojet is the brainchild of experienced Hungarian boat designers and shipbuilding engineers, who together developed an electric motor for a completely unique personal watercraft.
Certainly Narke’s Electrojet looks unique, with its trapezoidal deck, sharp edges and angular configuration, making one a little afraid of falling over the side for fear of laceration. Nevertheless, the Narke is made entirely out of carbon fiber, which is notoriously strong and lightweight. Powering the Electrojet is a “self-developed, water-cooled, three-phase asynchronous motor and a Li-ion battery pack,” providing the long, low-slung runabout with a top speed of 55 kmph (roughly 34 mph). While that isn’t setting the world on fire, it is a solid start, and the best offering we’ve seen as of late.
Narke believes that 100,000 new buyers enter into the personal watercraft industry (worldwide) each year, and the elite manufacturer is gaming to get in, with a release date for this machine expected sometime in the second quarter of 2018, which is coming up quick. As of yet, there’s no price tag attached to the machine, nor any word whether the Narke will be made available in the United States, still the world’s largest market for PWC sales.
Here’s Narke’s original press release:
Electric vehicles have spread on the waters and, after electric boats, the world’s first electrojet, Narke has also appeared. A unique innovation on an international scale, it will be ready to conquer the world’s waters and change what we’ve thought about jet skiing so far. The electrojet is not a jet ski, but rather a new category of watercraft that creates the experience of freedom through its electric drive and environmentally friendly technology.
At present, there are further developments and preparations for mass production at our center in Balatonvilágos, Hungary so that the electrojet can be introduced to the general public in the second quarter of 2018.
The evolutionary development has been driven by environmental awareness and overcoming professional challenges from the beginning. Developers did not want to create a transformed hybrid solution, but rather a completely new genre, with every detail – from clean design and the use of raw materials to an environmentally conscious electric drive – being subordinated to this goal. The founders of the team are experienced electric boat designers, shipbuilding engineers and a management providing a stable economic background.
The carbon fiber body features a self-developed, water-cooled, three-phase asynchronous motor and a Li-ion battery pack, which allows high speeds up to 55 kmph (about 34 mph).
Narke differs from traditional jet skis not only in its basic technology, but also as a representative of a new era with its sound and appearance. The electrojet is extremely quiet and its design focuses on sophistication and cleanliness.
Precise engineering work and the development of long years have borne fruit. The inventors of the electrojet have created a new category of watercraft, a form of luxury vehicles that will be able to travel on all of the world’s waters, including Lake Balaton. Due to its electric drive, it protects the wildlife of nature reserve waters so that it can roll the waves anywhere. The Hungarian sea is the venue for its development and introduction, so it is not a negligible factor from the tourism point of view that this innovation starts off from Lake Balaton.
