RAND boats unveiled their latest fleet, RAND Picnic Boats, an electric motorboat that enables boating to be enjoyed noise and fume free. Available in two versions, a sport and a tiller steering option, RAND Picnic boats are built with sustainable, light-weight materials including Kebony wood.
The boats, which seat up to 10 people, do not require a sailing license to operate making them accessible to even the most inexperienced of boaters. Hydro-dynamically optimised, the boats are quick and mobile despite using no traditional fuel source and running on electricity alone. In addition to the reduction in noise and fumes, powering these boats by electricity makes them substantially cheaper to run than if using traditional fuels. The sport version of the boats exhibits a center steering console, which provides a more luxurious, traditional boating experience. The sport boats also have a gas handle displaying the remaining sail time and the largest battery pack option can last up to 16 hours with a max speed of up to 8 knots.
Kebony wood, used for the boat helm, table and decking, is a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood. The company transforms sustainably sourced softwood species such as pine by impregnating them with furfuryl alcohol under conditions of heat and pressure, this creates a product which exhibits the qualities of the best tropical timbers. Kebony is very hardwearing and durable, particularly important given its use here where it will be exposed constantly to water and the elements. Kebony will develop a beautiful silver prey patina and requires no maintenance beyond normal cleaning.
The boats have already seen great demand and Scandinavian boat rental company, GoBoat, has had huge success from renting out their fleet of 50 boats on an hourly basis in Copenhagen, Malmö and Stockholm. The boats can be rented out for €50 an hour and GoBoat have had more than 100,000 customers already. Prices to purchase the boats start from just €9,995.
The Danish architects and entrepreneurs behind RAND Boats had their first venture last year when they launched a fleet of solar-powered picnic boats. Sustainability informed design has always been paramount to the Danish team who used recycled plastic and Kebony cladding in the solar-powered boats. With the RAND Boats, in addition to the use of Kebony and electricity rather than fuel the fleet also exhibits a foam kernel made from recycled plastic bottles. In addition, the team are currently working on a new boat built in recycled glass-fiber from discarded windmill blades.
Carsten Løppenthin Møller, Managing Director Kebony Denmark, commented: “We have greatly enjoyed working with the GoBoat team over the last couple of years and are thrilled that Kebony was the material of choice for the new fleet.”
