German start-up Tyde has just released teaser renderings of its next BMW design collaboration, an e-foiling weekender called simply The Open...
Billed as the world’s largest foiling motor yacht, this open-walkaround model measures 14.7m (48ft 3in) overall, has a maximum beam of 4.5m (14ft 9in) and has a potential top speed of 30 knots.
Said to be aimed at private owners interested in the very latest in sustainable boating technology, the Open is based on Tyde’s first extraordinary prototype, the 13m (43ft) LOA Tyde Icon, a foiling glass lounge that first came to public attention during the Cannes Film Festival in June, but got her boat show debut four months later in September at the Cannes Yachting Festival.
Both the Icon and the Open were developed in association with automotive giant BMW and its industrial design studio spin-off Designworks.
The Open has a square-stem with razor-sharp-entry around the displacement waterline but flattens out considerably aft.
Above the at-rest waterline, the bow flares to a raked-forward chisel that conceals a fold-out anchor system and maximises usable space forward above and below deck.
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There’s bench seating space forward of the two-seat helm position, which is nicely protected by an angular wraparound windshield and a substantial buttress-supported hardtop that not only shades two-thirds of the open deck area, but also will be completely covered in photovoltaic cells.
The back half of the cockpit is fully in the shade and provides booth-dining with flanking sofas and table, a stern sunpad-sofa and bathing platform. Beneath the foredeck there will be berthing for two and a head-shower compartment.
The Open’s zero-emissions drivetrain will be similar to the Icon’s. There will be a 400kWh bank of BMW i3 batteries and twin 100kW Torqeedo Deep Blue electric motors. It should be capable of a 50nm range at a 25-knot fast cruise.
And like The Icon, The Open is likely to start flying at around 17-18 knots from lift generated by a T-foil at the bow and a twin-strut horizontal foil aft that will incorporate forward-facing counter-rotating props.
The set-up is said to save 80% of the energy required to run a conventional comparable-size planing model.
The biggest benefit of a hydrofoil boat is the smoothness. Those foils run beneath the surface, while the hull should fly above any waves. And the fact that it is also an electric boat means it does so softly in terms of both vibration and noise. The maximum draft should be 1.95m (6ft 5in) and the air draft is claimed to 3.5m (11ft 6in).
Tyde may well be a new company, having only started in 2021, but it certainly has plenty of experience on which to draw. Its founders are no stranger to ‘sustainable mobility’.
Managing director Dr Christoph Ballin’s previous entrepreneurial ventures include electric outboard manufacturer Torqeedo and Sea.AI, which specialises in collision-avoidance technology for the marine environment. And his business partner, Tobias Hoffritz, was formerly BMW’s innovation director.
Tyde tells us it is almost ready to take Open orders and expects its first deliveries of production boats to commence in autumn 2024.
