Not at a dizzying pace, but without pause, the boat sector is moving towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of sailing. Boats with electric and hybrid engines are increasingly taking center stage at the Barcelona Boat Show, which started yesterday in Port Vell. But as is also happening with cars and motorcycles, the change is advancing at a slow pace. The transformation will not occur from one year to the next and will be carried out progressively.
“Electrification is advancing slowly,” acknowledges Adrià Fradera, founder of Nauta Systems, a company dedicated to electrical solutions for boats. “We make a classic boat become electric,” summarizes Fradera. One of its great market niches is professionals, as also happens in automobiles with electric vans and other service vehicles. It is his second time at the Boat Show, one of the great showcases of the sector. “There is a brake that is economic,” Fradera assumes, reporting that there is a price difference of approximately 40%.
But at the same time, the transformation advances despite the brakes. “Awareness about the environment is increasing. What is growing exponentially is the interest,” he says. They have more and more clients. Nauta also sells two electric boats of different ranges and they carry the technical service of a major brand in this field.
Noster is a sailing club that also proposes alternatives to make sailing more sustainable. Through its application, navigation between groups is promoted, with a type of shared ownership boats. “It is a way to optimize,” says its CEO, Jordi Piqué.
They have also just added a 100% electric boat to their fleet. “Electric boats are going to increase. “People are surprised when they try them,” he says. Your sailboat has between four and ten hours of autonomy through its engine, not counting what it can advance with the sails. “It doesn’t make any noise and that’s great,” adds Piqué.
As always, the Boat Show brings together innovation in navigation and also proposals that manage to awaken the curiosity of the attending public. This year you can see a version of the classic Fiat Cinquecento cruising around Barcelona. Yes, it is a small boat that replicates the aesthetics of the car. There are only 500 units worldwide.
Details like these can be discovered until Sunday at the Boat Show. Yesterday’s day, marked by good weather and a large attendance of the public despite it being a working day, suggests that Port Vell will be packed taking advantage of the long weekend that begins today. “It’s the first day and it’s full,” said the president of the fair, Luis Conde, hoping to surpass last year’s 50,000 visitors.
The 2023 Náutico is not like other editions, although the distribution has achieved 22,000 square meters of exhibition area, a floating exhibition with 160 boats and 240 exhibitors. Some of the bases of the teams that will participate next year in the Copa del América already occupy part of the spaces that were previously dedicated to the hall. “The Copa del América is a priority this year and next. We must give him maximum support,” stressed Luis Conde.
In fact, in 2024 it is very possible that the show will change its dates so as not to coincide with the competition and a “slipstream” edition of the sporting event will be held, Conde said. At the moment, the Boat Show is serving as a platform to disseminate the importance of the Hundred Guineas Cup.
The official inauguration of the Náutico was attended by the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez; the Regional Minister of Territory of the Generalitat, Ester Capella; the president of the Port of Barcelona, ??Lluis Salvadó; and the president of Fira de Barcelona, ??Pau Relat, among other authorities. Raquel Sánchez highlighted the importance of “collaboration between institutions” in reference to the organization of international events such as the Náutico itself and the Copa del América.