A new novelty of the sea should spread along Croatia’s coast soon thanks to the Split team behind the first Croatian electric surfboard – the Plurato Sailfin.
For almost three years, the research and development company Plurato has been working on a new product called the Plurato Sailfin, which will soon rule the Adriatic, reports T.portal on February 24, 2019.
“For beginners, it is best to sit on the board, push the gas and get acquainted with it. We tested it with complete beginners and, depending on their readiness and skill, most needed several runs to feel safe and to experience it, or to stand up on it,” explains Nino Mijač, the director of the original startup venture which originated in the Split district of Mejaši.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=dw3ZaFAOR7k
However, their ambition isn’t to produce a ‘speed racer for the seas’. Instead, their boards are intended for everyday use at the beach, despite the respectable speed of 30 kilometers per hour.
“We are not the only ones trying to do this. At present, there are around five or six companies around the world that are involved in similar projects, and there is a dead race around who will launch it first,” Mijač adds.
This Split team seems to be the closest. After much interest at several exhibitions, and after all the tests are completed, this summer, they will launch the first series of ten pieces on the market. They are counting specifically on beach equipment renters to place them in their offer and thus open the market.
Plurato Sailfin is an entirely Croatian, and more precisely – a Split product. Behind it is a team of six young innovators, aged 25 to 35 years old, all from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Split, with diplomas. All parts of the electric surfboard were made manually and assembled on site in Mejaši.
“We put together batteries, assembled the system and connected the electronics, made the boards, and even the propellers from pieces of aluminum. The capacities are therefore limited, and the great interest has surprised us a bit, so we will probably outsource part of the production for serious serial production,” Mijač says.
A Croatian investor stands behind the Plurato startup project, though they did not want to disclose his identity. The company invests in hardware and software startups, which, by its definition, does not bring anything but expenses in the first few years. The idea should make a profit, though it will take time.
Hydrofoil technology, which has been known for over a hundred years, is used to lift the board above sea level and therefore has much less resistance and less energy consumption, and achieves higher speeds.
“The development of the hardware, or the board itself, was much more complex than the software development. We have gone through a lot of testing and fails, but that’s why we have made many improvements. The second challenge was the battery because we designed a system that controls its charging and discharging,” explains Mijač.
The duration of the battery itself is 45 minutes, but the advantage is that it is interchangeable, and the second battery is charged while the first one is in use. The board – which can be completely disassembled and easy to transport – can carry a recommended weight of 95 kilograms, while the maximum is 110 kilograms.
The electric surfboard’s anticipated debut should be this summer. You can find more photos of the project here.
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