Could Seattle transit include water-skipping electric vessels? This Irish company hopes so

Officials from King County Metro's Marine Division took a test ride in an all-electric water vessel on Tuesday.

It was part of the Irish company Artemis Technologies' hype tour for a high-tech boat, which will be built on the banks of the Duwamish River as it enters Puget Sound, thanks to a new agreement with the Seattle shipyard Delta Marine.

The hope is that private companies and public agencies like King County Metro will adopt the vessels to create mosquito fleets.

The vessels, known as hydrofoils, have been around Puget Sound for a long time — think of the Victoria Clipper.

But a new generation of high-tech hydrofoils, built of modern materials and managed by advanced computer programs, run on nothing but electricity. And according to the boat's designer, they pay back their extra cost in three years, thanks to fuel savings.

On a tour of American cities, Artemis' co-founder David Tyler described his company's 150-passenger ferry model, while offering demonstration rides on a smaller 12-passenger vessel. His passengers included representatives from private companies and public transit agencies.

The "foil" is essentially a wing under the water. When the boat is going fast enough, it rises above the water, and appears to fly.

The amount of water the boat must push out of the way drops to almost zero, and the wake the boat leaves behind almost disappears. The sound of waves hitting the hull go away and the ride feels smooth.

Remember that scene in "Back to the Future" when the DeLorean accelerates slowly to 88 miles per hour so it can shoot back through time in a shower of sparks? That's what it feels like as a hydrofoil approaches take-off velocity.

Updated tech

The new generation of hydrofoils bring that older technology into the modern age. They're built from light and strong carbon fibers.

And they use advanced electronics: Think of those skateboards with just one wheel. Computers help them stay balanced.

Artemis is not the only company racing to develop a commercially viable electric hydrofoil passenger ferry. In Sweden, Stockholm’s public transportation system has a hydrofoil developed by Candela, a rival company.

Companies designing these these vessels have been locked in a race to be first to market, with Artemis claiming to be first in the world to reach commercial viability.

"The Marine Division is actively exploring new, high-efficiency vessel designs and no or low-emission propulsion systems for the next generation of its fleet," King County Marine Division spokesperson Al Sanders wrote in an email.

If that happens, commuters could have the opportunity to ride on a hydrofoil using their ORCA cards.

But nothing is set in stone. Sanders said the county is also looking at diesel-powered vessels, along with many other technological options.

King and Kitsap counties are the only counties currently authorized by state law to run their own passenger-only ferry systems. A state bill that would have let other counties do the same died in the legislature this year due to funding concerns, though it will likely resurface in future sessions.

The hunger for 150-passenger boats is strong in many waterfront communities on Puget Sound, given the long timeline for replacing larger state-owned ferry boats, and given the growing nostalgia for a time when "mosquito fleets" of smaller ferries linked communities all over Puget Sound.

Private fleets

Another potential customer who rode along on Tuesday's tour was Marc Collins, CEO of the company that owns the Victoria Clipper. He said his company would like to use smaller boats to offer "shortcut" connections between more communities.

He ticked off the Artemis hydrofoil's strengths: "The wake is very small. It’s very quiet because it’s electric and it burns much less energy, so its economics is better. So it’s a real convergence of technologies that could really change the game for ferry users.”

Larger boats can bother whales due to the noise they create, and other boaters due to their large wakes, he added.

One concern he brought with him to the demonstration ride: What happens when the hydrofoil hits a log? "We've had 300 years of logging on this coast," Collins said. "So there's a lot of wood in the water."

Tyler, the co-founder of Artemis, said that for most small logs missed by the boat's high tech obstacle avoidance system, the boat just knocks them out of the way, leaving only a scratch. Were the vessel to hit a much more massive object, such as a submerged shipping container, the pin connecting the foil would break off, leaving the boat still seaworthy (though without propulsion).

State Representative Greg Nance (D-Bainbridge) said that Artemis' decision to build boats in a Seattle shipyard could make this area a hub for hydrofoil construction, creating "hundreds of great jobs while making a real difference for healthier communities and a healthier climate."