Sailing with the Sun; an electrically powered getaway vessel

Pol Boat and Above unveil Pol Lux, a new Swedish-built watercraft and novel product archetype built on sustainable principles & modularity.

Pol Lux is conceived by Gustav Larsson, Naval Architect and passionate rower. Reminiscent of the smoothness, dexterity, and nimbleness of rowboats, Gustav envisioned a fossil-free seafaring solution that broke away from the current speed-focused tendencies in the market.

Together with Pol Boat, Above designed their first watercraft, Pol Lux — an easy-to-operate and family-friendly water vessel that emulates a picnic on water or the feeling that you are camping on water, regardless of the weather. Its fully electrified drivetrain is powered by the sun, boasts lightweight water and wind-resistant materials, and is weather agnostic— everything necessary to keep you gliding and connected to nature year-round.

It’s a catamaran-type boat, which means there are two streamlined hulls (not dissimilar to a canoe) that allow one to have a large deck to create a usable space, without the need for a large single hull (which is what traditional boats are). So, the amount of contact the boat makes with the water is reduced, making it glide more efficiently— minimizing drag and maximizing the efficiency of the twin electric-powered motors.

The floating deck can be curated and customized depending on the users' specific use case. Some want a camping exploration vessel, others a day lounger for cruising down the river, others want to strip the vessel back and remove all seats for loading cargo (imagine a restaurant owner in the archipelago, one trip a week to load up with groceries, for example).

So with this Above created a modular, flexible solution— easy to make custom iterations for specific customers’ demands, rather than conform to the standard boat configuration of a few front seats and a backrest that limits other potential use cases. This allowed Above and Gustav to focus on crafting flexible zones:

• Between the seats are storage zones, where waterproof duffel bags can be placed, in place of the familiar heavy fixed sealed storage solutions.
• The front lounge net can be changed out to a metal storage rack, or just a simple cork diving platform.
• The rear table can be removed entirely, An interchangeable panel allows for a modular grill, or simply a cutting board to prepare food on the go— slide it out to cook, slide it back to be a table.
• The roof can be upgraded to a double solar panel configuration (inlay solar cells constantly feed energy to the batteries, extending range), a storage zone, or a simple relax zone with an uninterrupted view.
• The asymmetrical driving position opens up the floor space and keeps the captain in a sociable position for passengers in the front & rear of the craft.
• Softly illuminated panels under the roof light up the space when the sun goes down.
• The modularity of the boat allows you to sleep on the craft.; either as a primary sleeping zone that does not disrupt the social space in the front, or combined with the seats to sleep more people bunkbed style!

A NOTE FROM GUSTAV LARSSON, FOUNDER POL BOAT

"Walking into the Above meeting with Jonas the first time, I had a hand-carved model of a boat in my backpack and a vision of what requirements the boat should fulfill. The boat should be silent, driven by solar power, energy-efficient, sustainable, and useful for many purposes (not only for transportation). Walking out of this inspiring meeting I was already equipped with the first sketches of a design and a number of key pieces of advice on how to navigate the next part of the journey. After a winter of constructing and building the first full-scale prototype and a summer full of testing and verifying functionality, the collaboration with Above continued into the next phase. With all the learning points from the prototype and further analyses of the key requirements that we wanted to achieve, the team at Above cleaned the canvas, generated millions of ideas, chose the best ones, and created Pol Lux- a boat beyond my wildest imagination."

A NOTE FROM JONAS SAMRELIUS, DESIGN DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER OF ABOVE

Working with Gustav and discussing the potential of what we could do with this fresh idea of his, we quickly found a mutual aspiration to create something completely new and iconic. With the sustainable architecture and specifications, I wanted to help him create a brand and product design that positioned Pol Lux far off the beaten path of the conventional boating industry. A position that looked for inspiration from adjacent industries such as sports gear, outdoor equipment, and furniture. Pol Lux addresses the needs of a new generation of boat owners that love to explore the great outdoors. Heading out over the weekend with full batteries, they have prioritized the silence and the journey itself over high speed, pleased about leaving no trails behind. It’s been great working with Gustav, he's a great listener and a brave entrepreneur. I am grateful for the trust he has put in us.

STATS OF POL LUX:

• Length 7.80 m.
• Width 2.50 m.
• Top speed 12 knots (4 knots solely on solar)
• Price: TBC
• People: Space on board for up to 8 people and plenty of free walking space.

IMPORTANT DATES:

• Pre-orders from 1st of February 2022
• Test ride from 1st of May 2022
• First deliveries from 1st of June 2022