Lucietta Repower, all the secrets (and the test) of the “hi-tech” Venetian cab

Designed and built around the needs of Venetian taxi drivers, Repower’s Lucietta is an example of how electric can be used intelligently in the boating world.

9 meters long and 2.30 meters wide… so very narrow, and also very low: 2.10 meters. For once the watchword is not space, but functionality, a functionality for those in Venice, on the canals and in the lagoon, who work there every day and all day long. Lucietta has to pass under the bridges of the Serenissima, has to cross the vaporetti and especially the gondolas between the narrow rii between the city’s palaces.

Lucietta of Repower

Underlying the whole operation was a survey of Venetian taxi drivers to find out exactly what their needs were. The challenge was complex, both in terms of design and aesthetics: they had to be given the opportunity to work at their best while reinterpreting the traits of an absolutely unique traditional design. Forbidden to enter Venice without respecting its history and culture.

It is no coincidence that Repower (a Swiss energy supplier) turned to Cantiere Motonautico Serenella on the island of Murano, a leading name in the construction of traditional Venetian cabs and motorboats for more than 40 years, and Nauta Yachts, which in the world of nautical design, sail and motor, needs little introduction.

Successful operation? From an aesthetic point of view, I liked the boat: it came to elegantly combine the stylistic features of tradition but with many cues toward modernity. Even at its official presentation at the Venice Boat Show (and where else?) it won good acclaim, from the public and also (and this is the important thing) from the city’s various insiders and taxi drivers. But here everyone, of course, is free to have their say. As for functionality, however?

Lucietta’s numbers

Lucietta can carry up to 14 people, has a 200 kW full electric propulsion powered by a 180 kWh battery pack. It has a Konrad stern foot with counter-rotating propellers.

Therange figures are interesting: with a considerable top speed, it can reach 28-30 knots, about 50 km/h, working at Venetian regulation gaits (7 km/h in smaller canals, 20 km/h in main canals) it can cover an entire working day without problems:

– at 3 knots, the range is up to 39 hours at medium load, 31 at full passenger load.
– at 6 knots , 19.5 hours at medium load, and 16 hours at full load
–at 11 knots, the time, before having to recharge electrons, is 4 hours at medium load and 3.2 at full load.

Also good are the charging times, which of course, depend on the charging station referred to: they range from 1.2 hours to go from 20 to 80 percent charging with a 120 kW charging power, going from 2.2 hours for a 50 kW station to 15.4 hours in case of 7 kW charging.

In any case, in summary, it means that Lucietta has a full day’s work of autonomy and can be safely recharged in the night.

In addition to the propulsion, Lucietta‘s construction is also securely technological: fine workmanship and mahogany wood inserts carved by the shipwrights of Cantiere Serenella are echoed by a hull made of recycled carbon and composite. Also camping out are a series of finishes made from an innovative material that uses waste from the processing of glass specifically from the island of Murano (thanks to a collaboration with startup Rehub).

New, but according to tradition

Finally, two words should also be spent on the lay-out of the boat, unlike the latest generation of Venetian cabs it has in fact a second small cockpit at the stern, which obviously gives more space on board (for four seats, convertible into a sundeck). This is because electric propulsion has saved significant volumes right there.

Heresy? Philologically wrong?
No, indeed. In fact, the very first Venetian cabs (until about the first half of the 1970s) had the engine at the bow and a long shaft line, so they too could enjoy the same free area at the stern… in other words, when the future meets-really- the past.

We will soon publish, on our Youtube channel, the video with all the details and numbers of the test.

LUCIETTA – THE DATA SHEET

Length f.t.: 9.30
Width: 2.30 m
Height: 2.10 m
Displacement: 4,500 kg
People capacity: 14
Full Electric Motor: 600 V, double counter-rotating propeller
Battery capacity: 180 kWh (9 batteries of 20 kWh)
Engine power: 200 kW (~270 hp)
Design: Nauta Yachts
Construction: Serenella Motorboat Shipyard

LUCIETTA REPOWER – THE AUTONOMY