With the El Iseo, the Italian luxury brand Riva presents its first fully electric runaboat. We drove the boat on its home waters at the shipyard's headquarters in Sarnico, Lake Iseo in northern Italy. Based on the familiar combustion version of the 27-foot sports boat, with which the electric model shares the hull, deck shape and interior fittings, there is initially nothing to indicate its drive technology. Only the Mercruiser Bravo 3 XR drive suggests a powerful motorisation. The designers based the colour scheme on the classic Riva range, but without copying it one-to-one. The test boat is presented in a classy blue metallic, with a white underwater hull, light-coloured leather upholstery and, how could it be otherwise, a real wood deck with polished stainless steel applications. Just Riva style.
The typical route into the cockpit
We enter the EL Iseo from the stern via the wood-covered bathing platform. As is usual with classic Rivas, the route to the cockpit leads via the well-padded sunbathing area covered in light-coloured leather. Once in the cockpit, you can either take a seat in the U-shaped seating area, which seats around six people, or at the driving position. The driver and front passenger sit on wide, firmly upholstered seats. There are grab handles here, but fellow travellers are likely to miss them on the rear seating area, especially at high speeds.
We make ourselves comfortable behind the high-quality steering wheel with the Riva emblem and are amazed at the wealth of data provided by the on-board information system on the glass cockpit. From speeds to torques, trim angles, range, power consumption, power consumption, various temperatures and water depth, the well-dimensioned flat screen provides the skipper with every conceivable piece of information. And all this in a graphically clean and visually appealing form. To the left of the engine instrumentation is a Simrad chart plotter for navigation.
The electric single-lever gearstick is located to the right of the driver and is as smooth as butter to operate. The same applies to the electric steering, whose maximum steering angle and response are adapted to the speed by the on-board computer in order to avoid overly wild manoeuvres at high speeds, but more on this later. The workmanship and the work of the boat builders can be described colloquially as "pico bello". Riva quality wherever you look.
Driving and manoeuvring with the Riva El Iseo
As is usual with high-performance electric boats, the EL Iseo has several driving modes. The familiar musical designations range from "Adagio" (slow) to "Andante" and "Allegro" (fast). In the slow Adagio mode, the speed is limited to a displacement speed of around 5 knots. This ensures safety during harbour manoeuvres and long ranges of up to 50 nm. If, like us, you want to travel faster, press "Allegro" and enjoy around 340 kW of "peak power".
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But first we take it easy. We leave the jetty at a leisurely four and a half knots, the ammeter shows 23 A, the operating voltage is 666 volts and the indicated range is just under the 50 miles mentioned above. At this speed, the boat is extremely good-natured. Weight shifts have no influence on the course, harbour manoeuvres are child's play thanks to the sterndrive, and there is no real noise development to speak of.
Electric gliding boat with a range of 24 nm
At 2000 rpm, the boat exceeds its hull speed, an unfavourable condition for any planing boat. 10 knots with a power consumption of 90 kW and 140 A current is still not enough to get the boat, which is almost fully occupied by five people, planing. 500 revolutions more, and at 16 knots we start to glide. Not perfect yet, but much more economical. Just under 20 nm could theoretically be achieved in this way. At 2800 rpm we reach 24 knots and the boat glides perfectly across the water despite the choppy sea. Splash water is deflected to the side, but unfortunately the rain and a fresh crosswind are not. The wind and waves are now clearly the dominant source of noise, with only an unobtrusive sonorous hum from the engine. The calculated journey time is now almost exactly one hour, which corresponds to a range of 24 nm. Certainly not a revelation, but more than respectable for an electric planing boat with a test weight of almost 5 tonnes.
We push the "throttle lever" further and reach 40 knots at just over 4000 rpm and thus the shipyard specification. The power display signals 314 kW - full load. The 500 amps flowing through the copper wires at this speed drain the batteries in no time at all. In plain language: after 15 to 20 minutes, the batteries would be completely empty. In practice, however, this situation is prevented by a safety circuit. The on-board computer limits the speed at low charge levels.
The driving characteristics can be described as good and safe throughout. The aforementioned electric steering, which prevents sharp cornering from the outset, plays a significant role in this. Furthermore, the hull inherited from its combustion-powered sister runs true to the track, even if it occasionally starts to bounce hard in steep, short waves. Surprisingly, the El Iseo's drivetrain does not suffer from the temperature problems that can sometimes be observed with high-speed electric boats. During the entire test procedure, the motor temperature remained below the 80-degree mark, which speaks in favour of effective liquid cooling. The same applies to the battery cells, which are also cooled. Here, too, there were no signs of excessive heating despite the high load on the test day.
The technology of the Riva El Iseo
A few words about the technology: the El Iseo is powered by an American Parker GVM 310 engine. The maximum output is given as over 340 kW, and the manufacturer writes 250 kW as the continuous load in the data sheet. The operating voltage of the permanently energised AC motor is 650 volts. The necessary power supply is provided by two lithium battery packs from the Italian manufacturer Podium-Tech with a total capacity of 150 kWh, which is very impressive for a boat of this size. They deliver 800 volts with an energy density of more than 200 Wh per kilo. These are respectable values in the boost scene. The boat and drive are certified by the Italian classification organisation RINA.
Technical data
- CE category: C/6
- Length over everything: 8,35 m
- Width: 2,50 m
- Displacement: 4,36 t
- Max. speed: 40 kn
- Motor: Parker: GVM 310
- Max. power: 340 kW
- Continuous performance: 250 kW
- Battery type: Podium-Tech, high-voltage battery Battery capacity: 150 kWh
- Price: on request
- Dealer details under: www.riva-yacht.com
Measurement results
Conclusion
The Riva El Iseo is a well-balanced overall package consisting of a tried and tested hull concept, a powerful engine and high-performance battery technology.
Packaged in the classic chic of an Italian runaboat, she is unlikely to disappoint her potential buyers. However, the final selling price of the boat had not yet been finalised at the time of going to press - let's wait and see.
Advantages of the Riva El Iseo
- + Good driving characteristics
- Effective water cooling
- High battery capacity
