IT IS SAID THAT we are a divided people, but on many issues of the day there is broad agreement. In the case of personal watercraft—also known as jet-skis or even, in Britain, water scooters—public opinion cleaves between the tiny minority who at any instant might be riding them (soaking wet, grinning like lunatics) and virtually everybody else, who hate them.
Perhaps the only recreational vehicles more polarizing than PWCs are snowmobiles, the sounds and smells of which carry far into the backcountry. And when they move in herds, as they often do, their whining can echo from one side of Lake Tahoe to the other. Ask me how I know.
So if there is ever a Nobel Prize for recreational powersports, I nominate the founders of
Taiga,
a Montreal EV startup making both battery-powered snowmobiles and, as of July, the world’s first series-production electric PWC, the Orca.
“We saw electrification making a huge difference in powersports,” said Taiga co-founder and CEO
Samuel Bruneau
who, with McGill University classmates
Gabriel Bernatchez
(now vice president and CTO) and
Paul Achard
(VP and chief of engineering), founded the company in 2015. “We set out to develop a shared electric platform for both the off-road powersport [snowmobile] and watercraft applications, which have similar duty cycles and performance demands.”
Remarkably, Mr. Bruneau shared this information while we were riding about 10 feet apart, he on his Orca Sport ($17,490) and I riding a new Orca Carbon ($26,500, as tested), plashing across the no-wake zone of Burlington, Vermont’s city marina, on the shore of Lake Champlain. I assure you this reporter looks magnificent in swim trunks.
“We could never talk like this on gas-powered machines,” Mr. Bruneau observed.
The extent to which PWCs are despised is easily measured by the number of places where they are banned. In 2002, PWC were banned from all U.S. national parks and recreation areas.
“The technology addresses the two biggest reasons PWCs are not welcome,” Mr. Bruneau said. “The noise and pollution.”
SOUND REASONS “The technology addresses the two biggest reasons PWCs are not welcome,” said Taiga CEO Samuel Bruneau. “The noise and pollution.” The company says that at full throttle the Orca is up to 20 times quieter than a comparable IC-powered PWC. An all-electric craft, the Orca doesn’t put hydrocarbons into the water.
Photo:
Taiga Motors
Let’s just address the Canadian stereotypes in the room that happen to be on-point. Mr. Bruneau is super-nice, committed to positive change and untroubled by executive pretension. He picked me up at the hotel and drove me to the marina. He donned a life vest and boarded one of the several machines waiting at the dock, for what must have been his umpteenth sortie with a wide-eyed newbie. He averted his gaze when I began fishtailing wildly at about 2 mph.
“They become more stable with speed,” he offered. Yeah, yeah, I got it….
Andah…snowmobiles, eh? This is actually the second time I have met Mr. Bruneau, as well as my second encounter with Taiga’s technology. In March, at nearby Stowe, I terrified myself aboard the company’s Nomad electric snowmobile. That machine features an LCD info display of the same design and graphics as the Orca’s.
The snow machines come in sport, crossover and utility models. Similarly, the Orca Sport is the base model (90 hp), followed by Performance (160 hp) and Carbon, which has the higher output as well as a lighter, carbon-composite hull instead of fiberglass. Computer modeling of the hull’s hydrodynamics, undertaken by the small company itself, required almost a full year, Mr. Bruneau said.
Running lengthwise in the hull’s V is 24 kWh’s worth of lithium batteries, with integrated temperature control and battery-management system, which is hardware shared with the snow machines. These energize the AC motor, which drives the jet-drive impeller and thrust-vectoring nozzle.
The EV-ification of the type offers a number of obvious upsides, starting with reduced noise: on the order of 72 db, if tested according to a typical automobile drive-by standard, said Mr. Bruneau. Conventional PWCs’ noise levels can exceed 90 dB, which is howling-motorcycle territory. Moreover, IC-powered jet-skies vent their exhaust gasses into the rushing water, using it to muffle engine noise. But when the drive units come out of the water—like when I’m throwing my illest tricks—the intermittently unmuffled exhaust wails like a siren across the water. According to my lifelong survey of everybody I’ve ever met, people hate that.
Also, because the Orca is electric, it can silently station-keep in the water. IC-powered PWC’s typically use thrust against an underwater reverser (“bucket”) to stay in place, which means the engine must be kept running. And with no engine or exhaust the Orca emits no hydrocarbons into the water. The Orca’s officially guesstimated range between charges is 28 miles. Those who say that’s not enough range have to ride a PWC 28 miles first.
“The Orca emits no hydrocarbons into the water. ”
As we drew level with the breakwater markers, Mr. Bruneau directed me to toggle the rubbery Mode switch on the handlebars from Range to Sport, cueing up the machine’s more aggressive throttle and battery-management maps. One similarity between the Orca and an EV is the all-at-once, better-be-ready throttle response. I lightheartedly challenged Mr. Bruneau to a drag race across open water, bearing on a small island a mile or so out. Three, two, one… I clenched the squeeze controller, among other things.
Bhurrrgggg. With the muted grumble of cavitating water the Orca surged like a spooked horse. Whoa! In an instant it had fetched up on a plane and we were going like… oh, you know, heck. None of that strong language, young man. Top speed is listed at 62 mph, so I guess that’s how fast we were going. The lack of noise made it hard to judge.
Because the center of gravity is low, the Orca has an unusually determined self-righting quality that makes it very difficult to roll, even if you yank it around and momentarily lose control. This thing feels like it has a keel.
After a few minutes I felt brave enough to jump some boat wakes at wide-open throttle—pretty lamely, I’m sure, although I felt like I was ready for Cypress Gardens. Mr. Bruneau gave me a warm smile and a pitying thumbs-up.
No sir. I salute you.
2022 Taiga Orca Carbon Personal Watercraft
WET AND WILD The base price for the Orca Sport (with a plastic hull and 67 kW motor) is $17,490. The top-of-the-line Orca Carbon, seen here ($26,500, as tested) features a lighter, stronger hull of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic and more power (120 kW, or 160 hp). Top speed is 62 mph, and maximum range is 28 miles.
Photo:
Taiga Motors
Base price: $17,490
Price, as tested: $26,500
Power and drive unit: All electric, 120-kW internal magnet synchronous motor, 24-kWh lithium-ion battery pack; 6.6 kW onboard charger; tunnel jet drive with reverse and trim adjustment
Power: 120 kW (160 hp)
Length/width/height: 9.5/3.8/3.4 feet
Weight: 739 pounds
Top speed: 62 mph
Maximum estimated range: 28 miles
Approximate recharge time: 14 hours (Level 1); 1.5 hours (Level 2, to 80%)
Corrections & Amplifications
The length, width and height of the 2022 Taiga Orca Carbon personal watercraft are 9.5 feet, 3.8 feet and 3.4 feet. A previous version of this article said they were 3.5, 3 and 3.8 feet. (Corrected on Aug. 1)
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