Konrad Bergström, the man behind Urban Ears and Marshal Headphones has turned his attention to the seas. He has thrown his passion for change, environmental consciousness and beautiful, practical design behind the X Shore Craft. The result is a boat that is stunning as it is silent.

The story began way back in 1996 when Konrad first dreamt up the idea for an electrically propelled boat. But both Konrad and the technology needed to realize his dream had a ways to go.

“In 1996 I trademarked X Shore globally, however, it took some time before the development began in earnest. The technique for electric propulsion wasn’t ready, and as an entrepreneur, I had some dreams to fulfil.” Konrad Bergström founder of X Shore.

Designed for Beauty and optimal efficiency

Everything about the boat has been designed for beauty, optimal efficiency and low environmental impact. They worked with Rolls Royce to develop the unique hull, shaft, propeller and rudder design. The hull acts as a hydrofoil as the speeds increase. This reduces drag and increases the efficiency of the vessel through the water.

Travel far and wide in style and silence

All this means that the X Shore craft has a top speed of 40 knots. A steady speed of 25 knots can be achieved when cruising for more than 2 hours, and a distance of 100 nautical miles can be completed when travelling at lower speeds. That’s plenty of time to enjoy the open water without the drone, fumes and mess of a diesel engine.

Smooth sailing

The beautifully designed cockpit gives the captain of this ship a full 360-degree view from an elevated position. But it is not all just looks, the control layout combined with innovative power management systems means smooth and easy sailing for all on board.

The stern is an open design known as a freeboard. It gives an entirely different perspective on the water. No longer are you hemmed in by walls. The panoramic view afforded by this design gives you the feeling of being at one with the ocean as you silently pass over it.

Craft the craft just as you need it

The open design of the craft is designed to be modular. An interior rail system means you can customize your X Craft to your personal needs, allowing different seats, sunbeds and cargo storage options to be mounted.

Becoming one with the environment

But one of the things we most admire in the craft’s design is the choice of materials. The natural leather, the solid wood deck, the bronze fitting and even the hull itself are all specifically chosen to wear and become one with the environment in which the boat is used.

“No two of our vessels will look alike. They may be subject to the same solid bronze fittings, the care and passion of our engineers and designers, but an X Shore craft is defined by experience. Coloured and affected by the different tides, each vessel is a reflection of its pilot, of a chosen course, of stories and memories.”

The future of boats ensuring the future of our oceans

We are delighted to see the application of environmentally-conscious technologies filter through to an area such as boat design. The seas have taken the brunt of humanities tendency to f=dump their shit (often literally) wherever it was out of sight. And any form of boat other than a true sailboat has always been noisy, oily smelly things. The X Craft is a small set in redressing the balance while allowing us to explore what we should be doing more to save.