The ESEA F800 has been named Electric Boat of the Year 2026 in the Netherlands following jury sea trials ahead of HISWA te Water. The award puts an 8.0-metre purpose-designed electric day boat under closer scrutiny, and its technical specification shows why the model is more interesting than a conventional hull that has simply exchanged an internal-combustion engine for a battery and motor.
Built around a 20kW electric pod
ESEA specifies a steerable 20kW ePropulsion pod drive powered by a 96V, 23kWh G230 battery. The standard single-battery installation can be doubled with an optional second pack, giving the boat 46kWh of installed battery capacity while retaining the same propulsion architecture.
The F800 is rated for a maximum speed of 12 knots and an economical cruising speed of 5 knots. The builder gives a fitted weight of 1,550kg, a beam of 2.638 metres, a 0.6-metre draft and capacity for up to 10 passengers under CE Category C.
Range figures are tied to actual speed
Rather than publishing a single headline range without context, ESEA provides speed-based figures from testing with two passengers. At a 5-knot economical cruise drawing about 2kW, the company states 57 nautical miles on one battery and 109 nautical miles with the optional dual-battery setup.
Those are manufacturer-tested figures rather than independent certification, and real range will change with payload, weather, water conditions, battery age and auxiliary loads. The important point for buyers is that electric-boat range varies dramatically with speed, so a useful comparison needs to state the speed and battery configuration alongside the distance.
Electric propulsion shapes the boat itself
The F800 was designed around electric propulsion from the outset. Michael Leach Yacht Design handled the exterior design, Thorne Yacht Design the naval architecture, and Vaxholm Komposit in Sweden builds the composite boat. The deck uses a flush layout with hidden hardware and a flexible seating arrangement rather than packaging the boat around a large engine compartment.
A digital helm displays battery, range and navigation information, while the ESEA app adds remote battery monitoring, location tracking, security alerts and control of selected onboard functions. Those connected systems are particularly relevant on an electric boat because energy state is part of normal passage planning rather than an occasional fuel-gauge check.
The award follows on-water jury evaluation
The Dutch Electric Boat of the Year jury evaluated the F800 on the water before the award was announced on 1 September in Lelystad. ESEA says the judges highlighted handling, quiet operation, design and the way the drivetrain maintains low noise even as speed rises.
For Leisure Boat Guide, the more useful takeaway is that the F800 provides a concrete benchmark for current small electric day boats: 8 metres, 20kW propulsion, 23kWh standard storage and double-digit top speed. Those figures make it easier to compare emerging electric craft on engineering and usable range rather than sustainability claims alone.