"In many ways, Qlixbi is a significant step forward in welding"
04/04/2022
Santos Boats: sustainable recreational sailing in style
For now, they’re still in a modest shed at the Regimentsdok in Nieuwegein, but given the ambitions of Santos Boats and the market interest, it seems likely that the company will eventually have to look for a much bigger location...
In the summer of 2021, Santos Boats’ Nathan Gutz — he’s responsible for the commercial side — got together with Dorus Groen. At that time Dorus had just graduated as a mechanical engineer. During his studies, he had designed an elegant ship’s tender, which in some respects — especially at the bow — was reminiscent of Riva but also has traits of Wally’s austere design language. Later it was decided that the Santos One tender, initially meant to be made from plastic, would be built in aluminium after all.
"If we’d built the boat in plastic, it would have been impossible to make changes later. But you can do that with aluminium," says Dorus. "And the ecological footprint of end-of-life plastic boats is significant, while aluminium can be fully recycled."
Boat on a spit
The Santos One was originally going to be built by a shipyard, but the quality was not quite to the founders' liking. "This kind of boat is built from the ground up, so not all the welds are easily accessible. There’s also too much play in the aluminum plates and trusses, which makes the boat less sleek tight," he adds. “And so we decided to build the boat ourselves, using a custom-built hull ‘rotisserie’.”
"We work with a rigid rotisserie in which the boat is suspended. In this way, the tolerances between the trusses can be limited to the absolute minimum. The boat can also be rotated easily, making assembly and welding easier."
360 km electric range
The Santos One has an inboard electric drive, developed in-house. A very conscious choice that immediately distinguishes the boat from similar tenders, which are usually equipped with outboard motors. "From 2025, every boat passing through the inner city of Amsterdam must have an electric drive," Nathan clarifies. "In the Biesbosch nature reserve, too, boats with combustion engines will eventually be banned. In any case, sustainable recreational sailing is becoming increasingly important, and the state of technological is now such that we can offer a considerable sailing range."
The Santos One will be equipped with in-house developed battery packs, with up to six fitted below deck. Altogether, the six packs deliver 48 kWh, which is considerably more than similar boats from other manufacturers, which usually do not exceed 7 kWh.
"One battery allows ten hours of sailing at a speed of about 6 km/h. So, when all the batteries are charged up, you could sail for up to 60 hours at that speed. The sailing range would then be about 360 km. At 12 km/h the sailing range is still 210 km," Nathan adds.
Vehicle-to-grid
"Those six battery packs seem a bit like overkill, but the buyer can also choose to have fewer packs installed in their boat. On the other hand, the battery system can double as a home battery. If the customer has solar panels, the batteries can also be used as a supply of green energy."
Light and easy to steer
"Because it’s made of aluminium, the Santos One is light, making it economical with electrical energy, maintenance-free, and rust-proof. It can be left in the water during the winter season," Nathan adds.
"The boat is easy to steer and its handy length (5.70 m) makes it easy to manoeuvre, which also makes it suitable for beginners. It can also be transported on a trailer and fits into a standard garage. And of course the Santos One is very durable thanks to its electric drive. By the way, we’ve made sure that our boat doesn’t cost more than a comparable tender with a combustion engine. With all this, we can appeal to a broad target group."
Santos Boats will soon be completing its first boat, but the order book is filling up faster than expected. "The next boats we're going to build will be largely identical to the Santos One, although the customer will be able to adjust certain things," he says. "Because it’s an in-house design, we can walk through the 3D model with the customer at our workstation and implement any modifications in real time. For example, we’re having conversations with customers who want to use our tenders in the rental market, which in turn brings with it some special requirements."
Welding with Qlixbi
Santos Boats is constantly looking for innovative technical solutions that can improve or simplify operations, so it’s no surprise that the advanced Qlixbi gas cylinder caught their eye.
"Qlixbi is a significant step forward when it comes to welding, and in more ways than one", says Dorus. "For starters, Qlixbi fills the gap between the smaller ALbee cylinders and traditional gas cylinders, which are much bigger and heavier. The form factor of the Qlixbi is exactly what we need."
User-friendly and safe
"But the real added value is in how user-friendly the Qlixbi system is. I sometimes used to forget to shut down the gas cylinder in the evening. That could easily cost half a bottle of gas per night. But because of the Qlixbi's large and clear on/off lever this doesn’t happen now. And while in the past I sometimes ran out of gas midway through a welding session, the reserve indicator on the Qlixbi means I can finish my session before the cylinder is completely empty."
"Another handy feature is that the regulator valve stays on the connector. You don’t need to screw the valve on or use a spanner anymore. The connector is also well protected if the cylinder falls over. That makes things just that little bit easier and safer.”
"We’ve also noticed that the connector moves 360° on its axis. In our current setup, this isn’t a big plus, but it will be when we start working in a larger space. This also applies to the Qlixbi portal. For now, its added value is limited, but that will change if we want to build several boats at the same time. The Stock Alert function is particularly useful because it sends you an e-mail notification that your last gas cylinder is almost empty."
"We like working with such professional and innovative solutions and it also fits well with our image and our identity. The fact is: when people come to visit us, they always say that they’ve never seen such an advanced system as Qlixbi."
Would you like to receive more information? Do not hesitate to contact our experts by e-mail (dennis.musters@airliquide.com) or by phone (+31 6 83226429).