electric sailing yacht

Yachting Monthly

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Electric yacht: What are the options for going electric?

• Will Bruton
• July 17, 2020

The options for having an electric yacht or a hybrid-electric yacht are growing in popularity; we outline the current options for those making the switch

The Arcona 380Z is a standard production yacht that has been adapted for electric propulsion. Note the increased solar panel surface area with soft panels bonded to the sails. Credit: Jukka Pakainen

A modern electric yacht can come in all shapes and sizes, from the latest high-tech speed boats with recently developed high-performance electric engines, to a traditional tender with an electric outboard on the back. Increasingly yachts are going electric too as electric engines become increasingly capable of propelling boats weighing several tonnes, and with the rigging for sails, at a reasonable speed for an acceptable length of time. 

Since the invention of the marinised engine , there has never been the capacity to store enough fuel to cover significant distances in boats that are smaller than a tanker, with fuel capacity always being the limiting factor. As such the best way to cover long distances on a boat fit for a small number of passengers was, and remains, wind power. 

For all the many green attributes that using the power of wind offers, there is no escaping that for most, fossil fuels still represent some part of sailing – whether that be a diesel engine to motor in light winds, onto and off a mooring , or to generate power for onboard electronic systems. Even a small tender used to go from ship-to-shore is often fitted with an outboard motor.

Recent advances in electric power, however, have started to make electric propulsion a reasonable alternative to fossil fuel power. Range will always be an issue but that has long been true of a traditional diesel engine. Improvements in lithuim-ion battery performance is, and likely will continue to, increase range every year. 

Spirit Yachts 44e – the ‘e’ stands for electric

Additionally electric power and batteries offer the bonus of being able to be recharged via solar panels , a wind turbine or hydroelectric power – via a hydrogenerator mounted on the stern of a boat sailing. 

At first glance the electric yacht market could appear in its infancy, but like every revolution, the will of the people is driving forward technology that only a few years ago was seen as the stuff of fantasy.

The market has responded to demand, and battery and motor technology has come on leaps and bounds, driven in part by the rapid development of electric cars.

It may not be commonplace yet, but electric yachting is here, even available ‘off the shelf’, so is it time to get onboard?

The Spirit 111 is a bold hybrid yacht, promising 30 miles motoring under electric power alone. Credit: Ian Roman/Waterline Media

A cutting edge electric yacht

Like Formula One, it’s the cutting edge of electric yachting that trickles down into mainstream production in no time at all.

For Spirit Yachts, a builder defined by a unique blend of traditional and state-of-the-art, electric yachting has been driven by demanding clients that want their yachts to be at the cutting edge.

Spirit Yachts have now produced a number of projects aimed at the all electric luxury yacht market including the Spirit 44e electric yacht and a recent project, the Spirit 111, had all the hallmarks of a superyacht project and the team had to earn their keep delivering to brief.

Managing Director Nigel Stuart explained how it works.

‘The 111 combines several cutting-edge technologies to deliver a something that’s never really been done before. A lithium-ion powered electric drive system can be charged by hydrogenation and also two high-wattage diesel generators.

‘Each generator is 22kw, meaning they can pack a lot of power into the system in a short period of time, they don’t need to run for long to fully recharge.

‘The prop is both a means of drive and power generation, so no separate hydrogenerator is needed. She will be capable of motoring under electric alone for more than 30 miles.

‘When you take on a project that’s electric, it makes you think hard about efficiency so the air conditioning, water heaters and everything in the galley has also been carefully selected to use less power.

‘For her owner there is very little compromise and some major advantages.’

Whilst it’s a long way from the average cruising yacht, the trickle-down effect of projects like the Spirit 111 can’t be underestimated.

Calypso , a Contessa 32, was the yard’s first foray into electric-powered yachts. Credit: Jeremy Rogers

Traditional electric yacht

Jeremy Rogers’ yard in Lymington is the birthplace of the iconic Contessa designs and a veritable temple to long keeled , traditional craft.

Less well known is the yard’s interest in electric auxiliary engines, something they have been involved in for more than 10 years.

Their first project, the refit of a Contessa 32 called Calypso, was an experiment by the Rogers family to see what was possible.

‘ Calypso was a test bed in the technology’s infancy,’ explains Kit Rogers of this early electric boat.

‘Inevitably, we didn’t get it all right, but we learned a lot about the dos and don’ts of electric yachting. The end result was a hybrid. The more we did, the more interesting the project became.

‘It’s not just the obvious, silent peaceful propulsion; it’s also the things you take for granted about a cruising boat. For example, no gas, we didn’t need it because we had electric power.

The yard has also worked on an electric folkboat conversion for a foreign customer.

‘The client, first and foremost, loves to sail. He sees the electric as an auxiliary option, along with the rowing and is excited to own a boat that’s quietly different.

‘He’s looking for a more connected experience and an electric boat helps him achieve it. When you’ve been motoring in and out of marinas under chugging diesel engines for years, the electric motor is something of a revelation.

Arcona has installed solar sails on its latest 380Z electric yacht

Off-the-shelf electric yacht

Perhaps the biggest indication of the future of the electric boat is the willingness of production and semi-production builders to pin their flags to the mast and embrace it.

One of the first was Hanse, who developed a version of their 315 utilising a Torquedo electric pod system.

Providing around the same amount of power as a 10 horsepower diesel, a 4.4kWh lithium ion battery pack powers the system.

Arcona, Dufour, Elan and Delphia also have electric boat models and are each taking their own direction on entering the market.

Arcona’s 380Z (the ‘Z’ stands for ‘zero emission’) fully electric boat has solar panel covered sails, capitalising on the large surface area to top up batteries under sail.

In the multihull market, there is even more scope for solar, wind and hydrogenation due to the horizontal surface area available for solar charging.

What are the options for an electric yacht?

Pure electric.

Purely electric systems can be broadly divided into two categories, high and low voltage.

The latter is the simplest option in terms of how it works and requires less specialist knowledge to install.

Kit Rogers installed a 48v Ocean Volt system in his latest project and remarked on the experience.

‘The advantage of the low voltage system is its inherent lack of complexity. Whilst we’ve coupled it with lithium ion battery technology, it can also be wired up to conventional lead acid batteries. There are pros and cons to both. What surprises everyone is the size, it’s a tiny motor and is surrounded by lots of space where the engine would normally sit.’

High voltage systems are more advanced, and utilising lithium-ion technology, their capacity is improving year on year.

For larger yachts this is generally seen as a better option.

A partnership between BMW and Torqueedo has led to the development of the Deep Blue 315v high voltage battery.

Effectively the same unit as found in the BMWi3 electric cars now often seen on the high street, the system produces a lot of power and is being used on the Spirit 111 project as well as catamarans.

Electric hybrid

One big barrier to entry exists for most potential electric yacht buyers – range.

Even the most advanced set-ups are limited to a maximum of a few hours motoring at cruising speed.

‘The electric motors excel at two things in particular,’ explained Kit Rogers.

‘The first is as auxiliary power for getting in and out of marinas. The second is engaged at low power to very efficiently motor-sail in light airs. If you want to do more than that, at present, you need to add a way of packing in the charge into the battery quickly whilst at sea; which means a generator’ .

As with electric cars and as enthusiasm builds for the technology, a hybrid option, pairing a generator with an electric drive system, is already proving popular and is probably the most practical option for those planning to cruise any distance.

Using a large generator, charge can be quickly put into the system when needed.

Once under sail, the yacht’s propeller becomes a hydro generator, meaning that diesel power is not needed day-to-day.

Solar can also be used to add additional charging capacity.

‘When a fully integrated electric hybrid system is incorporated into a cruising yacht from the outset, its possibilities really become clear,’ explains John Arnold, UK manager at Torqeedo.

‘Sailing for days on end with no engine noise is entirely possible. There are other less obvious benefits too. Electric drives have no long rotating shaft, so can be used as pod drives as well, meaning the boat is far more manoeuvrable than even a yacht equipped with bow and stern thrusters.’

Spirit Yachts 44e

How much does it cost to convert a yacht to electric power?

The technology exists, but anyone seriously considering going electric will want to crunch the numbers.

In the case of taking out a traditional inboard diesel and replacing it with an electric system, it’s relatively easy to work this out.

However, unless you include an auxiliary generator, you will be limited to battery range alone.

For this reason, we’ve done a like for like comparison for a 35ft yacht engine refit, including the cost of a generator to make the system a practical hybrid.

Unsurprisingly, at the moment, there’s a big difference in cost, but at between three to six times the cost, it is gradually coming into the realms of possibility, and prices should continue to drop as technology develops and evolves.

Ocean Volt SD10 Motor system (including batteries, charger and 6kw generator): £30,825.16

Beta Marine Beta 20hp Marine Diesel: £4,100

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The Promises and Pitfalls of an All-Electric Yacht

• By Tim Murphy
• Updated: November 8, 2021

This past October, I saw one of the most interesting exhibits in more than 500 new cruising sailboats I’ve reviewed over two decades. It was the Arcona 435Z, built in Sweden and introduced by Graham Balch of Green Yachts in San Francisco. Balch describes his business as “a new brokerage dedicated to the electric revolution on the water,” and it was the “Z” in the boat’s name, which stands for “zero emissions,” that made this boat so interesting. This was the first electric propulsion system—not hybrid but all-electric —I’d ever seen on a cruising sailboat.

Electric propulsion isn’t new. Since 1879, electric motors have propelled boats; a fleet of some four-dozen electric launches transported visitors around the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago. But cruising sailboats are not launches, and the open sea is not a protected canal. When we’re using cruising boats as they’re meant to be used, they seldom end their day plugged into a shore-power outlet. Cruising boats comprise many devices —stove, refrigerator, freezer, windlass, winches, autopilot, radar, lights—whose power typically comes from a tank of fossil fuel. And today’s cruising sailors are accustomed to using diesel auxiliary power to motor through lulls or punch into headwinds and seas.

Starting about 15 years ago, we saw a wave of diesel-electric and hybrid propulsion systems on production and custom cruising boats ( see “Perpetuated Motion,” CW , March 2005 ). Both of those systems ultimately start with an onboard internal-combustion engine. A diesel-electric propulsion system relies on a running genset to directly power the electric motor that turns the propeller. A hybrid system relies on batteries to power the electric motor, plus an internal-combustion genset to recharge the batteries. One of the promises of a hybrid system is the ability to regenerate electrical power. Regeneration means using boatspeed under sail to turn the propeller, whose spinning shaft sends electrons from the electric motor back through an electronic controller to recharge the batteries. In such a system, the boat’s propeller is both an electrical load (when running under power) and a charging source (when sailing in regeneration mode).

The Arcona 435Z was different from both of these systems: It incorporates no onboard fossil-fuel engine at all. Instead, it has a bank of lithium batteries, several solar panels, and a proprietary propulsion leg that looks like a saildrive. “This boat,” Balch said, “has the very first production unit in the world of Oceanvolt’s newest electric propulsion system, called the ServoProp.”

For our sea trial, Balch was joined by Derek Rupe, CEO of Oceanvolt USA. “If you can sail the boat and you have some solar, you can go anywhere in the world, and you can make all your power underway while you go,” Rupe said. When we spoke in October 2020, he touted three high-profile sailors who were using the Oceanvolt electric propulsion system: Alex Thomson, for his Hugo Boss Open 60 Vendée Globe program; Jimmy Cornell, for his Elcano 500 expedition; and Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu, who had been teasing their new boat for months on their popular Sailing La Vagabonde YouTube channel.

The efficiency of Oceanvolt’s ServoProp and the regeneration from it is the promised game-changer in each of these boats. The ServoProp is a leg with a ­feathering propeller that can be set for optimal pitch in three modes: forward, reverse and regeneration.

“You don’t need fuel,” Rupe said. “You don’t need to dock; you can go anywhere you want to go and always have the power for living and propulsion.”

That’s the promise. But are there also pitfalls?

Innovation and Risk

Marine electric propulsion is an emerging technology. Compared with the mature and settled technology of diesel engines and lead-acid batteries, electric-propulsion systems—with their electronic controllers and lithium batteries—are in a stage of development best described as adolescent. Every sailor has his or her own tolerance for technical innovation. For the promise of fewer ­seconds per mile, grand-prix-racing sailors willingly trade a high risk of expensive damage to the sails, rig or the boat’s structure itself; cruising sailors, by contrast, tend to favor yearslong reliability in their equipment as they seek miles per day.

Folks who identify as early adopters take special joy in the first-wave discoveries of a new technology; if they’re clear-eyed about supporting an ongoing experiment, they see themselves as partners with the developers, accepting failures as opportunities for learning. Sailors motivated primarily by changing the trajectory of climate change might be especially willing to modify their behavior to limit their own output of greenhouse gases. Investing in any emerging technology asks you to start with a clear assessment of your own risk tolerance. We’ll return to this theme with one or two real-life examples.

The American Boat and Yacht Council, founded in 1954, sets recommended standards for systems installed on recreational boats. For decades, ABYC has published standards related to installations of diesel and gasoline engines, as well as electrical systems based around lead-acid batteries. By contrast, it was only three years ago that ABYC came out with its first electric-propulsion standard (revised July 2021). And only last year it published its first technical-information report on lithium batteries (a technical-information report is an early step toward a future standard). The takeaway is that if you need help servicing your diesel engine or electrical system built around lead-acid batteries, you can pull into any reasonable-size port and find competent technicians to help you. With electric propulsion and lithium batteries, that pool of skilled talent is significantly scarcer.

To say that a technology is mature simply means that we’ve learned to live with it, warts and all, but that it holds few remaining surprises. Certainly, diesel-propulsion and lead-acid-battery technologies each leave plenty of room for improvement. When a charge of fuel ignites in the combustion ­chamber of a diesel engine, some three-quarters of the energy is lost in heat and the mechanical inefficiencies of converting reciprocating motion to rotation. Lead-acid batteries become damaged if we routinely discharge more than half of their capacity. During charging, they’re slow to take the electrons we could deliver.

Lithium batteries are comparatively full of promise. Their power density is far greater than that of lead-acid batteries, meaning they’re much lighter for a given capacity. They’re capable of being deeply discharged, which means you can use far more of the bank’s capacity, not merely the first half. And they accept a charge much more quickly; compare that to several hours a day running an engine to keep the beers iced down.

But the pitfalls? Let’s start with ABYC TE-13, Lithium Ion Batteries. Some of its language is bracing. “Lithium ion batteries are unlike lead-acid batteries in two important respects,” the report says. “1) The electrolyte within most lithium ion batteries is flammable. 2) Under certain fault conditions, lithium ion batteries can enter a condition known as thermal runaway, which results in rapid internal heating. Once initiated, it is a self-perpetuating and exothermic reaction that can be difficult to halt.”

Thermal runaway? Difficult to halt? Self-perpetuating?

“Typically, the best approach is to remove heat as fast as possible, which is most effectively done by flooding the battery with water,” TE-13 continues, “although this may have serious consequences for the boat’s electrical systems, machinery, buoyancy, etc.”

If you were following the news in January 2013, you might remember the ­story of Japan Airlines Flight 008. Shortly after landing at Boston’s Logan Airport, a mechanic opened the aft ­electronic equipment bay of the Boeing 787-8 to find smoke and flames billowing from the auxiliary-power unit. The fire extinguisher he used didn’t put out the flames. Eventually Boston firefighters put out the fire with Halotron, but when removing the still-hissing batteries from the plane, one of the ­firefighters was burned through his ­professional protective gear.

Samsung Galaxy cellphones, MacBook Pro laptops, powered skateboards—in the past decade, these and other devices have been recalled after their lithium batteries burned up. In that period, several high-end custom boats were declared a total loss following failures from lithium batteries. In March 2021, a 78-foot Norwegian hybrid-powered tour boat, built in 2019 with a 790 kW capacity battery bank, experienced thermal runaway that kept firefighters on watch for several days after the crew safely abandoned the ship.

Yes, experts are learning a lot about how to mitigate the risks around lithium batteries. But we’re still on the learning curve.

ABYC’s TE-13 “System Design” section starts, “All lithium-ion battery ­systems should have a battery ­management system (BMS) installed to prevent damage to the battery and provide for battery shutoff if potentially dangerous conditions exist.” It defines a bank’s “safe operating envelope” according to such parameters as high- and low-voltage limits, charging and discharging temperature limits, and charging and ­discharging current limits.

Graham Balch takes these safety recommendations a step further: “To our knowledge, the BMS has to monitor at the cell level. With most batteries, the BMS monitors at the module level.” The difference? “Let’s say you have 24 cells inside the battery module, and three of them stop working. Well, the other 21 have to work harder to compensate for those three. And that’s where thermal events occur.”

Balch followed the story of the Norwegian tour boat this past spring. He believes that the battery installation in that case didn’t meet waterproofing standards: “The hypothesis is that due to water intrusion, there was reverse polarity in one or more of the cells, which is worse than cells simply not working. It means that they’re actively working against the other cells. But if the BMS is monitoring only at the module level, you wouldn’t know it.”

On the Green Yachts website, Graham lists five battery manufacturers whose BMS regimes monitor at the cell level. “If I were sailing on an electric boat, whether it be commercial or recreational, I would feel comfortable with having batteries from these five companies and no other,” he said.

The broader takeaway for today’s sailors is that lithium batteries bring their own sets of problems and solutions, which are different from those of conventional propulsion and power-supply technologies. A reasonably skilled sailor could be expected to change fuel filters or bleed a diesel engine if it shuts down in rough conditions. With lithium-ion batteries aboard, an operator needs to understand the causes and remedies of thermal runaway, and be ready to respond if the BMS shuts down the boat’s power.

Real-World Electric Cruising Boats

When we met Oceanvolt’s Derek Rupe a year ago, he and his wife had taken their all-electric boat to the Bahamas and back the previous season. Before that, he’d been installing electric-propulsion packages for six years on new Alerion 41s and other refit projects. “My real passion is on the technical side of things—installations, really getting that right. That’s half the picture. The technology is there, but it needs to be installed correctly.”

When talking to Rupe, I immediately encountered my first learning curve. I posed questions about the Oceanvolt system in amps and amp-hours; he responded in watts and kilowatt-hours. This was yet another example of the different mindset sailors of electric boats need to hold. Why? Because most cruising boats have just one or two electrical systems: DC and AC. The AC system might operate at 110 or 220 volts; the DC side might operate at 12 or 24 volts. On your own boat, that voltage is a given. From there we tend to think in terms of amps needed to power a load, and amp-hours of capacity in our battery banks. Going back to basics, the power formula tells us that power (watts) equals electrical potential (volts) times current (amps). If your boat’s electrical system is 12 volts and you know that your windlass is rated at 400 watts, it follows that the windlass is rated to draw 33 amps.

But an all-electric boat might comprise several systems at different voltages. A single battery bank might supply cabin lights at 12 volts DC; winches and windlasses at 24 volts DC; the propulsion motor at 48 volts DC; and an induction stove, microwave and television at 110 volts AC. A DC-to-DC power converter steps the voltage up or down, and an inverter changes DC to AC. Instead of translating through all those systems, the Oceanvolt monitor (and Derek Rupe) simply reports in watts coming in or going out of the bank.

“We keep all our thoughts in watts,” Rupe said. “Watts count in the AC induction. They count in the DC-to-DC converter. They count the solar in. They count the hydrogeneration in. And the ­power-management systems tracks it that way for shore-power in.

“On a boat like this, maybe I have 500 watts coming in the solar panels,” he continued. “So then I can think: ‘Well, my fridge is using 90 watts. My boat has an electric stove. When I cook a big meal, I can see that for every hour we cook, we lose about 10 to 12 minutes of our cruising range.’”

During his Bahamas cruising season, Rupe observed that on days that they were sailing, the combination of solar panels and hydroregeneration supplied all the power he and his wife needed. “When we weren’t sailing,” he said, “we found that we were losing 8 percent each day, in the difference from what the sun gave us to what we were using for the fridge, lights, charging our laptops, and all that stuff.”

Rupe’s solution? “Twice in Eleuthera and once outside Major’s, we went out and sailed laps for a couple of hours because the batteries were below 30 percent of capacity. It was good sailing, and the wind was coming over the shore, so we didn’t have any sea state. We did a couple of hot laps on nice beam reaches, and generated about 700 watts an hour.”

Of the three sailors Rupe touted in October 2020—Alex Thomson, Jimmy Cornell and the Sailing La Vagabonde couple—only Cornell can report back on his all-electric experiences with Oceanvolt. Alex Thomson ended his circumnavigation abruptly last November, just 20 days after the Vendée Globe start, when Hugo Boss collided with an object in the South Atlantic. And at press time in early fall 2021, Riley and Elayna had just recently announced the build of their new Rapido trimaran; keep an eye on their YouTube channel for more about their experiences with the Oceanvolt propulsion system.

As for Cornell—circumnavigator, World Cruising Routes author, creator of the transoceanic rally, and veteran of some 200,000 ocean miles—he suspended his planned Elcano 500 round-the-world expedition solely because of the Oceanvolt system in his new Outremer catamaran. His Aventura Zero Logs on the Cornell Sailing website, particularly the Electric Shock article posted on December 2, 2020, are essential reading for any sailor interested in sailing an electric boat. “Sailing around the world on an electric boat with zero emissions along the route of the first circumnavigation was such a tempting opportunity to do something meaningful and in tune with our concern for protecting the environment that my family agreed I should do it,” Cornell wrote. “What this passage has shown was that in spite of all our efforts to save energy, we were unable to regenerate sufficient electricity to cover consumption and top up the batteries.”

Cornell’s experience in that article is raw, and his tone in that moment bitterly disappointed. We recommend it as essential reading—not as a final rejection of the electric-boat concept or of Oceanvolt’s system, or even as an endorsement of Cornell’s own decision that the system didn’t work. I suspect that I may have arrived at the same conclusion. Yet given the same boat in the same conditions, one imagines that a new breed of sailor—a Graham Balch or a Derek Rupe—may have responded differently to the constraints imposed by an all-electric boat, as nearly every cruising sailor today habitually responds to the inconvenient constraints of diesel engines and lead-acid batteries.

“If you bring electric winches, electric heads and an induction stove, and then sail into a high-pressure system, you’ll set yourself up for failure,” Balch said. “You have to balance your power inputs and your power outputs.

“Sailing an electric boat is a return to the tradition of sailing that the crutch of a diesel engine has gotten us away from,” he added. “Magellan’s fleet got all the way around the world, and they didn’t have a diesel engine.”

Tim Murphy is a Cruising World editor-at-large and ­longtime Boat of the Year judge.

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What You Need to Know Before Buying an Electric Sailing Yacht or Sailboat

It’s no secret that we’re approaching, or have maybe even passed the moment in history where most buyers are considering buying an electric vehicle. The awkward early adopter phase is long gone, doubters few and far between, and every car manufacturer has at least some EV options, while others focus exclusively on electric and are experiencing massive growth. Mass adoption is here, the prices are falling, and infrastructure and legislature are hurrying to catch up.

All of this has left many people wondering why not bring sailing boats into the electric world? Sailing was never about motoring, never about engine speed – it is about that connection to nature, the serenity of the sea and the challenge. So why not get rid of the “dirty and loud” diesel engine, and simply exchange it for “clean and quiet” electric propulsion? Motor out of the marina or bay in silence, then use the sun, wind and waves to continue your journey.

Well – it turns out that like all good things in life, it’s not that simple, but it can be completely viable if approached correctly, and Elan and Oceanvolt have partnered-up to offer just that.

EARLY ADOPTER PHASE

Unlike the automobile industry, electric-powered yachting is still in the early adopter phase. That is why picking experienced manufacturers is crucial. Elan Yachts, for instance, had built various highly successful projects with Oceanvolt in the past and were part of the pioneering few boatbuilders to take on the challenge. The partnership flourished and matured so that Elan is now working exclusively with Oceanvolt and has extended the offer to their whole range of yachts. But what does being an early adopter mean for the buyer? Mostly that the technology is here, but the price is high. For a well-rounded, high-quality and reliable system, you can expect to pay 20-30% more than a comparable diesel-powered sailing yacht. And since a large part of that cost is for the batteries, do not expect that to change very soon as the demand for Lithium-ion batteries is only increasing.

FOR SERIOUS SAILORS

However, let’s assume that the price is not a problem. You want to be among the first few with a zero-emissions yacht – no noise, no exhaust, no smell and no environmental restrictions. You want to sail without the use of fossil fuels. You want the famous instant power output benefits of electricity in emergency situations, no engine rev settling, no pre-start waiting and low maintenance costs. You want to use the wind and the sun to re-charge. All of these are actual benefits of electric yacht propulsion, but what are the downsides? For committed sailors, there are not many. The operating range of high-end electric propulsion systems like the one from Oceanvolt is from 25 to 70 miles at 5 knots (and more, depending on the battery pack options and power generation), which is more than enough to get you in and out of marinas and bays and still have plenty left over to get you out of a bind. The rest, you sail. And if the yacht is fast, the winds are fair and you achieve 5 knots or more, Oceanvolt’s hydrogeneration kicks in and generates power for recharging the battery bank. Hydrogeneration creates drag of only 0.1 knot at a boat speed of 7.0 knots – so it is barely noticeable. If you can go even faster, the power generation increases exponentially (see GRAPH 1).

GRAPH 1: Elan E4 Power generation prediction

(Source: Oceanvolt)

LIVING ABOARD

Buying an electric-powered yacht is still far from an off-the-shelf experience. You need a trusted team of specialists who will guide you through the process and make sure they create a custom solution according to your needs and a good partnership between the shipyard and the electric propulsion provider is crucial. Why is this so different from a car? A yacht is an independent element on the sea and, unlike a car, it will need to provide its owner with much more than just propulsion. It is imperative therefore to consider everything, from the way the yacht is built to the equipment on board. Since you will spend most of your time sailing, you need a yacht that performs well and is easy to sail. A good, reliable sail plan and rig, like the one on Elan yachts, will give you enough options to substitute the practicality of a diesel engine. Elan’s VAIL technology keeps the weight down, its short-handed sailing approach and comfort-centric design will keep you comfortable even when sailing for longer periods, and the high-end electronics are designed to keep consumption low. That is crucial because you will need to bear in mind cooking, refrigeration, water and cabin heating and entertainment, as well as the availability of ports/marinas with good electrical infrastructure. Of course, there are fossil fuel solutions for all these challenges, and Elan’s and Oceanvolt’s partnership offers a hybrid option with a 48V DC generator, which is very practical, if on the pricier side. Purists, however, will want to go full electric. And for them, more renewable power generation options like photovoltaics, a wind generator or a humbler approach to on-board living will be crucial, especially in colder climates. Bear in mind that experienced shipyards like Elan Yachts will be able to provide a complete solution, including solar panel procurement and installation.

POWER OPTIONS

How powerful are electric motors on sailboats? Well, Oceanvolt offers two different propulsion systems. The Finland-based company has developed a 6, 8, 10 and 15kW SD saildrive, as well as a special 10 and 15kW ServoProp with even better hydrogeneration, thanks to its patented and DAME-awarded software-controlled propeller blades, which change pitch to generate as much power as possible. Depending on the yacht, the entry-level SD saildrive enables 5 knots of cruising speed and a top speed of 7 knots on the 30 ft Elan E3. Bear in mind that power consumption and speed is inverse in relation to power generation – as you go faster, you consume exponentially more power (see GRAPH 2) The good part is that the motor and the saildrive weigh only 42.5 kg, which offsets some of the battery weight. In addition, all of the motors are all closed-circuit liquid-cooled, so there is no annoying spluttering.

GRAPH 2 : Elan E3 RANGE PREDICTION

Source: (Oceanvolt)

Want to go electric?

Get in touch with Elan Yachts, and request the configuration of your ideal electric-powered sailboat. Elan is the only yacht manufacturer offering complete electric propulsion solution for the whole range of yachts. Contact our experts, build an energy balance sheet for your needs and your new Elan, taking into account the type of sailing, the environment, living habits and other possible criteria, to create the optimal setup.

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Silent Yachts

Creators of the world’s first series produced, solar-powered electric yachts.

Unlimited Range

Noiseless cruising, zero emission, minimal maintenance, pioneering solar powered yachting since 2009.

The Original Solar Yacht

As the original inventors of series produced solar-electric yachts, we pioneered this innovative approach. Our first model, the Silent 64, was launched to the market in 2016, several years before any other shipyard considered the possibility of going electric.

Leading Technology

Our founders began to research alternative energy sources to power yachts during the mid 1990s. Today, the technology of our in-house developed solar-electric drivetrain has been perfected and is multiple generations ahead in terms of reliability, performance and efficiency.

Historical Track-Record

In 2009, the Solarwave 46 was launched as our first prototype of a fully solar-electric, self-sufficient ocean-going catamaran. Since then, our electric yachts have cruised many 10.000s of nautical miles, performing flawlessly during a variety of weather conditions.

Enabling Self-Sufficiency

What differentiates our yachts is their unprecedented level of autonomy. Being able to produce your own energy enables a fully self-sufficient lifestyle on board. Travel the oceans sustainably while making them your infinite playground.

The award-winning entry to solar-electric yachts.

Timeless design meets state-of-the-art technology.

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The boldest expression of solar powered yachting yet.

What Makes Us Unique

The tranquility on board of our yachts is unique. A lack of noise, fumes and vibrations create a deep connection with the sea. Luxury and sustainability finally merged into a holistic experience, working hand in hand with nature by minimizing the impact on the marine environment without compromising comfort.

For optimal performance and efficiency, our solar-electric drivetrain integrates seamlessly with all onboard systems. Compared to fossil fuelled powertrains of motoryachts, electric powertrains have very few moving parts, resulting in minimal maintenance, maximum reliability and significantly lower running costs.

The ability to recharge your own batteries with the sun marks a new era of freedom. Depending on cruising speeds and weather conditions, our yachts have virtually unlimited range, enabling you to live a fully self-sufficient lifestyle on board. Unbound by the limitations of fossil fuels, you are free to explore the horizons.

The technology powering our yachts today has been pioneered by our founders almost three decades ago. Continuous upgrading and steady optimization of the entire system are some of the key reasons our in-house developed solar-electric drivetrain offers a comprehensive portfolio of assurances and warranties.

Why Silent Yachts

A sensible approach to yachting which works in self-sufficient harmony with nature and creates a completely new experience on board.

Tech Corner

Our Eco Travel Log from enchanting Croatia

On our recent 4-day adventure in beautiful Croatia aboard the world’s “Most Efficient Yacht”, we carefully tracked everything day by day: battery levels, distance traveled, and how little we relied on the generator during daily cruising. Now, we’re excited to share this data with you, showcasing just how our yachts truly shine on the water.

Living on a SY62 Solar Electric yacht

Silent Yachts’ range is designed to harness the power of the sun, providing green energy and silent cruising. But what can owners truly expect? How much power does the SY62 use while cruising? In this article, we evaluate a typical day onboard the SY62, based on actual data from our yachts.

Why a Solar Powered Yacht?

Let’s break down the advantages of harnessing the sun’s energy for yacht propulsion: solar power offers remarkable efficiency, significant environmental benefits, and an unmatched synergy with the yachting experience. Join us as we dive into the future of sustainable yachting and discover how solar-powered yachts are revolutionizing the seas.

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While the present has brought us the dawn of smart cars, I strongly believe the future will bring us solar powered smart boats – and I definitely want to be at the frontline of that journey. Michael Jost / Former Head of Group Strategy of Volkswagen Group

The idea of sailing while charging your own battery is super powerful to me – solar powered sailing is the perfect love story! Jochen Rudat / Former Tesla Central Europa Director, Advisory Board Silent Group

Elon Musk single handedly forced an entire industry to go electric, as a matter of fact if they don’t all go electric now they will soon die. I would like to see the same thing happening for boating. You are not just selling boats – you are the actual leading edge of a crucial and much overdue revolution to sustainable transport!” Klaus Obermeyer / Emmy Award Winner

I am completely excited about solar catamarans. I knew before they are great but now I truly believe this is the future. After so many boats I’ve seen in over 18 years with Boote Exclusiv, this yacht truly blew my mind. Such a silent and peaceful cruising experience – just the way it should be. Martin Hager / Editor in Chief for Boote Exclusiv - Yachts

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This New Electric Sailing Yacht Can Charge Its Own Batteries While Cruising

The 49-footer can generate 3.5 kw of clean, green energy when sailing at speeds greater than 8 knots., rachel cormack.

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Rachel Cormack's Most Recent Stories

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It’s no easy feat to incorporate a next-gen electric propulsion system into an elegant sloop. X- Yachts appears to have pulled it off, though.

The Danish yacht maker, which has spent more than 40 years in the game, just launched a futuristic new sailing yacht that looks to be as stylish as it is sustainable. Christened the X49E , the 49-footer is the very first electric sailboat to be made by the yard.

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The 12-ton newcomer is based on the existing X49 model , but eschews the traditional diesel engines in favor of two of Oceanvolt’s 10 kW electric motors. The pods are mounted on each side of the traditional engine compartment, below the aft cabin bunks. The space which used to hold the engines now houses a 28.8 kWh lithium battery bank and an onboard DC generator with a capacity of 11 kW.

The X49E’s solar panels generate energy to power the hotel load.  X-Yachts

Range with pure electric power depends on the boat speed, wind and sea state, but X-Yachts estimates in calm conditions the yacht can travel 22.7 nautical miles at 5 knots. Of course, the diesel generator can be used to run the boat if more range is required.

X49E can also produce up to 3.5 kW when sailing at speeds greater than 8 knots. That means if you sail for roughly eight hours, the batteries will charge from empty to full. The best part is the “full tank” is 100 percent green and free of cost.

To top it off, the X49E is fitted with solar panels that will generate clean energy to power the hotel load. That is the lights, navigation systems, appliances and so on.

The first hull was built for a discerning yachtsman.  X-Yachts

”We didn’t want to be first movers on this area, but preferred to wait until technology and knowledge had matured properly”, Kraen Nielsen, CEO of X-Yachts, said in a statement . “And I’m really happy to say that the time finally is right to present the first X-Yacht with electric propulsion.”

The first hull was built for discerning yachtsman John Haurum, who has a passion for sailing both recreationally and in competition.

“My plans for the X49 are primarily to use it for long-distance cruising, but it has also been specified with performance sailing in mind and I intend to participate in challenges like Around Denmark Race and, eventually, the ARC Cross Atlantic,” Haurum adds.

Looks like you’ll see the X49E tearing it up on the ocean before too long.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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