Solar-Powered Hybrid

Island Pilot has announced its newest model, the DSe Hybrid 12m, will debut in October at this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

The plans have been on the books for years, and we wrote an article on her back in 2006, but now it appears that the electric-motor powered vessel finally exists. The solar array catches the majority of her power, but a diesel genset can give her additional electricity if the clouds have been out too long. You can't walk on the solar panels, but they do double as a bimini to protect your body from the sun's radiation.

Even the dingy’s outboard is electric, recharging from the solar panels of the DSe Hybrid. For more on the vessel, check the boat’s Web site here.

The Future of Engines

When I was in Italy a few months ago, Norberto Ferretti—the head and co-founder of the Ferretti Group—let it "slip" that they had just launched the hull of a brand new hybrid vessel and that the engine tests had exceeded expectations. He didn't let on much more. When I asked anybody else at the Ferretti Group for further clarification they were equally tight lipped; I couldn’t even figure out if it was an electric or hydrogen based system.

Well the answer is out.

This past Friday, the Ferretti Group debuted its Mochi Craft 23. The builder claims that this is the first vessel over 75 feet to have a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system. Twin 70-kW electric motors, powered by Lithium ion batteries, are attached to the reduction gears to provide diesel-free cruising for several hours. The hull for the vessel has been designed from scratch to accommodate both the weight of the batteries and to improve cruising at mid-range speeds.

Ferretti has not yet released information on the actual speed or fuel savings of these engines, but when it does, we’ll keep you posted.

Stealthy Enviro-Cat

Remember the Wally Yachts 118 WallyPower? It was an angular, iconoclastic, double-take-inducing 115-footer that was supposed to break new ground in yacht design and ended up not exactly setting the world on fire—at least in terms of sales. Well, someone has decided to double down on the concept. Code-X AG, a Swiss design firm, will soon (sometime this summer, it says) introduce an equally angular 14.5-meter (47'6") catamaran.

But external appearance may be the least unusual thing about this boat. According to the company, motive power will come from a unique hydrid system. A pair of 1,420-hp gasoline engines mated to ZF Trimax surface-piercing drives are predicted to push the Kevlar-and-carbon fiber hull to speeds of around 90 mph. For less frenetic, more environmentally conscious cruising, the owner can choose, via a touch-pad screen, to rely either solely or partly on a bank of photovoltaic modules supplying electric motors and/or lithium batteries.

The mechanical interface between the two systems is said to be "specially developed electronic and cycloidal interlocked gears...that supply 360-degree steering." Under stored electric power, the vessel is projected to cruise at 10 to 15 kph (about 6 to 9 mph) for two hours. Under solar power alone, the vessel should do 5 kpm (about 3 mph) for as long as there's sunlight. I guess the only question is can Code-X find a buyer who likes to go 90 mph but can also endure speeds one-tenth that.

The First Luxury Hybrid? Well…

The small Austrian boatbuilder Frausher just launched what it claims to be the first true hybrid motoryacht. Frausher worked in conjunction with Steyr Motors to create a marine-grade, diesel-electric hybrid. The boat is a little over 18-feet LOA. Although the builder claims the vessel is capable of speeds around 38 knots, this is mostly under diesel power. The electric component powers the vessel—with “zero emissions”—for speeds below 5 knots. When you switch on the engine, the electric system acts as a “boost” for the diesel engine, but how much extra oomph it gives and what savings it makes to actual fuel consumption is not stated. For more on the story, click here.