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Mercury is the first major manufacturer of marine internal-combustion engines to offer an electric outboard option. The Avator 7.5e delivers comparable performance metrics to Mercury’s time-tested 3.5 hp four-stroke gasoline engine, minus the locally emitted carbon dioxide. The Avator 7.5e is also the only outboard currently on the market with a transverse flux motor, a design that Andrew Przybyl, Mercury’s technical manager and engineer for the Avator line, says has high-torque-density characteristics. The Avator 7.5e comes with a 1 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery that nests inside the outboard’s flip-top cowl, and a color display with GPS that gives operators a wealth of real-time range information.

“One of the biggest challenges we had was setting up the overall architecture of the outboard,” Przybyl says. The solution involved auditioning different concepts and designs, and then choosing the right supporting technologies, including batteries, motor types and overall configurations. “In electrification, overall system efficiency is the name of the game,” he says. “The other aspect was sustainability. This outboard is highly recyclable.” Creating a recyclable design, Przybyl says, involved using componentry from nontraditional materials. “Sustainability is an important part of our culture,” Przybyl says.

While the Avator 7.5e is intended for use aboard smaller boats, Mercury plans to release the bigger Avator 20e and 35e outboards later this year. All three of these electric motors will employ similar architecture, displays and companion apps.

Charge and Go

The Mercury Marine Avator 7.5e can run for 60 minutes at full throttle off a charged-up 1 kilowatt-hour battery, or for as long as 2.8 hours at 75  percent throttle (or 6.2 hours at 50 percent throttle, or 19.4 hours at 25 percent throttle). Users can also change out batteries in seconds.

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Imtra has launched a new generation of DC electric thrusters called eVision.

eVision is an evolution of the 2011 Sleipner Proportional DC Thrusters. The new product contains what is reportedly the first electric motor designed specifically for marine thrusters, with an industry-leading run time at 100 percent thrust, lighter weight and a smaller size than comparable thrusters.

“Sleipner eVision is the result of years of dedicated development and hard work,” Steve Howd, aftermarket product manager of DC thrusters, Imtra, stated in a press release. “With its extreme efficiency and low amp draw, eVision is the ideal thruster solution for DC environments and a perfect fit for the growing interest in boat electrification.”

eVision is intended for boats 40 to 100 feet length overall. Imtra says this model has 30 percent less amperage draw than previous models, is quieter, is as much as 50 percent lighter than comparable models, and takes up 40 percent less space.

The new thrusters are compatible with Sleipner’s S-Link Control system and can be integrated for joystick control.

When will Sleipner eVision be available? It’s already available for new-boat production, and should become available this month for aftermarket refits.

Take the next step: go to imtra.com

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BlueNav’s BlueSpin retractable motors are electric drives that fit aboard vessels with outboard engines. They give owners a hybrid propulsion system that uses the boat’s internal-combustion engines (ICE) for high-speed work, as well as the electric motors for slow-speed work (up to 8 knots). In electric mode, operations are silent and vibration-free, such as around marina docks.

The electric motors are powered by lithium-ion batteries. The propeller and lower unit retract into a cassette-style trunk for improved hydrodynamics when the vessel is operating in ICE mode.

The biggest design challenge was creating a solution for the marine environment, says Hervé Frouin, BlueNav’s founder and chief technology officer. “In a single BlueSpin, there are four electric [motors], which have to live in the seawater” or other types of water, he says. BlueNav’s system had to be able to handle marine growth—including algae and oysters—while reliably communicating with a networked multifunction display and BlueNav-provided joystick and thrust-control levers.

BlueSpin retractable motors can be added in-build or as an aftermarket upgrade. Frouin says they have been fitted onto yachts up to 42 feet; however, the length overall will increase as bigger motors become available.

Power Options

BlueNav also builds the BlueSpin Inhull motor, providing hybrid solutions aboard cruising sailboats, and the BlueSpin Stationary motor, which is designed to work aboard inboard-powered motoryachts. BlueSpin motors articulate through 180 degrees and come in multiple power configurations (15, 20, 30 and—soon—50 kW).

Take the next step: bluenav.fr.com

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The RemigoOne from Slovenia-based Remigo is an integrated electric motor-and-rudder assembly for precision steering at any prop revolutions per minute in a compact package.

It uses a 1,000-watt brushless motor for 66 pounds of thrust, which is equal to 3 hp outboard motors. Top speed is around 5 knots. The drive’s aluminum unibody has a lithium-ion battery (good for 1,085 watt-hours), drive componentry and electronics. The system’s unibody also doubles as a rudder. A two-part mounting bracket allows the RemigoOne to be easily installed and removed, and there are 10 power settings for forward and reverse. LEDs indicate the system’s charge status, and two stainless-steel push buttons govern speed and direction. A magnetic kill switch provides safety and moonlights as an ignition key.

“Development of the whole unit included a lot of testing and challenges, but each prototype showed us [the way forward],” says Marko Vrtovec, Remigo’s CEO.

RemigoOne drives work with any vessel up to 23 feet length overall (3,310 pounds of displacement). More models are expected to be coming in the near future. Each RemigoOne system can be recharged using AC or DC power; recharging takes three to 12 hours.

Functional Form

RemigoOne drives have a custom two-blade prop protected by skegs on the bottom of the unit’s rudder assembly. RemigoOne drives use thick layers of white powder-coating that reflects sunlight, and reflective decals help to ensure nighttime visibility. All above-water parts are certified to IP67 for water ingress, while underwater parts are certified to IP69 standards.

Take the next step: remigo.eu

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Candela’s C-pod is a very efficient electric motor inside a torpedo-style pod that hangs below a vessel’s waterline (or in the case of Candela’s boats, the hydrofoil line). C-Pods deliver 50 kilowatts of output power, or 67 hp, which Candela achieves with contrarotating propellers driven by dedicated inline motors. Candela physically situates its C-Pods on struts that are lowered for use and then retracted when the vessel is berthed to reduce marine growth.

“Our goal was to move the electric motor from above the waterline to under the water, which would enable [an] electric direct-drive and do away with the cooling system, noisy transmission, and need to use oil for lubrication,” says Mikael Mahlberg, Candela’s communications and public relations manager. “The really hard part was to make the electric motors really small. Other electric pod drives are really bulky, so we had to rethink electric-motor design.”

While C-Pods will initially be reserved for use aboard Candela’s hydrofoiling vessels—including the P-12—the company eventually plans to sell C-Pods to other boatbuilders for use as OEM-level equipment aboard their new builds.

One C-Pod “is enough to make our 28-foot hydrofoil boats fly at a speed of 30 knots,” Mahlberg says, adding that Candela plans to spec two C-Pods aboard its larger yachts.  

How It Works

C-Pods come with articulating carbon-fiber wings that support (ballpark) 20 percent of the load that’s generated by the vessel’s after hydrofoil. Candela says C-Pods are at least 10 percent more efficient than other leading electric motors. C-Pods reportedly deliver lifetime, maintenance-free service and can be powered by a 180-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery bank. 

Take the next step: candela.com

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The powerboat drivers idle near their starting lines off Monaco, waiting for the signal to punch the throttles. But they’re different from those who have raced here since 1904: These nine boats are competing in the Solar Class at the 2021 Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.

Every July, the Monaco Yacht Club organizes this race, which features next-generation technologies. This year, after five days of competition—including a 16-nautical-mile-lap race, slalom racing and a championship race—the Dutch-flagged Sunflare solar team claimed top honors in the sun-powered class.

Is their boat’s top speed of about 29 knots going to break any world speed records? No. But the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is a harbinger of recreational boating’s not-so-distant future.

That future, of being carbon-free, has been a long time coming. German inventor Moritz von Jacobi created an early electric boat in 1839, a 24-footer that could carry 14 passengers at roughly 2.6 knots. In 1882, Anthony Reckenzaun, an Austria-born electrical engineer, built Electricity, a steel-hulled launch with onboard batteries that was considered one of the first “practical” electric vessels. Other innovations continued until circa 1910, when Ole Evinrude’s gasoline-fired outboards began their own revolution.

Now, a century later, electric yachts harness technologies such as solar panels, electric drivetrains, lightweight construction in carbon fiber, lithium-based batteries and, in some cases, hydrofoils. These boats’ performance, comfort and range can rival some traditionally powered yachts—and they are clean and quiet. Much like Teslas, they sometimes also come with memorable acceleration curves.

Contemporary electric boats range in size and complexity. There are displacement monohulls such as Zin Boat’s 20-foot Z2T and Z2R and X Shore’s 26-foot Eelex 8000. There are hydrofoilers such as the upcoming Navier 27 (see sidebar). There are also boats like those contesting the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, as well as bluewater cruisers with multiple hulls.

“The first advantage is space,” says Michael Köhler, CEO of Silent-Yachts. “Catamarans have more surface area, which benefits the number of solar panels that can be installed.”

Other advantages of multiple hulls in electric-boat design include increased form stability (no ballasted keels) and reduced drag. “This low resistance means they’re better suited for electric motoring, as they need a lot less energy to move than monohulls,” says Nicolas Lapp, Sunreef Yachts’ strategy consultant for research and development.

One key to reducing a yacht’s energy requirements involves reducing its displacement. “The lighter the yacht, the less energy is needed to move it,” Köhler says. “For this reason, our yachts are made of lightweight carbon fiber.”

While all of the yachts discussed in this article can be charged via shore-supplied AC power, cruisers typically want greater autonomy. To that end, Silent-Yachts and Sunreef Yachts use solar panels. The team at Silent-Yachts specs its panels from California-based SunPower, while Sunreef Yachts created the marine industry’s first flexible solar panels, which are flush-mounted on hulls, masts and superstructures.

Aesthetics matter in yachting, and not everyone wants to cruise aboard a solar farm. Here, Lapp sees an opportunity. “If you want sustainability to be cool and attract the attention of new generations, the appeal of the product is something you cannot neglect,” he says. “Seamless integration of the solar panels was a way for us to prove that sustainability [can] generate green power [and] cool looks.” (After all, no one buys a Tesla because it looks like a Chevy.)

While the Caribbean and Mediterranean are blessed with abundant lumens, other world-class cruising grounds—say, the Pacific Northwest—aren’t equally illuminated. Because of this, electric cruising yachts typically also include redundant systems to ensure that the navigation lights stay on without heading to a marina.

“Every Silent yacht is equipped with a backup generator,” Köhler says. “This makes sure you never run out of energy, even when facing longer periods of unfavorable weather conditions.”

Rainy-day alternatives can include other green-power solutions. Sunreef Yachts typically specs dual wind generators atop its yachts’ rooftops. However, Lapp is realistic about their capabilities.

“Wind turbines can only supply a small fraction of the energy that our solar panels can,” he says, explaining that, in the right conditions, Sunreef’s panels typically generate 40 times more juice than the turbines. “What’s nice about working with wind is that your generators work all the time.” That includes under navigation, at the dock and throughout the night.

Energy sources aside, these experts say that high-quality batteries offering high performance are critical. Larger-capacity battery banks ensure more power reserves, but adding them can affect a yacht’s performance.

“The weight of the battery banks is also an important factor, as it can reduce or increase the overall efficiency,” Köhler says.

Battery performance is also critical for electric-powered coastal craft. One example is X Shore’s Eelex 8000, which has a high-performance 225 kW electric motor and dual 63 kWh lithium-ion batteries that can be charged anywhere there’s a power socket, or supercharged using the same technology as electric cars.

“The batteries can be charged in five to eight hours with three-phase power plugs and one to two hours with superchargers,” says Elias Wästberg, X Shore’s project manager.

While superchargers don’t exist in the middle of oceans, builders of electric-powered bluewater boats have already done this math. Silent-Yachts says its power catamarans are built to offer transatlantic autonomy, but a lot depends on how the owner uses the boat to minimize energy consumption.

“During sunny conditions, a general rule of thumb is that cruising at 6 knots maintains a balance between consumption and production,” Köhler says. “This basically means unlimited range. …The main thing that owners can do to increase range is reduce speed and turn off any appliances.”

This begs the question: Do owners need to downshift their expectations for onboard comfort when going electric?

“There’s no need to make any sacrifices or closely monitor energy levels,” Lapp says. “A lot of energy saving is done automatically. For example, at night, the air-conditioning system focuses solely on selected areas and cabins. … It consumes 70 percent less energy than most systems.”

And should the battery banks get thirsty, there’s always the generator.

Cruising with zero emissions might be a selling point for some customers, but one need not squeeze trees to embrace yachting’s future. “Running costs and maintenance levels are much lower compared to regular-motor catamarans,” Köhler says.

Then, there are unquantifiable returns. “You get to enjoy the absolute luxury of cruising in total silence and without disturbing the marine life around you,” Lapp says, adding that this experience helps owners create “better connections with the environment.”

Finally, there can also be the grin factor. “The Eelex 8000 can accelerate from 0 to 20 knots in 4.2 seconds,” Wästberg says. “The software captures 150 data points every second, allowing for real-time analytics of battery and engine performance, including temperature, humidity, pressure, location and the craft’s system status.”

While electric yachts boast some impressive capabilities, free lunches are unicorns. Electric yachts don’t emit carbon dioxide, but their carbon footprint likely deepens with stem-to-stern life-cycle assessments of their photovoltaic panels, carbon-fiber hulls and lithium-based batteries. Then there’s the inconvenient financial truth that all batteries have a finite number of charge cycles and eventually need refitting. Also, for now, diesel mechanics greatly outnumber certified electric-boat technicians, especially in remote locales.

Still, few people gifted with foresight would have bet against Evinrude’s outboards in the early 20th century. The same holds true for today’s electric boats. One only has to look at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge to realize that some of the brightest minds in the marine and technology fields are committed to a carbon-free future.

Couple this trend with the fact that electric yachts are already providing better performance and compromise-free cruising, and yachting’s future is looking bright (green).  

Navier 27

Navier Boats teamed up with Paul Bieker, an America’s Cup-winning naval architect and hydrofoil expert, to create the Navier 27. It delivers 30-plus-knot top speeds or a 75-nautical-mile range at slower speeds. While impressive, hydrofoils require active control, which is a crux that Navier solved by creating an autonomous foil-control system.

Sunreef 100 Eco

It’s one thing to build a solar-powered vessel for the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge; it’s a different challenge to build an electric 100-footer that can accommodate 12 guests and five crewmembers. The Sunreef 100 Eco’s flexible solar panels mean this cat can accommodate 2,610 square feet of solar-farm space and generate up to 46 kilowatts per hour of DC power, which should keep its high-performance lithium-ion batteries topped off. 

Hands on the Helm

While the Navier 27 will initially require human hands on its helm, down-the-road software releases are expected to enable autonomous driving.

Panel Planners

While photovoltaic panels can be fitted to any yacht, catamarans present themselves as an ideal platform, given their beam and broader coach-roof space.

The post The All-Electric Yacht Evolution appeared first on Yachting.

Hodgdon Tenders’ 10.5- and 12-meter electric Venetian tenders have the same hulls as the builder’s diesel-powered versions, but they produce zero emissions, less noise and less vibration.

The electric versions use Vita Power’s high-performance powertrains, which run dual-propeller stern drives. The smaller tender has a single electric motor and three lithium-ion batteries; the larger tender has dual motors and four batteries. Range for each tender is 20 to 50 nautical miles, depending on rpm and sea state.

These tenders can be charged via their mothership (AC or DC power), shore power (AC) or at Vita’s dockside SuperPower stations.

Audrey Hodgdon, director of sales and marketing for the builder, says creating the electric version of the tenders at the shipyard in Maine was “surprisingly easy,” given that the displacement and longitudinal center of gravity of the tenders remained unchanged.

Take the next step: electricsuperyachttenders.com

The post Hodgdon Launches All-Electric Tenders appeared first on Yachting.

Evoy’s electric motors are set to become the world’s most powerful commercially available electric outboards. The Norwegian company is taking preorders for its 150 hp motor, which it plans to release to European markets this summer and to North American markets in 2022. Its 300 hp and 450 hp engines are expected to be available for preorder in 2023 and 2025, respectively.

All Evoy motors will be powered by external lithium-ion batteries. Yachtsmen interested in the 150 hp motor can select a 60-, 120- or 180-kilowatt-hour battery and can spec multiple batteries per motor to increase overall range.

“Making sure the software takes care of all the logic around the motor’s cooling, safety, charging, power and torque has been a challenge,” says Leif Stavøstrand, Evoy’s CEO, adding that getting the software shipshape required years of testing and development.

Critically, future software upgrades will be handled by over-the-air updates—a process that will allow Evoy to update its engines efficiently and regularly and employ big data to improve the products, which the company aims to make fully autonomous by the year 2030.

Additional research and development time is the reason the bigger outboards won’t be available for several years. “The higher torque and power than fossil-fuel-powered outboards must be managed in a way so [as] to not compromise the motor’s mechanical setup,” Stavøstrand says.

Take the next step: evoy.no/outboard

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