Inside Silent Yachts – Pure Electricity Powered Catamarans

JAN 27, 2022 AT 02:39 AM

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The world of boats and yachts has long been opposing to the electrical powertrain. We’ve been waiting for a kind of Tesla on the water. And now we have it. The vessels of Silent Yachts company are being called Teslas of the seas, and today we are going to tell you why.

The company works to produce luxurious catamarans of different sizes. There are three main size options for now: 55, 60, or 80 feet. The models look much alike, but they are different in terms of interior features.

The main thing about these yachts is that they are purely electric. These vessels are powered by electric motors that have a lifetime warranty from the producer. There is a battery pack that is able to take you for quite a long distance. And one more important thing – the actual range of the yachts is not limited. Let’s try to find out more about these magical vessels.

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Main sizes, models, and interior features

Silent Yachts offers three main models in its range – The 55, the 60, and the 80. These models don’t differ much in design or equipment. If you look at them from a certain distance, you probably won’t distinguish which model that is. The main differences are hidden inside the vessels.

The Silent Yachts 55 is the smallest boat in the family. It comes in two versions: with a closed and open upper deck. There are three decks: cabin deck placed in the hulls of the catamaran, main deck with much space to chill out, and flybridge. The cabin deck features four cabins, each one has an en-suite bathroom. So, eight people can travel with comfort on Silent Yachts 55. Then there is the main deck with a living area, kitchen, captain’s place, and an open terrace for chilling out when the weather is good. Flybridge offers a big couch and another place to control the yacht.

The Silent Yachts 60 is actually the same, but it offers a little more space in each stateroom. There are also versions with an open or closed flybridge, so you can choose what you like more. The yacht looks quite the same as the 55 model, but it offers a more luxurious interior.

The best interior design is waiting for you in the Silent Yachts 80 model. The vessel is luxurious, it’s the flagship of the company. It offers a large deck to enjoy the sunny days and big staterooms to experience real comfort while on the route. First, there could be 4 to 6 cabins depending on what kind of cabin deck layout you choose. Also, at the cabin deck, there is a tender garage with a boat to take you quickly ashore at any spot of the shoreline. The main deck offers much more space. The kitchen is big enough to take a chef on your trip and enjoy restaurant meals. There are closed and open areas on this deck. The flybridge can be closed or open depending on the trim you choose. It provides an additional place for sunbathing.

The main thing in Silent Yachts’ interiors is that they are practical and made to last. All materials are of high quality. You can customize the yacht when buying it, each and every vessel in Silent Yachts is built after you order it, so full customization is possible. The interior of Silent Yachts vessels looks nice and it’s well organized, given it’s a simple catamaran of not a very huge size.

Technical miracle onboard Silent Yachts

The interior design is an important thing to consider when buying a luxurious yacht, but when we talk about Silent Yachts, we want to know about the technical side of the vessels. And here you’ll be surprised.

The yachts are powered by electric motors. There are battery packs, and you can choose different trims that will determine the capacity of the pack. For example, Silent Yachts 80 offers three versions with battery packs from 207 to 429 kilowatt-hours. The chosen trim will also determine the electric motor pack. For Silent Yachts 80 three types of motors are offered: two 150 kilowatt motors; two 200 kilowatt motors; or two 340 kilowatt motors. For smaller catamarans, there will be less powerful engines available.

The solar panels placed on the roof of the yachts enable unlimited range. Well, you certainly won’t be able to cruise at 20 knots for an unlimited amount of time. If you want cheap and unlimited cruising, you will choose 5 to 6 knots speed and will only expect to get unlimited range during sunny weather. At all other times, you will need to ensure that your catamaran is fully charged before setting off on a long journey. Though even if you forgot to charge it, there are generators that will burn some fuel but they will charge the batteries and ensure that you won’t be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The optimal economical cruising speed is 5 to 6 knots, but the maximum speed of the catamarans can be up to 20 knots. All vessels in the model range of Silent Yachts are trans-ocean yachts, they are capable of crossing all kinds of seas and oceans. The catamaran type of body ensures wonderful stability and less swaying than in monohull yachts. The draft of the yachts of all sizes is only 1.2 meters so you can even travel on a small river if needed.

There is a special towing kite which is an additional option for Silent Yachts vessels. If you include one when ordering the yacht, you’ll be able to silently move through the seas without even using the electrical power or ensuring higher speed. The kite is the alternative for sails. It works fully automatically, but of course, it needs the optimal wind direction to work properly.

The catamaran body type gives another advantage. It has less contact with the water surface and thus creates less resistance when moving on the water. This allows the vessel to use less electricity comparing with monohull electric boats. That’s why the range, even in cloudy weather, will be much better than with any competitors.

In Silent Yachts the engineers solved nearly all problems that previously made people choose diesel motor yachts. If the technologies keep developing, in some years we may get a catamaran with electric power that will allow us to travel for free and with wonderful speed.

How much is the Silent Yacht catamaran?

Due to customization, we can’t say for sure how much the catamarans cost that have already been delivered to their owners. But there are minimal prices for each type of yacht, so we can clearly say that you won’t buy any Silent Yacht vessel cheaper than 2 million euros or 2.37 million dollars. This is the minimal price of the Silent Yachts 55.

The Silent Yachts 60 will cost more than 2.2 million euros in base trim. It’s around 2.6 million dollars. But the yacht will include better interiors and better technologies than the 55 model.

The most affordable Silent Yachts 80 catamaran starts at approximately 5 million euros or more than 5.9 million dollars. This price includes a luxurious interior, better technologies, and a longer range than cheaper models. But if you want an advanced version of the catamaran, you will need to pay much more for better trims.

Is it more expensive than diesel motor yachts?

Silent Yachts 80 is 24 meters or 80 feet long. We decided to compare the same size yachts with diesel motors and to see if the price differs much. Let’s presume that we are OK with the base trim that costs 5.9 million dollars.

If we look at the market of used superyachts, you could get a 26-meter long Lucky Lady 1 million dollars cheaper. But it will be a used superyacht. 24-meter long Princess 78 will cost twice cheaper as Silent Yachts 80, but again, this is the yacht that was built in 2011.

Among new yachts of the same size, you could buy a 24-meter long yacht called Livingstone approximately 1.2 million dollars cheaper. But in our opinion, it looks old-fashioned. Van Der Valk 660 will cost approximately 3.2 million euros, it’s nearly 1.7 million cheaper than the Silent Yachts 80 catamaran. But this boat will be also 4 meters shorter and it won’t give you as much space as the Silent Yachts 80 provides.

As you see, it’s not so hard to find the monohull diesel motor yacht of the same size and pay less money. But we still think that Silent Yachts provides great catamarans for good money. These are Teslas on the water and you shouldn’t forget about it when choosing a luxurious yacht.