Design
When size is your friend
Over 100 years after the first (successful) diesel-electric yacht, Southern Wind explain how hybrid marine power is taking a big step forward in a size range that allows better use of industrial developments in other sectors
What will the next superyacht launched by Southern Wind Shipyard have in common with more than 400 New York City buses? Absolutely nothing, until you look in the engine room where you’ll find the same diesel-electric power and propulsion technology from BAE Systems. The SW96#04, due for delivery next summer, is Southern Wind’s first yacht with a hybrid drive, a major milestone for the shipyard. And their next diesel-electric project is already taking shape: the brand new SW108 Hybrid which has already been sold for delivery winter 2023. If the current level of interest from clients is sustained, Southern Wind expects to be building up to - two hybrid-powered yachts per year going forward. It might seem strange to source a hybrid drive from the public transport industry rather than using a system designed from the outset specifically for marine use, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Most if not all of the commercial marine diesel-electric hybrid systems currently on the market are far too big for a 29-metre (96ft) sailing yacht and the leisure marine systems are much too small. The suppliers at both ends of the spectrum don’t see enough demand to upscale or downsize their existing products, so there’s a gap in the middle of the market from around 200 to 400kW (roughly 300 to 500hp). Or rather, there was a gap which BAE Systems has now filled, in partnership with Southern Wind. There’s also the key issue of
82 SEAHORSE
reliability. Diesel-electric marine propulsion has been around for more than a century, going all the way back to Jack Delmar-Morgan’s motor yacht Mansura in 1912, but none of the current marine-specific hybrid drives are anywhere near the maturity of BAE Systems’ technology, which has been deployed in more than 12,000 vehicles worldwide over the last 20 years. It’s proven beyond doubt to be extremely reliable with complete dual redundancy built in, and it’s backed up by a global support network of skilled technicians who already have years of repair, maintenance and troubleshooting experience. BAE Systems’ hybrid expertise goes far beyond buses – it’s also the leading supplier in many aerospace and commercial applications, including ferries and offshore fishing vessels. It’s a smart move for Southern Wind to tap into this huge infrastructure and economy of scale. ‘We didn’t aim to be the first shipyard to do this,’ Southern Wind’s commercial director Andrea Micheli explains. ‘We always aim to be at the leading edge of technology but never at the bleeding edge. We’ve learned from the difficulties other shipyards have had in the past with hybrid propulsion and we didn’t want to assemble a system from different suppliers. Our clients have been asking about hybrid systems so we’ve done a rational evaluation of all the available solutions and BAE Systems was chosen on that basis.’ What are the benefits of hybrid
Top: BAE
Systems’ very well proven HybridGen technology has now been adapted for the yachting market in partnership with Southern Wind, whose own first
diesel-electric hybrid yacht is due to launch this summer. Above: the first SW108, currently under
construction, is also going to be fitted with a
HybridGen drive
propulsion? Apart from the fuel economy gain of a system that always runs at peak efficiency – conservatively estimated between five and 30 per cent for a Southern Wind hybrid – and the resulting reduction in carbon footprint, there are four major advantages for a sailing boat and especially for a long-range ocean cruiser that needs to operate in complete autonomy for weeks or months at a time. First, there’s the ability to regenerate power via the propeller and keep the yacht’s batteries charged for the whole duration of an ocean passage under sail, running the sailing systems and some hotel systems without using any fuel. ‘When you’re crossing the Pacific for example it means that you can arrive with full tanks in a remote area like the Marquesas or Tuamotus and start exploring the small archipelagos immediately, without first having to go and refuel,’ Micheli says. Second, the hybrid system’s huge battery capacity enables a yacht to operate for periods of time in silent
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122
