mode with zero emissions, under power and at anchor. There’s no need to run generators overnight in an anchorage, which improves the quality of life for people on other yachts nearby as well as for the owner and guests on board. Silent running also means zero pollution, less disturbance to wildlife and a better experience for guests in wilderness areas and conservation zones. Third, a hybrid system powered by two relatively small generators instead of one big engine allows a large yacht to circumvent the stringent IMO Tier 3 regulations for all new marine diesel engines with a power output greater than 130kW (174hp). Exclusion zones for non- compliant vessels already exist in the US and are due to be enforced in the North Sea, with other areas expected to follow. The nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction requirements of Tier 3 are a challenge for yacht builders, Micheli says, because the solutions that have been developed for commercial shipping such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) are impractical for a sailing yacht with a 300-450hp auxiliary engine. The fourth big benefit of hybrid drives is their longevity. In a conventional installation, a yacht’s gensets are typically replaced (or completely rebuilt) after 20,000 hours and the engine after about 25,000 hours. By contrast, as Southern Wind’s technical manager Yann Dabbadie explains, the BAE Systems HybridGen drive is rated for 52,000 hours of running. There are other benefits too, including massive availability of power for the yacht’s sail control systems in peak-demand racing scenarios and also for manoeuvring in harbour. For world cruising use, the HybridGen system’s high-voltage chargers can be connected to any frequency of shore power. So what’s the catch? With all these clear advantages, why have yacht builders been so slow to adopt hybrid drives? ‘It adds about five or 10 per cent to the price of a yacht that costs several millions, so it’s the most significant single extra you can discuss,’ Micheli says. ‘But that isn’t a deal breaker. Our customers in Europe did not stop buying yachts when the VAT rate went up from six to 20 per cent. Rather, it’s a matter of culture and perceived reliability.’ Crews and owners aren’t very comfortable with the technology, Micheli says, because they don’t fully understand it Hybrid drives do require high-voltage power that is potentially lethal but in the Southern Wind/BAE HybridGen setup it’s safely confined to sealed units within the engine room. It doesn’t run all
Top: the HybridGen setup offers complete dual redundancy while keeping all of the
high-voltage elements of the system safely
confined. Above: one great advantage of hybrid power for a large ocean cruising yacht is
that enough power can be generated via the propeller to cross
oceans with- out using any diesel – and thus to arrive with full tanks
around the boat. ‘The architecture of the system is optimised for safety as well as weight, performance and reliability,’ Dabbadie says. ‘There are no loose terminals and all junction boxes are protected. Even if you accidentally opened a junction box, there is no way you can hurt yourself as the system will cut the high voltage automatically. The system is built to class requirements, it’s installed on ships already and we’re working closely with RINA.’ Another reason for the slow uptake of hybrid drives, especially for racing yachts and high-performance cruisers, is that they usually weigh more and take up more space than a conventional engine – but this one doesn’t. ‘It’s about a ton lighter than any of the other hybrid systems on the market,’ Dabbadie says. ‘The total weight depends on the battery capacity that the owner chooses to have but if you compare like for like it’s not much heavier than a normal diesel installation.’ It also occupies the same amount of space, and fits neatly into the existing engine rooms of most yachts that Southern Wind has built, so it’s a viable retrofit option for many owners.
Yacht owners and crews are also
quite often sceptical about the availability of technical support and troubleshooting services when they’re anchored off a remote island or sailing in mid-ocean, thousands of miles from land. Once again Southern Wind has a solution, drawn this time from the offshore power industry. Crews receive training from BAE Systems as part of the yacht’s sea trials and a headset with a camera and virtual reality visor could possibly be supplied for remote assistance. A low-bandwidth satcom link is all that’s needed to provide expert guidance and to troubleshoot any problems remotely. For servicing or maintenance work in far-flung parts of the world, a local technician can be sent from the nearest service centre. All of this, however, is just one part of a wider drive towards more sustainable yachting at Southern Wind. The efficiency gains of a new, remarkably efficient air conditioning system are expected to be even more significant for a yacht in typical charter usage than the benefits delivered by the HybridGen propulsion system. And that’s just the start of a new direction for this innovative shipyard.
www.sws-yachts.com
q SEAHORSE 83
BAE
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