Is it time to make the switch to an electric motor? Sam Fortescue looks at the positives and negatives
When the world’s biggest boat builder begins turning to electric powered boats, you know that change is afoot. Earlier this year, Groupe Beneteau pledged to offer ‘alternative propulsion’ on its entire product range by 2030, ranging from hybrid to pure electric. And it started by launching the First 44e, equipped with twin 12kW Torqeedo pod drives and 20kWh of lithium batteries. Beneteau’s head of boats, Gianguido Girotti declared: “The transition is under way. The entire industry will have to transform itself. We can’t force customers, but we can convince them.”
Just a few stands away at Boot Düsseldorf, another boatbuilder was doing the same thing. At the semi-custom end of the market, Contest Yachts was launching its new 49CS and 50CS bluewater cruisers with a Torqeedo option. “Going all-electric is clearly a good thing to do but it cannot be done lightly if it is to be done well,” said CEO Arjen Conijn. “This system we have arrived at is truly first class. Our ‘all-electric’ is genuinely all-electric bluewater sailing made real.”
Next up was the world’s second largest production boatbuilder, with the Hanse 410 launched at the Cannes boat show. This fast family cruiser can be delivered with an electric motor capable of up to 55nm of range – enough to get you most of the way across the Channel if the wind dies. The system is produced by EPT with batteries up to 36.8kWh, but has yet to find an owner willing to take it on.
It’s not just new yachts that are making the switch, however. There’s a growing business in refitting older yachts with simple electric propulsion. It is often the main UK dealers for the motors who undertake the refit work as well – that’s Sail Electric for Oceanvolt, MIT for Bell, and Golden Arrow for Torqeedo. But there’s also a host of smaller specialist marine engineers who have the skills.
Torqeedo
One of the best-known names in electric propulsion, Torqeedo is the brand behind the Beneteau and Contest systems. They both feature its Deep Blue motor, which is available in a 25kW sail drive variant and for 25-100kW shaft drive applications.
Torqeedo’s key strength is the integration of its systems: charging, battery management, regeneration and renewables are all combined seamlessly. It has worked with Whisper Power to manufacture a 25kW variable-speed generator which can act as a range extender. And BMW supplies its 40kWh a
