http://www.mby.com/gear/solarwave-62-electric-powercat-51791 Solarwave: All-electric powercat project explained March 4, 2016 Dave Marsh
[images https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/03/30-secs-high-res2-630x400.jpg Solarwave 46 prototype Solarwave has been testing for five years with this 46ft prototype - Picture: Solarwave https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/03/Solarwave-1-LEAD-IMAGE-flybridge-up-630x286.jpg Solarwave 62 - flybridge up https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/03/Solarwave-4-COCKPIT-facing-forward-630x286.jpg Solarwave 62 - Cockpit https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/03/Solarwave-2-SECONDARY-IMAGE-flybridge-down-630x286.jpg Solarwave 62 - flybridge down https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/03/Solarwave-3-SALOON-IMAGE-facing-forward-630x266.jpg Solarwave 62 - Saloon https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/03/Solarwave-5-LAYOUT-630x312.jpg Solarwave 62 - Layout ] Solarwave has fully embraced electric technology and is bringing it to fruition in a 62-footer, writes Dave Marsh ... So where are our all-electric motor cruisers? Surely an almost complete absence of noise and vibration for those on board, and for neighbouring boats, plus zero emissions at the point of use is appealing to us all? There are numerous small craft around, but given that even a couple of the tiny 80kW (107hp) electric motors in a Nissan Leaf would be powerful enough to push the average 60-footer at displacement speeds, why has nobody produced a big, all-electric cruiser? Well, finally, a pioneering Swiss company has done just that. Solarwave is about to launch its first all-electric 62-footer, the Solarwave 62. Although it carries a diesel generator as a safety back-up (Solarwave quixotically refer to this as the ‘Range Extender’) the aptly named Solarwave 62’s vast 15kW solar panel array is designed to supply the boat’s entire electrical load on a day-to-day basis, motors and all. We often report on innovative new projects in the making, and while they frequently look great on paper, only the bravest of souls would consider buying the first boats off the line because of their unproven nature. This project appears quite different. For the past five years, Solarwave has had a fully operational prototype cruising far and wide. Half a decade is the longest gestation and testing period I’ve encountered for any new marine project. And nor is the prototype solar boat a mini-me that could be squeezed on to a garden pond, it’s a 46-footer whose systems doubtless mimic those of the production boats very closely. So there should be few surprises when the boat and its systems are scaled up. Besides its longevity, the most impressive aspect of the testing is that far from investigating the best-case scenario, Solarwave made life difficult for itself. So the 46 test-bed not only has high load items on board such as air-con, a washing machine and a 3,000 litre/day watermaker, it also has all-electric cooking instead of gas. The tender’s outboard is electric, not petrol. The Solarwave 46 even carries an electric motorbike, and how many 60-footers carry a motorbike of any type? Increasing the efficiency The first two 62s off the line, which cost around €2m, are both powered by a pair of 60kW motors. With these, Solarwave estimates a top speed greater than 10 knots and a cruising speed around 6-8 knots. To decrease drag and increase manoeuvrability, steerable sail-drives are fitted instead of shafts. These units have been utilised in commercial craft for years, and are beefy enough to cope with the (currently) largest twin 150kW electric motor option. The other way Solarwave has maximised the 62’s efficiency is to reduce weight using high-tech construction. Claims of ‘high-tech’ are frequently no more than annoying hyperbole, but Solarwave’s construction – an epoxy resin infused carbon composite structure with honeycomb cored furniture throughout – truly is high tech. It explains why the 62 weighs 18 tonnes (light), compared with the Lagoon 630’s 35 tonnes. The boat obviously relies on an indeterminate measure of sun, although given the prototype’s operational record that does not seem difficult to achieve. If the sun did disappear completely, with the recommended 84 kWh battery bank, Solarwave estimates the 62 would be able to cruise at 7 knots for about ten hours before the battery bank was depleted enough to require the ‘range extender’. Slow just a little to 6 knots and that time extends significantly. Solarwave understands that some owners will want more speed. So it also has a parallel hybrid version that incorporates 20kW electric motors between the gearbox and the diesel engines, which is straightforward tried and tested technology in the Greenline mould. Because the 62 is so light, it’s not easy to accurately predict the higher speeds, and Solarwave was refreshingly cautious in wanting to wait until the first 62s hit the water before committing itself. Lagoon’s 630 did 16 knots with twin 300hp Volvos, so certainly mid-20s seems possible with the same power, but whether the 62 could hit the magic 30 remains to be seen. There are further advantages to solar panel powered, all-electric propulsion than zero emissions and the lack of noise and vibration. Combining a slender catamaran with infinitely variable electric motors means that the boat won’t have a natural ‘groove’ as some boats do, instead owners will be able cruise at precisely their speed of choice, from zero to flat out. Notwithstanding provisioning and the necessary amount of sun to ‘fuel’ the solar panels, with the watermaker on board the 62 effectively becomes autonomous with a potentially unlimited range. At zero fuel cost! For intrepid long distance cruisers, that has to be hugely appealing. Contact: www.solarwave-yachts.com/english www.letrika.mahle.com/en/ www.hydrosta.nl/pmprop.html [© mby.com] For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Solarwave-Electric-powercat-project-explained-62-cruiser-tp4680816.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
