Silent Yachts just launched its first new 60, and it comes with a sail-kite to give the solar-electric cat an extra 5 knots or so of speed. The new 60 was built at the company’s yard in Thailand; eight more are under construction there.
The basic boat is powered by two 50kW electric motors with a 143kW lithium battery and a 100kW generator, producing a cruising speed of 6 to 8 knots and a top speed of 14 knots. The boat’s most advanced power comes from two 340kW electric motors, a 268kW lithium battery, and a 150kW generator, with the same cruising speed but a top speed reaching 20 knots. The boat also has 42 solar panels generating 17kWp.
The new, optional, kite adds to those speeds and extends the cat’s range, which already is transoceanic. Designed by Wingit, the standard kite is 96 square feet, but an upgrade is 140 square feet.
The kite attaches to a two-foot mast with four Kevlar lines. You inflate it with an electric pump and then throw it overboard so it catches the wind. It can climb to 393 feet above the boat. To retrieve it, you use an electric winch that pulls it back to the foredeck, where you can store it in its own box.
The Silent 60 is the next generation of the Silent 64, the first production solar-powered yacht to cross the Atlantic. In addition to its virtually unlimited range, it has zero emissions while providing quiet cruising with almost no maintenance.
The company says the 60 can cruise 100 miles a day, indefinitely, on its high-performance hull with a long waterline and a minimal 3-foot draft. It can be handled easily by two people.
Hull number one has four staterooms on the lower decks, including a luxurious master. The 60 can be customized with three to five staterooms. It also has a wide, bright salon, a large flybridge, a protected aft deck and a hydraulic swim platform that’s large enough for a 13’ 7” tender.
Starting price is just under $2.7 million.
Specs.: LOA: 59’0” Beam: 29’5”; Draft: 3’0”; Disp.: 58,000 lbs.; Fuel: 422 gals.; Water: 264 gals.; Power: Up to 2x340kW electric motors. Read more:
