Friday, March 29

New ZEN 50 Powercat: No Fossil Fuel At All

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The new ZEN 50, currently being built in Spain, is truly a different boat.

It is basically a solar-powered electric power catamaran, although you can order one with an innovative wing sail. And it is totally fossil-fuel free. It has no back-up generator or diesel or gas engine at all. It doesn’t even carry fossil fuel. The tender is powered by a battery that can be recharged from the mothership.

The ZEN company, based in Malta, says the ZEN 50 is “a game changer,” certainly an overused term. But in this case, it appears to be true. The ZEN 50 seems to be the first totally zero-emissions 50-foot production powercat. (There are many large solar-electric powercats now, but all the ones I’m familiar with offer a backup generator, even if just for providing house power at anchor.)

The ZEN 50 has two large solar panel arrays on the flybridge and foredeck, delivering a peak output of 16kW. The cat’s slippery hulls are driven by two 40kW electric motors linked to saildrive legs. Power is stored in a 160 kWh lithium battery pack, with a 10 kWh backup.

The cat tops out at 10 knots under solar/electric power alone, with a cruising speed of 8 knots. The company says it can cruise indefinitely at 4.5 to 5 knots without drawing on the batteries at all.

If you want to extend the speed and range, you can order the ZEN 50 with an optional automated wingsail (similar to the one on the hydrogen-powered Energy Observer). The company says you don’t need any sailing experience to use this; a new owner wouldn’t have to go through all the bother of actually learning how to sail.

The electrically controlled sail boosts the top speed to 14 knots, and the cruising speed to 10 knots.

The hull is built with a lot of carbon for light weight and strength and, since there is no need for fuel tanks or diesel engines, both hulls have massive space for accommodations. The boat comes in three versions: Racer, Cruiser, and Explorer, and each can be customized.

But the basic configuration can sleep 10 people in five cabins, although an “owner’s version” has a luxurious master suite taking up most of the starboard hull. And since the beam of 26’ 7” is more than half the length of the boat, there’s a large amount of space inside and out for relaxing and entertaining.

The ZEN 50 has three dining areas (with each one seating 10 people), a professional-size galley, five heads, helm stations in the main deck and flybridge, and room for a dive compressor aft. The first boat is scheduled to be launched early next year.

Specs.: LOA: 51’6”; Beam: 26’7”; Draft: 4’3”; Disp.: 32,000 lbs.; Fuel: 0 gals.; Water: NA; Power: 2x40kW electric saildrives. Read more at http://zenyachts.com and see the video below:

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