At first glance, this may seem to be too much of a good thing; on the other hand, it may be the start of a new trend.
In any event, all those solar panels do provide a good deal of eco-friendly power to the Wedgewood Hybrid, 77, now under construction at the Fabiani Yacht yard in Livorno, Italy. When extended, the solar “park” has 1,200 square feet of panels to supply power to the yacht’s batteries that then can drive two electric motors.
The yacht can cruise for up to 16 hours at 6 to 8 knots under solar power without any noise or fossil fuel emissions. The panels can be retracted when not in use.
The Hybrid part of the boat’s name comes from twin 1,900-hp MAN diesels that the factory says will provide a cruising speed of 25 knots and a top speed of 29 knots. The yacht will be launched in the summer of 2023.
The Wedgewood Hybrid has an aluminum hull, and the interior can be customized for each owner. The basic plan calls for three or four staterooms, plus a crew cabin holding two.
The flybridge, under a hardtop, has two chairs at the helm station and a table seating eight a bit aft and sun lounges farther aft. There is another large sunning and relaxing area on the foredeck, with sofas and a table for al fresco dining.
The salon also can be customized, but it has lots of room for sofas and lounging, plus the galley and a day head. Aft, the swim platform lowers to three feet below the waterline for access to water sports or to facilitate launching the tender.
Fabiani Yacht is also working on a Hybrid 62 and a Hybrid 101. Fabiani is under the umbrella of the Intermare yard.
Specs.: LOA: 78’7”; Beam: 21’9”; Draft: NA; Disp.: 68 tons; Fuel: 1,585 gals.; Water: 264 gals; Power: 2×1,900-hp MAN diesels. Read more:
