British physician Dr. Stephan Weatherly had a vision for a new type of four-season, cruising and expedition yacht that could be capable of crossing oceans while being as sustainable as possible.
Working with the naval architects at Chartwell Marine, Weatherly first developed and built the Archipelago 47. An aluminum cat powered conventionally with twin diesel engines, the boat has proven to be a comfortable four-season family cruiser with a 3,000-mile range.
But, diesel engines are not, by definition, sustainable. In Weatherly’s view, the only practical, 100-percent sustainable propulsion option for his proposed line of cats from 40 to 80 feet, is methanol.
He is not alone. Shipping companies around the world have already made a commitment to the fuel. According to the Norwegian shipping classification body DNV, more than 200 ships are now on order with methanol dual-fuel propulsion systems instead of the now standard LNG engines.
Dr. Weatherly, who is aptly named for someone who founded and runs a boatbuilding company, has received a 2.5 million-pound grant from the U.K. government to develop methanol propulsion and has designed the Archipelago 63 to be the test platform.
On their website, Archipelago speculates that the methanol powered 63 will have a range of 5,500 miles, a top speed of 20 knots and accommodations for eight. The price tag for a diesel powered 63 is 2.8 million pounds; with the methanol generator and propulsion system technology aboard, the price tag soars to 4.5 million pounds.
The British magazine Motorboat & Yachting recently ran an interesting article on Archipelago and methanol propulsion. Read more here.
