Silent Yachts is the first boat builder to have a boat cross the Atlantic Ocean using only solar powered electric motors. This is no small feat and proves that the original concepts behind the Silent catamaran designs and technology are sound.
But, the business in 2022 and 2023 became a victim of its own success and adverse market forces. It simply outgrew its ability to deliver boats and ended up in receivership. As has happened numerous times in the past, one of the owners of a boat yet to be completed stepped in and bought the company.
The new owner, Michael Said, has put in place a new management team, hired a new design team and set about reimagining what Silent Yachts’ mission is all about. By the end of last year, Silent Yachts had launched the seven 62-foot cats that were due for delivery, had a healthy order book going forward and had introduced the design of the new 80 series.
New CEO Fabrizio Iarrera, a veteran of the Italian yachting sector, has restructured the business and helped to set it on a strong footing for the future.
“Silent-Yachts is known and recognized throughout the yachting world for developing the technology to make electric catamarans a reality,” he said. “There are costs associated with creating an entirely new market, and the original business fell prey to these, at a time when price inflation everywhere was spiraling out of control.”
“Our yacht owners are passionate about the brand and the yacht itself, as our very strong pipeline of orders shows. For Michael Said, it was an easy decision to invest in a restructured Silent-Yachts, and many of our other owners are just as keen. We know we have a job to do to rebuild the brand’s reputation, but we’ve been thrilled by the positive reception we’ve had from those who have already put in orders.”
I had my first ride on a Silent 62 five years ago during the Cannes (France) Festival of Yachting. The large cat, covered with solar panels and operated by sophisticated computers and proprietary software, behaved more like a sailboat than a power cat.
First of all, as we pulled away from the dock and headed out into the Med, there was no engine noise. A Silent Yacht should be silent. And, we were motoring at six knots which we increased to eight once clear of the harbor traffic.
At eight knots in bright sunlight the Silent 62’s solar array could generate enough power to maintain the battery bank’s level of charge. In this condition, the boat is almost a perpetual-motion machine that emits no noise or carbon pollution.
Of course, there is no such thing. As a cloud blocks the sun, as the sun gets lower at dawn and dusk, as night falls, the solar panels cease to meet power demands and the 62 has to run on stored electricity. At eight knots, it could do this for several hours. At six knots, many hours longer.
To keep the 62 moving without solar power, the 62 was equipped with a diesel generator called a “range extender.” So, the design and technology is really a diesel-electric hybrid for cruisers who want and need to operate at all hours of the day.
Still, this power arrangement appeals to many boat owners who will run in silent mode most of the time and who will appreciate that the battery bank is large enough to run all of the boat’s functions through the night without having to start the generator.
The Silent 62 is a spacious, finely appointed cruising cat that comes in three configurations. The three-deck version has proven the most popular and provides a large living space in the salon and a second social area on the flying bridge.
An adaptation of the flying bridge version places the owner’s private suite on the upper deck which is enclosed and has its own private porch on the aft end of the deck. In my experience, no other builder in this size range offers such a luxurious and spacious suite.
The third version eliminates the flying bridge and provides only a raised steering station covered by a T-Top. This will appeal to owners who have to negotiate low fixed bridges in their home waterways.
As Fabricio Iarrera noted, Silent customers and owners are passionate about their boats. They love the space provided by a 62 foot cat with almost 30 feet of beam. They love the cutting-edge eco-friendly technology and the silent running. And, they love owning a brand that is leading the way to a sustainable future.
The good news is that this innovative company has risen from the ashes to fly again.
