The future is silent…… no doubt from my side about this !! – OceanVolt in Finland (Helsinki) has specific electro motor systems to get rid of skinky and noisy-nailing diesel mashines…. :-)The compact water cooled sail drive (only 44 kg) was winner in 2013 of the Pittman Innovation Award in the category “systems“.
Let’s take a look at a beautiful and roomy 50 Foot Trimaran which is equipped with such an OceanVolt system.
The Contour* 50 Trimaran “Alexandra” was built in 2001 as a high performance multihull (based in Nantucket Massachusetts) with the Kotalac family on board. Alexandra has received a complete professional upgrade.
In addition to the 10kW Oceanvolt electric motor system installed the 3-hull boat was upgraded in 2013 with a new mainsail and new solar panels adhered to the mast.
The Contour 50* uses the Oceanvolt SD10 primarily as a hydro generator. The system has been tuned to maximize the regeneration efficiency with +20% more power being generated. At 11 knots the system is generating 1,7 kW. The SD10 can also be used for propulsion (see bottom the fully specification sheet as PDF).
(Source: 04/10/2015 – OceanVolt (official website))
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*) Contour Yachts produced the unique and well regarded Contour line of sailing trimarans throughout the 1980s and 1990s. These 3-hulled sailing craft offer excellent stability and speed compared to mono hull or catamaran sailboats. Contour Yachts produced boats in sizes from 30 feet (9.1 m) to over 50 feet (15 m) in length and many continue to sail on the Great Lakes and around the world today. The construction and build quality of the Contour boats have been a key feature in the magazine reviews of the day. Contour is a historical name and fixture in the Canadian yachting and boating industry. Their efforts helped develop the trimaran as a serious sailing vessel, which are now recognized as stable and high-speed platform for lake and ocean sailing (Source: Wikipedia.org)
As Trimarans are light weighted (e.g. a 50 feet tri has 9.5 tons compared with a 22-23 tons Hallberg Rassey 57) such a system like seen from OceanVolt on the Tri Alexandra might be very interesting to realize (e.g. storage of batteries in the outriggers/amas ????) on smaller Trimarans, too. – I will take a closer look at over next months in details + already in touch with OceanVolt directly 🙂 + will keep you updated ! +++ Happy Sailing / Skip JayR 🙂
Electro vs. Diesel pull: 3:0 for Electro
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specifications of Oceanvolt SD10
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World of Trimaran Enthusiasts 