At the Newport International Boat Show last weekend, attendees were treated to one of the most innovative new cruising sailboats to come onto the market in a while. The Salona 46, which was introduced in Europe last year, is a modern, slippery J&J design built by an innovative builder of racer cruisers known for their performance and the high quality of the build. Salona partnered with Ocean Volt on this project. The 46 has a 30.4 kWh lithium-ion battery bank that drives the twin Ocean Volt Servo Prop electric motors and sail drives. With a 100-percent charge, the 46 can motor at 6.5 knots for 10 hours or can speed along at 8.5 knots for more than three hours. When the boat is under sail, the Servo Prop units act as generators that recharge the battery bank. At speeds of over 5 knots, the battery bank can go from zero charge to 100% in about 20 hours, or faster at higher sailing speeds. Because the 46 is a fast-sailing cruiser that will make more than 5 knots most of the time when sailing, it is a good prospect for self-regenerating electric propulsion. While an electric-powered cruising boat is not a new idea, it appears that Salona and Ocean Volt have evolved a system –both in yacht design and electric propulsion– that seems to be a very promising marriage. I for one would probably carry a 1000 kw portable generator aboard, just in case. But that’s the belt and suspenders redundancy that I’ve learned to appreciate over the years. Still, I think we may be looking at, in the Salona 46, what an electric-powered future looks like in production cruising sail boats.
Check out Ocean Volt here
Check out Salona Yachts here
