Thanks for pointing that out, I just didn't explore their materials completely enough to find that spec.
I believe my point still stands though and I think they've dug themselves a little deeper. To claim 'zero emissions' they really need to point out that while the electric drives don't emit anything, the diesel generators (two 20kw as I remember) that are used to charge them do, and they probably emit more than the main engines would to do the same work, though that is a complex problem that I doubt anyone here can answer with authority (I couldn't either without a great deal of qualifications to the answer.)
As for reducing fuel consumption for a short outing. If you're charging the batteries with the generators then you're not saving anything, if you're charging at the dock then you're just displacing the emissions and again, it might be more or it might be less depending on distance to the power generation state, efficiency of the power grid, type of power plant, efficiency of battery chargers, etc. In general, point-source fuel use creates fewer emissions, but like I said, there are so many factors involved it can go either way.
They've got a bunch of best possible scenarios there, like the idea that the owner is going to idle along at 7 knots, well below hull speed, instead of shooting off at the 22 knots of cruising speed advertised.
So, ultimately, my point is, what's the point of this thing? Complexity? Moving around energy enough times that people lose track and think they're getting something for nothing? Boasting to your friends you have a 'hybrid?'
I don't have any experience in power boats of this size, is it often a problem maneuvering because the engines don't idle low enough? This doesn't strike me as a fishing boat and I doubt (and this is just an unjustified assumption on my part) that the owners of such a vessel would spend the kind of additional money, and put up with the additional complexity and reduced performance just so they can sneak out of the marine early in the morning without waking their neighbors. I also didn't see it described that the electric motors could work in tandem with the diesels for additional total power, but they were two separate systems that could drive the same props but not at the same time.
They say they have orders, and that's fine, I hope their owners get the value they want out of these. Anyone selling and using electric motors on boats is a good thing as far as I'm concerned even if the specific application seems to be driven more by marketing and sales than any sort of efficiency or other ethical consideration (that's fine, that's their job.) Its not really the product I don't like, its the implications in the way its described which strikes me as dishonest.
David
Hi all!Extract from their web site:
> The big detail they leave out of these materials is the battery
> capacity, they say the two 23kw (!) motors will run the boat at
> 8 knots, but for how many miles? Who is willing to bet its under
> 8 and the whole electric drive system will be removed within five
> years.
http://magellanorange.azimutyachts.com/en/#/technicalfeautures/easyhybrid
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Autonomy
Lithium-ion batteries are currently used due to their high energy density. Other traditional lead batteries and zinc-carbon batteries have a much lower energy density.
Two battery packs to choose from are available for the Magellano 50: a 21 kWh battery pack (range of 5 nm), or a 42 kWh battery pack with a range of over 10 nautical miles at zero emissions.
For a short daily outing of 20 nautical miles, this means an average 50% reduction in diesel consumption (compared to sailing at 7 knots on diesel power)
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Pierre
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