The major advantage of an all-electric ship is to be particularly environmentally friendly and to avoid emission of pollutants, greenhouse gas emissions and noise. Cruising quietly offers a new way to navigate. And, of course, electricity is cheaper.

In addition, technological innovations now  enable us to offer electric boating at reasonable cost. Electric boats are now more practical, more powerful and faster.

The cost of maintaining this type of boat is small, the life of an electric motor is longer than that of a combustion engine. No more revisions, adjustments, engine maintenance and other time-consuming and expensive to clean engines.

The purchase price of a boat with 4KW power (including battery) is identical to that of a boat equipped with an engine of about 50 hp; User costs are lower – about 20 % – to those of a boat equivalent thermal (electricity is much cheaper than petrol: the order of 1 euro for 40 miles or 70 km of navigation); Maintenance costs are reduced by half that of a traditional boat engine: an electric motor requires less intervention.

The electric motor provides superior performance in an engine. For example, the effort of propelling the motor is transmitted immediately delivering all its power from the star.  All you need to charge an electric boat is simply an electrical outlet.

The maintenance of an electric drive is very small compared to thermal propulsion.

The cost of maintenance and renewal of worn parts is lower than for a conventional thermal boat. The additional cost to purchase an electric boat will be recouped over 3-4 years.

Lead acid batteries are cheaper than lithium batteries. However, their life is more limited (about 500 cycles of charge / discharge – 1 out of 1 cycle = 8 hours to a battery lead against about 2000 cycles for lithium batteries). A pack of lead-acid battery costs about 1,800 euros (pack 48V/160Ah). If we rely on 2000 cycles, it will change at least 4 times your battery pack to lead (or € 7200 including VAT). One Lithium battery pack (or 16 000 hours of sailing) costs about 7000 euros. The gain is mainly on the mass board.

The lithium is much lighter, less cumbersome: the boat will be more pleasant to handle and more portable.

The Lithium preserves all its capabilities to its outlet total in contrast to the lead that has a nonlinear behavior at a certain rate of discharge.

This technology will equip the cars of tomorrow. Its energy density is in the range of 100-110 Wh / kg and its life already exceeds 2000 cycles.

Advantages:

• Number of charge cycles very high.
• Weight gain compared to lithium-ion
• The rapid recharge
• High energy capacity.

Disadvantages:

• price still high but tends to decrease with the arrival on the market for electric cars

Unlike thermal boats, the power of the boat is not only related to the power the electric motor.

The power depends on the batteries (which power are they capable of delivering when accelerating), the controller and motor. Today 4 kilowatts of engine work as well as motors of 6 kilowatts with good batteries and a good controller. The autonomy is also subject to wide variations in the case of hard acceleration. In this case, the boat will consume much more energy, and autonomy will be reduced. For example, we will have 8 hours of autonomy while cruising at a reasonable speed of 5 knots. The autonomy will be reduced to 2 with a speed of 7-8 knots.

Apart from a very slight noise when accelerating, the ship equipped with an electric motor is silent. Just a small sound shows that the engine runs well but no more. The silence, surprising at first, makes navigation in fact more comfortable, easy and fun. The instant start is smooth.

This zero-emission equipment requires no maintenance: no final revisions, odors or fumes!

Cruising in all-electric offers an easy start, smooth ride, altogether  easy and very maneuverable.

The autonomy of the boat is first linked to the performance of your batteries (Lead or Lithium).

To simplify, multiply the voltage and amperage of your battery to determine the energy measured in kWh.

A Zephyr with a battery pack will 48V160Ah a nominal energy of 7680 Wh installed or 7.68 KWh (160X48). In reality, the battery has a higher voltage when it is loaded (about 58 VDC). The actual energy of the battery is given by the manufacturer.

Energy refund may not exceed the discharge rate recommended by the manufacturer of the battery:

- 70% discharge for a battery lead

- 80% discharge for a lithium

The autonomy of the boat also depends on the weight of it and  the number of passengers on board.

It is related to the speed at which you travel. The variations can be significant if you are constantly at maximum speed  which is 7 / 8 knots. To increase the length of your independence, you are advised to navigate at a speed of 5 knots or walking speed.

The lead-based battery weighs 200 kg and has a lifespan of 10 years at 50 trips per year. It requires no special maintenance. Only the long-term storage (2 months) will be monitored.

The battery based on lithium weighs 68 kg and has a lifespan of 10 years at 150 trips per year.

It requires no special maintenance and can be stored with any level of charge.

The purchase price of the batteries is an important part of the initial budget of electric boat. However, you will not have to budget for « fossil fuel » to run it.

530 kg, it is therefore easy to carry on a simple trailer for launching.

At home or at the dock for 4 hours to fully charge. You can recharge the batteries of the Zephyr on shore or at home on a 220 V supply. We provide an extension lead of 15 meters for recharging dock to plug into standard connections you’ll find in most ports.

For a trickle charge that is 100% green, you can opt for a design of solar panels. 5 days will be needed to fully recharge your Zephyr.

Naviwatt developing a new  more powerful inboard engine which will increase the speed and sensations. It will be marketed for the 2012 season.

Yes, our office is at your disposal to offer you the solution best suited to equip your boat with electric power.