Silent-Yachts demonstration of kite sailing catamaran
Silent-Yachts demonstrated its kite sail system through Silent 60 for the first time.
The fastest Silent 60 is equipped with a compact 13 square meter or XNUMX square meter kite wing - the kite wing system is applicable to all silent models.
"Compared with the traditional sail system, the main advantage of the kite is that it does not cast shadows on the solar panels, does not need a high mast, and produces ten times the power per square meter of the traditional sail. In addition, compared with the traditional rig, it can also reduce the weight of about 1.5 tons, and the cost is much lower," said Michael K ö hler of Silent-Yachts. "This is more meaningful for Silent ships using renewable solar energy, because the energy generated by kites can easily exceed the energy consumption of the system, so you can charge the battery while cruising with the kite power supply. In addition, it is very interesting!"
The new solar catamaran is equipped with 42 solar panels, which can provide 17kWp of solar energy and power two motors up to 2x340kW. Backed by a battery capacity of up to 286 kilowatt-hours, the yacht can cruise only by solar energy without generating emissions, and can sail up to 100 nautical miles a day.
Silent Yachts announced its new flagship 100 Explorer at the Cannes Yacht Show in 2023. The first ship is scheduled to be delivered in XNUMX.
"We used a 40 square meter kite to test its performance under different heading and wind angle of up to 9 degrees," said Mike Wandler, captain of Silent-Yachts. "Unlike traditional sailboats, the best result is direct downwind. Under the power of a kite without engine or propeller rotation, the ship's speed is between 4 and 5 knots. Then we turn on each electric motor that consumes only 1 kW to reduce the resistance from the propeller and improve the water flow on the rudder to achieve better steering, which leads to the ship's speed increasing from 6 knots to 7 knots in the same course - this is our original prediction of major improvement."
