In addition to increasing range, long-distance sailors and motoryacht owners always look for ways to reduce their impact on the environment. One immediate way to cut back on emissions could be simply switching fuel.
One new fuel is called Hydro Treated Vegetable Oil and it’s made from refined waste cooking oils, animal fats and grease.
“It’s probably the most significant drop-in diesel fuel today,” said Jeff Wasil, director of environment, health, safety and compliance at the National Marine Manufacturers Association. HVO, as it’s called, is a renewable diesel that meets ASTM D975 specifications and Wasil said it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent compared to conventional diesel fuel.
“From an engine perspective, run-ability, compatibility-wise, it’s a fantastic fuel,” he said. “You should not be nervous to run HVO.”
As we kick off the new year, boat owners have more options than ever when it comes to choosing how to power their vessels. Electric motors are praised for their emissions-free, silent operation. Electric-diesel hybrids could make the most sense for increasing range.
Many new systems made their debuts at the International Boat Builders Exhibition and Conference in Tampa, Fla., the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show and the November METSTRADE show in Amsterdam.
Hard to Beat
Continuing with HVO, Wasil said it’s a drop-in replacement for any diesel engine and can reduce emissions more effectively than converting to electric power.
“Our research has shown that if you have a diesel-powered boat and you run it on HVO, in many cases the overall greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime are lower than if you were to switch your boat to fully electric,” he said.
He explained that 50 percent of the CO2 gasses related to an electric propulsion system come from the mining and extracting of the raw materials needed to make the lithium-based batteries. The battery packs are carbon intensive and they last about 10 years. Most boaters won’t use their vessel long enough or often enough to make up the investment in lithium and carbon.
“If you’re not going to use the boat as often, in many cases, the renewable fuels will make the biggest impact on reducing emissions,” said Wasil.
He used the example of a yacht with 130 hours of use time and a lifetime use of 50 years. Switching to HVO would reduce emissions by 90 percent. “If the same boat was operated on electric, over the life of its 50 years, emissions would be reduced by 10 percent,” said Wasil. Because HVO has lower particulate matter, it also reduces soot and carbon buildup. Compared to conventional diesel, HVO isn’t as efficient in terms of mpg and unlike biodiesel, HVO doesn’t have deterioration and biological growth issues.
Last Fall, the NMMA and Suzuki Marine collaborated to have a cleaner-burning gasoline called Pure Fuel available at Saint Andrew Marina in Panama City, Fla. As of Oct. 1, more than 54,000 gallons of Pure Fuel had been sold.
“The most important thing we’ve learned is that the consumer is accepting of the fuel,” said Wasil. “We weren’t 100 percent sure how the consumer would react. Sales have been right on target with what they would have expected to sell in conventional fuels.”
Steve D’Antonio is the president of Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting (www.stevedmarineconsulting.com) and many of his clients are long-distance cruisers. He’s not necessarily ready to turn his back on proven propulsion systems in favor of new technology when the recreational boating industry is not up to speed yet. It’s one thing to be the first to have a newfangled fancy engine in your boat. It’s another when you need to have it worked on and no local techs have been trained on it, especially when you’re traveling in a remote part of the world.
“People call me and say, ‘I’m thinking about buying an all-electric boat,’” D’Antonio said. “I’m all for new technology and environmental friendliness, however, are we willing to trade the reliability of a diesel engine for something that’s very complicated, and thus likely less reliable, and not much more efficient or cleaner once you’ve calculated the full production footprint? My advice, look before you leap, consider the application and ask about support, service and parts for these systems, now and in five or more years. Reliability is paramount”
What’s New
With those words in mind, let’s take a look at some of the new propulsion systems that have been introduced in the last year. Diesel engine manufacturer MAN introduced a second-generation common-rail fuel-injection system for its medium-speed, four-stroke family of engines. The CR 2.2 is intended to replace the CR 1.6 predecessor and MAN says it will optimize engine performance and reduce emissions and fuel consumption.
“This new common-rail generation integrates the experience and lessons learned from the previous CR generation,” said Stefan Eefting, senior vice president and head of MAN PrimeServ Germany, in a statement. “A key development is that we have reduced our dependency on subsuppliers and brought production completely in-house, which – in dispensing with external partners – greatly simplifies the technical side of things for us. The result is (a) proven, modular system that can easily be adapted to different engine sizes and that I’m positive will be well-received by the market.”
MAN says that CR 2.2 can boast up to 38 percent increased rail-pressure and more than 33% increased target time-between-overhaul intervals for most components. The CR 2.2 system features some 35 percent fewer high-pressure connections. That translates into a significantly reduced risk of leaks.
Other features of CR 2.2 include an increased system pressure of up to 2,200 bar to comply with future emissions limits while offering reduced fuel consumption. Electronically controlled injectors include an accumulator that provides flexibility during an injection event. The modular design focuses on simplifying service and creating improved access for repairs. The system can accommodate conventional fuels as well as HVO.
At METSTRADE, well-known motor company Bosch introduced an 800-volt electric boat motor for pleasure craft. The new SMG 230 electric motor is designed for system voltages from 400 to 800 volts. With a continuous output of up to 200 kilowatts, the motor permits the electrification of boats with a displacement of 20 to 30 tons. The motor achieves a torque of around 250 Newton meters. The power density also has been significantly increased thanks to the 800-volt technology. According to Bosch, an inverter with silicon carbide semiconductors, has an efficiency rating of more than 99 percent.
“With the latest generation of our electric motor and inverter with silicon carbide power modules, we offer a complete system that allows not only recreational boats, but also larger sailing yachts to be operated with an efficient, quiet, yet still powerful electric drive,” said Philipp Kurek, responsible for the Off-Highway and Marine division at Bosch Engineering.
Bosch has been offering the EDSP marine drive platform for some time now. Two smaller electric motors for boats already are being offered as part of the EDSP, the SMG 180 with 90 kW output and the SMG 220 with 140 kW output. Both electric motors are marketed for boats and for for off-highway applications.
Long-known for its lightweight diesel engines, Yanmar has launched E-Saildrive, its first electric propulsion system. It was unveiled at the Cannes Yachting Festival last September and it uses a plug-and-play platform that the company says makes it ideal for retrofit applications. It combines an integrated gear, motor, motor controller and cooling system. The drive is a drop-in replacement for a Yanmar YM engine and no hull modifications are needed.
Three models are available – the SDe7, the SDe10 and the SDe15 – delivering up to 15 kW of power for sailboats less than 40 feet long depending on application and displacement.
A 4.3-inch display has an IPX7 waterproof rating and anti-fog coating. Control heads are available as a side or top mount.
“The launch of the E-Saildrive is a significant moment in our aim to reduce the environmental impact of sailing,” said Floris Lettinga, director of sales and marketing at Yanmar Marine International, in a statement. “Our integrated system has a host of innovative features to provide boaters an easy switch to 100-percent emissions-free sailing. We are confident in the E-Saildrive’s engineering and will work with our network of dealers and distributors to ensure that technical support is available worldwide.”
Offering sailors repower options, engine maker Beta Marine has packages with an engine and Saildrive leg that mount to a boat’s existing engine mounts. The company also can offer custom engine beds. Beta offers motors from 14 to 50 hp that can be matched with the Technodrive SeaProp 60 saildrive.
If a boat owner only needs to sawp out an engine, Beta provides a replacement with an adapter for an existing Saildrive leg. It includes an engine, shallow sump oil pan and a housing adapter place that will mount to an existing Saildrive.
The SeaProp 60 Saildrive can accommodate left- and right-hand propellers and is available in 2.15:1 or 2.38:1 reduction ratios. Additionally, the drive can be oriented 180 degrees so the engine is positioned directly over the propeller.
An owner looking to repower a tender with an electric motor might want to check out Tohatsu’s 6.0 kW outboard that made its debut at the 2024 Miami boat show. Tohatsu partnered with Ilmor Marine on the motor, which is a different model from the Ilmor Ion.
One highlight of the Tohatsu product is that it has an integrated trim system. Many competitive models need an aftermarket kit.
A Canadian company, Duxion Marine, has developed an electric motor that can convert a diesel engine to a hybrid electric. It clamps in line abaft a vessel’s engine on the propeller shaft and has four operating modes. The Integrated Motor/Generator with Split Gearbox can be used as a replacement for a generator, as a backup propulsion system, as a zero emissions electric motor and as a power boost.
Also offering electric systems is a Dutch company, Bellmarine, that has eight different choices for aftermarket marine installations. The Master series includes electric motors designed for use as the primary propulsion in liquid- or air-cooled designs, an electric stern drive and an electric saildrive called the SailMaster in ratings from 5kW to 35kW. Air-cooled outboard motors range from 4kW to 15kW and liquid-cooled versions from 8kW to 35kW and thrusters that can be used at the bow or stern called SquidMaster. Bellmarine’s most powerful offerings are in the 260-watt rating as inboards in the with DriveMaster and ShaftMaster and the Stern Master that pairs an electric motor with a commercial grade stern drive from Konrad Marine.
New Solution to an Old Problem
Many boat owners have experienced issues with engines overheating because of corrosion in raw-water cooling systems. Brian Bosley invented PHIBER systems, a freshwater flushing kit.
PHIBER’s system is designed to ensure the integrity of raw water and freshwater networks while leveraging the vessel’s native freshwater tank and raw-water cooling network to perform the flush. It removes the time and labor to manually flush a system with a patent-pending control module and freshwater flush manifold that incorporates a hydrostatic lock. The design has a minimal installation footprint that integrates into existing raw water networks for inboard or overboard applications. The company says the result is that an owner can flush his boat’s raw-water system with the touch of a button. n