Spirit Yachts will be displaying two electric drive sailing yachts at this year’s Southampton Boat Show from 16^th – 25^th September.  As part of Spirit Yachts’ drive to lower the carbon footprint of its yachts, the company will be exhibiting a new Spirit 44CR (cruiser racer) and a Spirit 30.

pirit Yachts Managing Director Karen Underwood commented, “The 44CR and 30 represent the future of sailing yachts: electric drive, low energy consumption, silent manoeuvring, and they are made from sustainable and recyclable materials.  Not only do both yachts offer a more eco-friendly proposition, their elegant, classic lines turn heads wherever they go and they are a joy to sail.”

The 44ft (13.4m) Spirit 44CR has a lightweight (65kgs) Oceanvolt ServoProp15 sail drive, which is powered by a battery bank of eight 7.2kWh batteries totalling 57.6kWh in capacity. Weather dependent, the yacht has a range of 53nm at 6 knots. The electric drive system uses hydro generation via the pitch propeller to regenerate the batteries whilst sailing.

Above: the Spirit 44CR (photo: Richard Langdon)

Regeneration is boosted by Solbian solar panels integrated into the aft deck.  The solar panels can be colour-customised to suit the yacht and have the capacity to regenerate 430W in total

Total regeneration capability of the Spirit 44CR depends on weather conditions, but test sails have seen 1.5kW at 8knots of sailing speed.

The Spirit 44CR also has OneSails’ 4T FORTE sails, which are currently the only sails on the market that can be stripped of the hardware and recycled at commercial recycling plants.

Exhibiting alongside the Spirit 44CR is a second electric drive yacht, the Spirit 30.  The Spirit 30 has a Torqeedo Cruise 4.0 FP electric drive system powered by lithium ion batteries and a Torqeedo 650W battery charger, giving a range of 16nm at 5 knots.  The batteries are recharged by hydro propulsion, shore power or via solar panels mounted over the cockpit cover.

Above: the Spirit 30 (photo: Waterline Media)

The Spirit 30 was constructed from responsibly sourced sapele ringframes and Douglas fir planking.  In a first for Spirit Yachts, the hull was then made water-tight using sustainable flax material, which was laid on the timber and sealed using PRO-SET bio resin.

At 9.15m long with a light displacement of 1.7 tonnes, the Spirit 30 has options for a fixed or lifting keel and rudder.  The yacht can also easily be transported on a road trailer adding to the versatility of this simple yet classically beautiful design.  Watch the Spirit 30 on the water here.

Spirit Yachts will be exhibiting at the Southampton Boat Show from 16th – 25th September in marina berths M346 and M350.