6:57 PM Fri 19 Feb 2010 GMT
Dressed in eye-catching graphics, Mercury's Hybrid Concept Vessel was a Miami International Boat Show highlight -- but a quiet one. Equipped with both Cummins QSC 550, 550-hp diesel engines and Zeus pod drives plus high-efficiency electric engines, solar panels, full SmartCraft controls including joystick docking, the Mercury's Hybrid Concept Vessel glided out of its slip like it was drifting in the wind, making virtually no sound, no smoke and no smell.
Yet, the driver of the boat simply used the Zeus joystick control to pivot in the channel and head out the harbour gap under electric power, even through stiff winds. The only sound was from the turbulent water at the transom.
Able to run on just electric, just diesel, or a combination of diesel and electric power, the captain can choose the best mode for the conditions. Out on the water in Mercury's Hybrid Concept Vessel, the transition from one mode to another was almost imperceptible except for the sound of the diesel engine, [or the lack of it].
Out on the water, cruising under diesel power, the electric engines can be used to recharge the lithium-ion battery banks that power the boat's two 100-hp electric engine/generators. You can also plug it into shore power or re-charge with the array of solar panels fitted on the deck and hardtop. The Hybrid Concept Vessel is an amazing showcase of new technology, but the most important fact was that it all worked so well in a conventional 42 foot express coupe yacht.
You would never know that it was a Hybrid boat from the appearance or the performance and the penalties in weight or increased cost are projected to be well within the envelope of what buyers are comfortable with. This boat is more than just a dream boat.
Look for a more in-depth description of the performance, costs and features on Mercury's Hybrid Concept Vessel in the next issue of Boating Industry Canada and also in Canadian Yachting magazine and on Powerboat-World.com and Marine Business-World.com
by Andy Adams
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Norah Head, NSW
