The Bermuda Deal was the deal that started it all. It was an opportunity to put theory into action, it was a longshot and it hit. The story starts with meeting some guy on the internet. The fellow had a similar interest, he wanted to build an electric catamaran. Both him and I were calling suppliers, figuring out what products we needed and pricing it out. Both of us contacted Shelley at Atlantic Tower to price out a solar array. Finding it odd that two people were essentially calling about a similar slightly outlandish projects, she introduced the both of us. We exchanged emails, phone calls and at a certain point it became necessary to meet in person and finalize a deal to work together. The future client was heading to Bermuda and would be on the island for Mothers Day weekend 2018.
I sold the Buick Riviera that my grandfather gave me and bought a plane ticket. This would be my first trip to Bermuda and was pleasantly surprised with how short the flight was from NY! After arriving at a loosely agreed upon spot to meet the client, I got a meal and sent a message off that I had arrived. A bit of time passed and I noticed my calls would not go through. I sent a few more messages with no response. More time passed and I sent an email or two.. Hours had passed and my excitement to meet this person was dashed with doubts. Did I fly to Bermuda for no reason at all? The plan was to sleep on an Aquila 44 while in town but did this fall through? Do I need to book a hotel room? This was Mothers Day weekend, the least expensive motel was over $400 dollars a night. Jesus, this is not good, I really could NOT spend that kind of money at the time. Doubt overtook excitement. My phone was essentially useless and I came to peace with the idea my business trip was actually going to be an impromptu, expensive vacation.
It was late in the afternoon and I needed to come up with a plan. Nearby was a moped rental. I needed to find a place to sleep and decided to rent a moped and explore the island. I cruised around, it’s a beautiful island, I took some pictures, visited some old forts and a bar off the beaten path where some locals were. The nice bottle of scotch I brought as a gift was weighing me down. Seeing some locals on park bench, I gave it away. I was down on my luck and perhaps a good deed could turn things around. A few hours later, an email finally came through, the potential client was at a restaurant in Hamilton. I scootered 30 minutes south and the rest is history.
Now for the project requirements.
• Vessel is self sustaining without shore power
• Vessel has the range to go anywhere in the world
• Vessel stores enough battery power to run the house load including AC in 100 degree weather for 24 hours without generator power
• Aquila 44 hull
• Reaches max hull speed of 8.5 knots
• Batteries can be fully charged by shore power in 1 night, <8 hours
• Batteries can be charged by 3 sources of power, solar, generator and shore power in unison.
• Generator can bypass the battery system in the event of a failure and the engines will continue to run on generator power.
• Solar array can provide 20kW of power on an average day.

Key Dates


1/20/2019:
We accepted delivery of the Aquila 44 from MarineMax! Tear down began the next day. Exhaust manifolds for each engine have been removed and the 300 hp Volvo Penta engines are soon to follow.

1/27/2019:
Tender for the electric yacht has been completed. The 12’ Zar is propelled by a 10kW Torqeedo engine and two 5kW 48v batteries. The tender can plane with a full load and is a joy to drive. Chargers for the tender are located on the yacht where its main charging station is.

3/25/2019:
Landed the Motors / Bulkhead / 4 MPPT Solar Charger / 6 Shore Chargers / 2 control units / i3 batteries / Generator

6/01/2019:
Sea Trials complete, private showing of the Yacht at the West Shore Yacht Club in Tampa.

8/01/2019:
Owner leaves for a 3 month trip to Bahamas

2/13/2020:
First public reveal at the Miami Yacht show!