News: Zen Yachts ZEN50 Solar Catamaran

ZEN50 Solar Catamaran By Zen Yachts
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This is a look at the new ZEN50 from Solar Catamaran from Zen Yachts. Ever heard of this yacht brand/manufacturer before? Probably not as it was only established in 2021. The company is presently working on getting this concept for the ZEN50 Solar Catamaran off the drawing boards and into reality. The all-electric vessel is aimed to be 51.5-feet long with up to a four-cabin layout to sleep 8, although the vessel is expected to carry up to 12 onboard.

Since it is fully-electric, the propulsion set up is represented by dual 50kW electric motors paired with a 160kWh LFP battery pack. The entire roof-tops are covered in photovoltaic panels to generate electricity. With 17kW of peak power the vessel should be able to continuously sail at around 5-knots. However, another integral piece to the puzzle is going to be its sails. The yacht's sails aren't traditional. Zen Yachts is partnering with a company called Ayro for the advanced automatic sails that will be fitted onboard the ZEN50. Ayro manufactures fully-automated wing sails that have an adjustable angle of attack and camber. As a result of this, the sails can be set at the precise angle and cant to take advantage of whatever wind is available. This accuracy makes the Ayro sails twice as efficient as traditional sails.

"We’ll be the first production leisure craft that will be installing (Ayro’s wing sails)", says Matic Klemenc, the sales and marketing director of Zen Yachts. One thing to note for the future is that the Ayro wing sails are an optional feature and will not be coming as standard with the catamaran. Although, the cat is solar powered already there are added benefits to have the wing sail added to the spec. With the wing sails installed, the ZEN50's continuous cruising speed can increase to between 6 and 9-knots, depending on conditions. Zen Yachts also says that the 50's top speed will increase from 10 knots to 14-knots with the Ayro wing sails installed.

For more information:

Zen Yachts
Passeig de Joan de Borbó, 103
Marina Vela, Store no. R13
08039 Barcelona
Spain
www.*************

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