In collaboration with Stay Sea Design, the German shipyard Lloyd Werft has unveiled a new concept for a sailing catamaran.
According to the shipyard, the Albatross concept is designed to leverage wind, solar, and seawater to reduce its CO2 footprint and energy consumption by 40 percent.
To accomplish this, the design will employ rigid wing sail technology, which provides approximately 1,200kW of propulsion power and can propel the yacht to velocities of approximately seven knots. When not in use, they can be folded away discretely. In addition, 1,150 square meters of photovoltaic solar panels and five vertical wind turbines will be installed on Albatross.
A 29-meter beam and a gross tonnage of 10,000 GT have been envisioned for this concept. Onboard features include a remarkable aft-deck infinity pool that stretches across the main deck and a beach club located near the twin swim platforms. Inside the yacht are a spacious gym, a luxurious salon, multiple saloons, and dining areas for hosting events.
A total of 14 guests can be accommodated on board, while an impressive personnel of 40 has been envisioned for the yacht’s design; however, there are only 46 berths available. The shipyard has increased its focus on crew spaces, stating, “The days of the cramping crew into multiple-berth cabins are a relic of the past that can be easily avoided.” These factors are crucial for the welfare, mental health, and happiness of the personnel. With proper planning during the design phases, the project can be completed at a low cost.”
Albatross carries four tenders (two 11-meter electric tenders, one 8-meter electric RIB, and one 8-meter conventional diesel RIB) and four Jet Skis in two distinct tender garages. Each carport is equipped with a crane and two rapid charging units. Between both hulls is a wave breaker arrangement with a hydraulic flap that creates a moon pool effect, thereby reducing the impact of swell and making tender launching, boarding, and recovery one of the safest procedures for the owner, guests, and personnel.
Guests entering the vessel from above have the option of using a helicopter landing pad on the top deck, which is designed to accommodate conventional helicopters but is also outfitted with fast-charging units in anticipation of future electric-powered models.
Lloyd Werft and Stay Sea have separated the operation modes of the yacht into two distinct configurations: anchor mode and sailing mode. In anchor mode, six 200kW methanol fuel cells are supplemented by wind and solar fuel generators and a 4MW lithium-ion battery. If methanol is unavailable due to geographic restrictions or other reasons, one of the two 1,000 kW shaft generators installed and attached to each gearbox of the primary drive application can generate power.
In sailing mode, propulsion is generated by four main engines coupled in couples to two gearboxes featuring a PTO/PTI hybrid system for a 1,000kW generator/motor connected to a controllable pitch propeller system.
Friedrich Norden, director of projects and sales at Lloyd Werft, remarked, “Anything is possible with sufficient thought and investigation.”