Contents Multihulls World SP22 -

Multihulls, the great favorite for eco-design

Published on 26/06/2024

By Emmanuel van Deth

Issue: SP22

Published: Aug. / Sep. 2024

Two years ago, we launched our first Forever Green special issue. It was a major editorial challenge that has also led to the introduction of specific designations in our Buyer’s Guides: powercats equipped with electric motors have their own category, while “electrified” multihulls are recognized by a special label. While it’s still a little premature to take stock of the energy transition in the world of boating, we can nevertheless draw up a progress report. An operation that begins with “counting the troops”: at the end of 2023, in our Buyer’s Guides, 34 out of 147 sailing multihulls were stamped with the Forever Green label and 28 out of 110 multipowers - that’s 23 and 25% respectively. It’s very encouraging to see that the green offer is well represented in many catalogs - even if models over 50 feet are the ones most represented. We can also see that, while the marine industry is lagging far behind the automotive sector, it is the multihull world that is leading the way in Forever Green. In fact, many new builders are entering or have entered the market - including HopYacht, Serenity Yachts, Silent Yachts, Vaan Yachts, Windelo and Zen Yachts. Other historic builders such as Balance Catamarans, Fountaine Pajot, Sunreef Yachts and Xquisite Yachts now offer an electric range. These builders, like Lagoon, NEEL Trimarans and Outremer Yachting, are also working to make the construction of their multihulls more environmentally friendly. Other brands are more or less secretly testing innovative and more environmentally-friendly propulsion solutions, and we’re also witnessing the transfer and sharing of technologies between different manufacturers. Here again, it’s the designers of our multihulls who are shaping the boating of tomorrow. Of course, Multihulls World is on hand to support these initiatives.

Enjoy reading!

Emmanuel van Deth
Editor-in-Chief