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Yachts for long have been toys of the rich to show the world that they have finally arrived in life. Such contraptions whose primary purpose is snob value are unlikely candidates for saving the planet. Yet, there has been a extremely concerted effort by the yacht making industry as a whole, to go green.

IKKAR Concept Hybrid Yacht

Kicking the feature off, here is a concept yacht called the IKKAR, which has been put together by a Strate College design student named Julien Anglade. The IKKAR Yacht features a streamlined design to optimize the use of energy to propel itself. Also, the IKKAR is innovatiely designed to change its shape to suit the passengers needs. At low speeds, the IKKAR will drop the sides of its hull flat into the water. This will allow the passengers to float with the waves, thus enhancing the fair-weather sailing experience. The IKKAR Hybrid Yacht’s green credentials lie in the sail, which is impregnated with solid solar cells that will help propel this 150m long yacht that can accommodate all of 50 passengers.

Magnum Marine Hybrid 100 Yacht

Magnum Marine is known for making yachts that the high and mighty love to sail in. Now, Magnum Marine too has embraced green technology and has unveiled a 100-foot hybrid yacht. This aerodynamic yacht with an ultra low drag coefficient uses an electric motor for low speed propulsion with a 2600HP diesel engine kicking in at higher speeds. Designed by Alberto Mancini, the yacht is built with advanced materials like carbon fiber and composite materials to save weight. On board, lighting will use energy efficient LEDs and CFLs in another bid to reduce energy consumption. Come 2012, yacht connoisseurs will be able to lay their hands on one of these.

Arcadia Solar Powered Super Yacht

The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy, especially in the context of sailing, since most yachts spend most of their sailing hours in balmy weather. Arcadia has latched on to this fact and has thus started building super luxury yachts with hybrid means of propulsion. The ultra luxurious yachts that come in 75 and 175 variants use a mix of solar panels and diesel engines for propulsion. Thus, Arcadia is making sure that the swish set doesn’t get embarrassed by all that bespoke luxury by adding a good dose of the extremely essential green quotient.

Razor Hybrid Yacht

So far, we’ve been seeing huge luxo barges affordable only to a select few, very wealthy people. For the rest of us, who love ambling along the bay and soaking up the sun, here is a very radical looking bay cruiser called the Razor Hybrid Yacht. This 9-meter-long bay cruiser uses a fuel cell to generate electricity for powering its electric motor. That isn’t all, the Razor Hybrid gets its hybrid tag due to the presence of an internal combustion engine that uses low emission fuels like the LPG/CNG for propulsion. Full marks to designer Atanas Yenev for coming up with the sharp-looking Razor Hybrid Yacht, which looks like a perfect mix of affordability and planet friendliness.

Leviathan Solar/Wind Yacht

Yacht designs are breaking from the mundane, and here is the perfect example of one such design. Industrial designer Adam Valmassoi has designed a zero emission yacht called the Leviathan. This yacht features an aerodynamic design that looks extremely radical, to say the least. Propulsion is taken care of by two electric jet pump engines powered by wind turbines and solar panels on board the yacht. The green factor extends further to the yacht’s body, which is made of recycled polypropylene. Now, even the Greenpeace activists would go green with envy at the Leviathan planet-friendly credentials.

80m Eco Yacht from Rainsford Mann Design

Rainsford Mann Design have taken the eco tag very seriously and have thus outfitted their 80m Eco Yacht with several features that add to its eco quotient, while maintaining the feel of luxury. The Eco Yacht uses electricity to power the Azipull Thrusters providing it its propulsion. The vessel also uses 100sqm of PV modules and a vertical axis wind turbine that generates 30KW of green electrical power that is used to run the vessel low-power LED lighting systems. In addition to all these energy conserving ways, the Eco Yacht uses solar power for heating the yacht and sails to reduce fuel consumption by as much as 50% in suitable weather conditions. Like we said earlier, the Eco Yacht takes it eco tag a little too seriously. Three cheers to it.

Riparian Yacht

Hydrogen power meets solar energy in designer Adam Voorhees Riparian Yacht. The huge yacht is unusually shaped with a very catamaran-like shape. This shape will give the Riparian Yacht very good aerodynamics, thus enabling it to save energy for propulsion. Apart from this, the Riparian Yacht gets plenty of other sustainable features, such as the alignment of its skin that will let in or block natural light, thus minimizing the use of artificial lighting. All these features give the Riparian Yacht sterling green credentials that will help people unwind amid the vastness oceans, albeit in a sustainable way.

Code [e] ; A sun, wind and water powered yacht

As we are moving further into this eclectic list, the yachts too are getting more and more green, just like the Code [e]. The Code [e] is a yacht that uses a combination of the sun, the wind and even the water to propel itself through the vastness of the ocean. The Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design team has developed the Code [e], which has 40 square-meters of solar panels and two retractable VAWTs that together generate 1100 watts. It also has two hydro electric generators to provide electricity while sailing. All this green power is used both for sailing and powering the lighting and heating system of the yacht. We feel that the Code [e] should eliminate the hybrid propulsion system and embrace green energy in totality for propulsion.

Code-X Hybrid Yacht

Here is a yacht that is strictly for those addicted to speed on the water. The Code-X is a sleek-looking high performance yacht that looks more like a stealth airplane in water. Talking about performance, the Code-X has a hybrid engine that can power you through the water at more than 80 knots courtesy of the twin Ilmor Formula 1 engines that output all of 710HP of raw power. Before the green brigade jumps the gun and start screaming murder, they should also note that the Code-X can amble along at a perfectly sane 9 knots using its twin electric motors. The battery pack will use the sun to recharge itself via the on-board solar panels. Now, that is some Jekyll and Hyde behavior.

World’s first Hydrogen-Powered Research Yacht

The sea is a great reflection of the environmental happenings of our planet. Hence researching the wide oceans has been on for many decades now. Now, researchers plan to study sea pollution without causing any pollution themselves. How will they do that? With the Zero CO2, which is the world’s first hydrogen propelled yacht. This yacht will set sail in March of 2010 and will traverse the oceans in a bid to study the sea pollution caused by fossil fuels, and to also develop hydrogen propulsion technology. The yacht will use renewable energy generating systems to generate hydrogen and electricity on board. Let’s wish the crew all the very best for their very noble endeavor.

Solar Powered Esthec SuperYacht

After the slew of hybrid yachts, here is a yacht that uses only the sun for propulsion. And the Esthec SuperYacht isn’t another small yacht but a huge super yacht with all the luxury that accompanies such luxo barges. Designed by Dennis Ingemansson, the Esthec Superyacht is built of recylable materials and generates solar energy to propel its electric engine. Talking of luxury, the Esthec features an onboard swimming pool and hi-tech interiors. That is what you call sustainable luxury and for this, the Esthec gets EcoFriends thumbs up!

SunCat23 Solar Catamaran

After yachts, it is now the turn of catamarans to go green. Say hello to the SunCat23 Solar Catamaran that, like it’s name suggests, uses solar power for propulsion. The solar panels generate electricity which will drive the 2.8KW electric outdoor motor. Manufactured by Taiwan-based Horizon Yachts, the SunCat23 can carry 12 passengers in total luxury. The best part of the SunCat23 is that you will be able to go ahead and buy one for yourself this Christmas, as it has already hit serial production.

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