Sunny Side Up: Island Pilot DSe Hybrid

 
The 40-foot Island Pilot DSe Hybrid can cruise without burning a drop of fuel just by catching some rays.

By John Clemans, Photos by Jim Raycroft

Click here to see a gallery of the Island Pilot DSe Hybrid.

When Simon and Garfunkel chose an extreme oxymoron — "The Sounds of Silence" — as the title for one of the most celebrated songs in 1964, it's safe to say being under way in a 40-foot motoryacht was not their inspiration. But that cliché is what came to mind as I stared at my decibel meter aboard the Island Pilot DSe Hybrid in the Florida Keys. It read 59 decibels as we motored along at 5 knots. If this sounds appealing, then Reuben Trane has a boat for you. (The Island Pilot was one of our Best of the Year winners in February.)

There's no disguising the fundamentals of the Island Pilot DSe (diesel solar electric) Hybrid 12m. Its appearance can be summed up as "all roof." Much as an aircraft carrier, which it vaguely resembles, can be said to be "all deck." Almost 90 percent, roughly 850 square feet, of its skyward-facing surface is comprised of shiny, black solar panels. The solar panels are installed everywhere except the side decks and a foredeck just big enough for a couple of chaise longues, in which Reuben, the president of Island Pilot, and his wife Cheryl sat as I parked my car next to the dock outside their Ocean Reef Club home in Key Largo for a spin on Reuben's new brainchild.

The DSe I tested that day remains unchanged in most respects. However, instead of being electrically powered by a bevy of AGM lead batteries, as hull number one was, future DSes will rely on lithium ion batteries — cell phone batteries on steroids — that will increase its capacity fourfold. So, instead of having a continuous range of 25 to 30 miles without a break for a sunbath or a charge from a fossil fuel engine, it will have a range of over 100 miles, which, to my mind, increases its appeal dramatically.

Just what is the appeal of a $650,000 battery-powered motoryacht with a top speed of 6 knots? To begin with, there's that sweet silence (don't they say it's golden?) that must be experienced to be fully appreciated. Secondly, top speed is actually 8.5 knots, because batteries aren't the only power source in the twin sponsons of this slippery-hulled catamaran. Each sponson houses a 75 hp Steyr diesel engine. Most significantly, however, the answer is contained in a single word: lifestyle.

Naval architect George Petrie, designer of the DSe, describes the life of leisure it offers as akin to that of a vagabond sailor. "But one who has access to all the comforts of home," he adds. Indeed, it's hard to imagine a more comfortable 40-footer. It has five air conditioners for a total of 48,000 BTUs. Both its stove and fridge are state-of-the-art. (The stovetop doesn't even get hot, yet it cooks fast.) Of course, because they are fueled utilizing solar power, you can avail yourself of these amenities without firing up a smelly, noisy genset or having to plug into shore power. One last luxury: You can drive from bed.

Using the remote control that reaches all over the boat, you can pretty much drive from anywhere. The master queen berth faces forward at the front end of the main deck's living quarters, separated from the salon by a pocket door and a big bi-fold window. The visibility ahead of the boat is actually better from there than from the pilothouse. A big TV swings down from the headliner if you get bored with the view. If you get bored with your bedmate, the DSe is ready-made to satisfy a 50-50 prenup. If you sliced it down the center, both spouses would get essentially the same things — the same bank of batteries, same Steyr diesel. One would wind up with the hot water heater and the dinghy's electric outboard, while the other would get the washer/dryer and the Segway that comes with every boat. One would get the twin/queen guest stateroom and head, while the other would get the master head — huge, and loaded with storage space, but long and skinny.

And we're off! I thought we had simply drifted away from the dock. That's the sensation the DSe provides — fast drifting. We were making 4 knots as Reuben checked the sun's intensity with his solar meter. It was six out of a possible 10. "A perfect November day," says Reuben. As the boat's batteries were fully charged, he figured we could continue on in utter silence for 10 hours (if the sun stayed out) before having to stop for a day or two to recharge the batteries. "We're using 30 amps and generating 20 amps of the same voltage off the roof," Reuben says. "The boat is using 500 watt hours right now."

"Uh-huh," I reply. That's as far as I want to take that conversation.

"Of course, if we went slowly enough we'd be in equilibrium and wouldn't be draining the batteries at all," says Reuben. In other words, there is a speed at which we could go forever if the clouds cooperated, making the DSe the most economical powerboat under the sun.

Despite the complexity of its electrical network, it's one of the easiest boats to operate. Switching from solar to diesel power is as challenging as flipping a light switch. Operation is truly seamless for the owner. When you plug in at the dock, shore power charging starts, augmenting any solar charge. When you start a diesel, charging starts, also augmenting the solar charge. When you're anchored with no diesel running, charging is done by the solar array. It's all very simple. The steering wheel is extraneous, as a steering knob controls the boat, which can be reached from either helm chair (actually, plush sports-car seats) and interfaced with the autopilot.

Your only decision is which mode to choose. You can run on both diesels for maximum speed and maximum charge; or you can run in the "serial hybrid" mode, which is with one diesel-powered prop and one electrically powered prop, to get good speed and good charging with a minimum of noise and engine hours. Then there's the genset mode, in which both engines are run as generators in neutral, and, finally, pure solar for zero emissions. If you run in the one-diesel/one-electric mode you can increase mileage by about 20 percent over pure diesel drive at the same speed. This would be the preferred mode if you want moderate speeds — 5 or 6 knots, say — for longer periods of time, such as when crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.

The idea behind the Island Pilot DSe was simple enough. "About three years ago," says Reuben, "we were looking at making a larger version of our Island Pilot 395, and we sketched out a bigger version, a 495. That's when fuel prices were really high. So instead of building more of the same, we felt a responsibility to offer a viable alternative so people would not have to give up comfortable cruising, but they would not have to use umpteen gallons of fossil fuel to do it."  Reuben and Petrie soon realized they needed a multi-hulled boat for minimal wetted surface, with a fine entry and fine exit, and developed models for tank testing. The solar technology already existed, but they had a breakthrough more than a year ago when they teamed up with Steyr motors. "The Steyrs were more 'normal' than anything else," says Reuben. "It's a system with two diesels that hook up to two props and two electrical motors that hook up to two props — pretty simple."

Now the challenge is finding the right market. "The best use of the boat is not as a weekend cruiser, where time is limited," Reuben says. "It's best as a live-aboard cruiser where you go to Key West, the Bahamas, the Caribbean or the Chesapeake and drop the hook and stay a while. You move the boat 15 or 20 miles, and you relax. You really don't want to be planning one long run after another; it's not that kind of boat." In short, the DSe is not like other boats. It shows what can be done by a builder with an idea and a commitment to change. With the Island Pilot DSe, you become part of the solution, not part of the problem. And you're not burning fossil fuels, leaving emissions or supporting OPEC. You can relax.

By adapting an idea aimed at runabouts on European lakes, where there are severe noise restrictions around marinas, Reuben and Petrie have added an entirely new category to the cruising and live-aboard lifestyles — that of not only following the sun, but of also using it to purify the boating experience by bringing it as closely in tune with nature as possible.