Sea Safari on a Yacht with BlueNav Engines

The magic of absolute silence hangs over the Indian Ocean when a whale finally appears from under the water. A powerful splash of water, a fountain bursting out of the hole on its head - the sea giant can be seen and even heard "speaking" while being literally a couple of meters away. A moment later, the 20-meter whale quietly disappears under the hull of the boat. While the guests on board are still recovering from the culture shock, Josias Felicite is already turning the stern.

Source: bluenav.com

But the boat moves silently. The hull makes an elegant turn, and now tourists have a view of the whale's graceful tail, waving at them as if greeting the small two-legged creatures on a piece of plastic in the middle of the sea. Felicite follows the whale slowly at the helm of a medium-sized RIB.

Two Yamaha outboard engines hang from the stern, but they are silent - they were turned off so as not to disturb the sea animal. And the boat continues its quiet movement behind the whale. The smooth thrust is provided by a second, invisible pair of drives: two electric motors from the BlueNav startup. Today, the French company has taken one of the leading places in the conversion of motorboats and yachts into hybrids. And it was on board such a boat that tourists led by Josias Felicite arranged a sea safari to see the whale.

This article is an adaptation of the material "About the Hybrid Yacht on the Spur" by Roland Wildberg for Float.de.

Sailing in complete silence

Two years ago, Felicite equipped his boat with a hybrid drive. Josias' RIB is used for whale watching off the coast of Reunion Island, so the question of an alternative engine was long overdue. Thus, Felicite became one of BlueNav's first customers and one of the startup's most ardent fans. The man shares: "Electric engines allow us to maneuver in absolute silence! This development allows us to observe giant marine mammals up close and not disturb them."

Source: bluenav.com

Another feature of BlueNav engines is their resemblance to whale fins. According to the company, it spent a year developing a "biomimetic" drive, i.e. a drive whose technology is based on natural biological forms. To create such an engine, it was necessary to use the so-called numerical hydrodynamics and computer modeling. This approach allowed the shape of the engine blades, based on the shape of the fins of marine mammals, to be the most efficient and fairly quiet.

Hybrid Yachts and Boats - The Best Option

This new type of engine is called Bluespin. It is capable of propelling boats, yachts and RIBs from seven to eighteen meters in length. For best performance, yachts over 13-15 meters require two outboard Bluespins.

Bluespin assembled (right). Source: bluenav.com

Felicite's RIB only benefits from using a classic internal combustion engine and electric motors. So, together with tourists, Josias goes straight into the heart of the ocean - a decent distance from the shore. Several dozen miles into the ocean can be effectively covered with the help of an internal combustion engine, which is what the man does. When the boat approaches an area where whales have been previously spotted or one of them comes into view, Josias turns off the eight-cylinder engines and turns on Bluespin.

"In any case, it is forbidden to approach whales using an internal combustion engine," explains the Frenchman. Switching to electric traction allows us to get to know the marine mammals better without harming their health. "At the same time, we use conventional internal combustion engines because it is much easier to cover long distances using an internal combustion engine - they are simply more powerful."

Advantages of BlueNav engines

Let's leave the "green" element aside and look at the real interesting advantages of BlueNav electric motors, in particular Bluespin. So:

• Maneuverability - rim thrusters have high maneuverability due to the rotation of the axis of the main rim with blades. Due to the fact that the rim can rotate 360°, you can literally turn around on the spot. Josias himself mentions this in the original article.
• Low Voltage - Bluespins operate on low voltage. This means that the motors can be charged even from a standard CCE "blue" outlet found in most marinas. Unlike high voltage drives, Bluespins require 48 volts, so they can be serviced without additional safety precautions.
• Smart Features - Bluespin has a smart control model. It includes some interesting features, such as Virtual Anchor, which allows you to stay at a pre-set point on the map using low-power thrust, or Course Hold, which is a variation on the autopilot theme, but with the power of Bluespin.
• Easy to install - boxes with rims are mounted on the transom or in a corresponding niche on the stern and connected to the main power supply system. Batteries are installed in an accessible place of the hull. No complex manipulations with the yacht hull are expected.

Additional versions of Bluespin: inboard for permanent installation inside the hull (left) and stationary for direct installation of a rim-driver without the possibility of removing the rim (right). Source: bluenav.com

Bluespin comes in two versions: 8 and 15 kW (11 and 20 hp respectively). The price of a pair of Bluespin of the same power varies. For example, for the 8 kW version you will have to pay 26,000 euros, and for 15 W - about 60,000. The price does not include batteries for the motors. All internal software for Bluespin is included with the equipment for free.

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06.03.2025