New fully electric tenders from world’s oldest yacht builder
Vita Power is providing the powertrains for the Venetian line of electric tenders from Hodgdon Yachts in Maine.
Hodgdon Yachts was established over two centuries ago and has been building superb custom sail and power vessels since 1816 which, according to Yacht World, makes it the oldest continuously operating yacht builder in the world.
Their tenders division was launched In 2011 when Hodgdon was asked to build two powerboats created by Michael Peters Yacht Design for shuttling the guests of Steven Spielberg to and from his 282-foot yacht ‘Seven Seas’.
Hodgdon Tenders now boasts a line up of ten models and two of the largest in the classic Venetian style – the 10.5m forward helm and 12m aft helm – will be available fully electric. The company feels the limo tender’s ship to shore operations make for an ideal electric application and to underscore the commitment to electrification they have set up a specific website at Hodgdon Electric Superyacht Tenders.
Electric powertrain and fast superchargers
For the electric powertrains they have been working with Vita Yachts, who make stunningly elegant boats themselves but are also a broader marine technology company building out an end-to-end ecosystem for electric boating.
Vita first came to international attention when it participated in the 2018 Monaco Solar & Energy Boat Challenge and presented a Tech Talk on their 8.99 metre demo speedboat patterned after classic European runabouts.
Their broader electric ecosystem was introduced at the Yacht Club de Monaco in May of 2019 when they installed the first in their vitaSuperpower network of e-boat chargers. The chargers allow DC compatible e-boats to half recharge in under an hour and the company recently announced the next generation of units will be manufactured of environmentally recycled aluminum.
The VITA powertrains of the Hodgdon electric tenders will use their V3 and V4 configurations. The V3 delivers 220kW / 295hp of power and the V4 delivers 440kW / 590hp. The original VITA demo and its own ‘X’ model have the electric motors driving a double water jet system, but diagrams for the Hodgdon Venetians show two battery banks connected to an inboard motor and Z-drive with propeller.
Classic Venetian styling, 21st century electric tenders
The Michael Peters Venetian line of electric tenders was inspired by classic water limousines like the Ernesto Riva Vaporina and features the outstanding custom details and luxury features that are the hallmark of every Hodgdon boat.
“At Hodgdon we have always endeavoured to push the boundaries in terms of materials, technology, and design to optimize performance. Our move into providing all electric tenders is further evidence of this and addresses increasing demand from the market for zero emissions tenders onboard superyachts,” says Audrey Hodgdon, Director of Sales & Marketing.
Rory Trahair, CEO of Vita, adds “We are delighted to be working with one of the foremost brands in the yacht tender market to develop what we believe to be the first fully electric superyacht tenders. The use case for electric tenders for superyachts is proven and the technology is available today”.
Both the 10.5m and 12m Venetian line electric tenders are fully engineered solutions with build slots available. More information can be found by contacting the company through the Hodgdon Electric Superyacht Tender site.
