Boatbuilding News 31.05.24 Feat. Arksen, Garmin, Raymarine, ePropulsion & Wider

📰 This weeks Boatbuilding News 📰

🤝UK explorer yacht builder Arksen has chosen Garmin as its marine electronics supplier.

All UK Arksen Discovery Series open adventure rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) will come equipped with a full ecosystem of Garmin electronics, including navigation, switching, monitoring and audio systems.

The Arksen Discovery Series RIBs, ranging from six to 12 metres, will come standard with GPSMAP 1223 chartplotters that offer 12” high-resolution displays.

“We’re excited to announce our preferred supplier agreement with Arksen, ensuring the new Discovery Series launches with our premium marine electronics built-in as standard. We look forward to helping fulfil more passions on the water.”

says Jon Oliver, managing director at Garmin UK

 “This agreement marks a significant milestone for Arksen, while also paving the way for future collaborations with Garmin, working together to jointly focus on driving innovation and expanding the adventure industry.”

says Nick Bailey, Arksen Discovery Series sales manager.

The Discovery Series RIBs will include a full-Garmin marine electronics system, including GPSMAP series chartplotters, EmpirBus digital switching and Fusion audio systems, along with an VHF 215i AIS and a GT15M-IH transducer.

Garmin recently reported a record first-quarter revenue and operating income, with consolidated revenues of $1.38bn in the first quarter of 2024. This represents a 20 per cent increase year-on-year, including a 17 per cent gain in marine sales.

⚡️ Marine electronics manufacturer, Raymarine, has joined forces with marine electric propulsion systems and services company ePropulsion. 

The collaboration enables boaters to display engine data from ePropulsion electric motors directly onto Raymarine’s Axiom displays without requiring additional gateways or interface boxes.

ePropulsion is the first electric engine manufacturer to adopt the new NMEA 2000 standards for electric engines. Raymarine’s recently released LightHouse 4.6 operating system for Axiom chartplotters made it the first to support electric motor PGN messages.

This integration allows boaters to monitor data and status updates directly on Axiom’s engine dashboard application. The Axiom engine dashboard allows boaters to monitor the ePropulsion motor’s battery level, speed, gear and estimated range. For additional simplicity, a dynamic range ring overlays on the chartplotter display, making it easy to visualise current cruising range and optimise energy consumption. This new functionality is available on ePropulsion X-Series outboards and I-Series inboard motors and compatible Raymarine Axiom displays.

“It’s always been important for us to provide users with all the information they may need to make their on-the-water experience as smooth as possible. It has been incredible working alongside one of the most innovative electric engine manufacturers to bring industry-first functionality to a previously under-represented class of boater. We’re confident that those who’ve adopted electric propulsion will appreciate the forward thinking of ePropulsion and Raymarine.”

says Grégoire Outters, general manager at Raymarine 

“We have worked hard to lead the industry in making electric propulsion more accessible. The engineering team at Raymarine have been so supportive in incorporating the vital data from our engines to give both of our customers a seamless and intuitive engine data display. We are very proud to work with Raymarine in this effort, and we know that the results will speak for themselves.”  

says Danny Tao, co-founder and CEO, ePropulsion. 

🇮🇹 Italian yacht builder Wider has showcased its hybrid WiderCat 92 catamaran at the Venice Boat Show, which began this week and runs until Sunday.

The Italian premiere of the first WiderCat 92 unit is billed as a ‘special preview’ ahead of the 28-metre multihull’s global debut at the 2024 Cannes Yachting Festival in September.

This fibreglass WiderCat 92, which was launched in January, is the first of a new series of catamarans from the Marche shipyard, and is a collaboration between Luca Dini Design and Centro Stile Wider.

The WiderCat 92 has two VIP cabins and one double guest cabin, while the owner’s suite occupies almost half of the total space on the main deck. It’s powered by a serial hybrid propulsion system.

The catamaran integrates Wider’s hybrid propulsion system, with twin electric motors delivering 500kW each to the thrusters and two 349kW variable speed generators for electrical energy production. The system’s heart is the yacht’s n°30 LiFePO4 (Lithium-Iron Phosphate) batteries, managed by a battery management system to facilitate intelligent charge balancing.

Additionally, 150 m2 of solar panels ensure energy self-sufficiency at anchor, with any excess energy stored in the batteries for nighttime use.

The tender garage transforms into a spacious aft beach, and the folding bulkheads enhance the beach club to maximise onboard space.

“The WiderCat 92 is a testament to Wider’s pioneering vision and construction expertise. Today, as in the past, Wider approaches the yachting market with ambition and the desire to continuously push the boundaries of technological innovation.”

says Marcello Maggi, president of W-Fin Sarl, the holding company that owns 100 percent of Wider equity.

Wider is partnering with Italian firm Applied to develop a cockpit for the yacht, integrating real-time 3D visualisations to monitor and control onboard systems.

The choice of Venice for the debut of the new catamaran was not coincidental: the lagoon city is home to the Wider Superyacht Hub, where construction is underway on Moonflower 72, a 72-metre superyacht developed in collaboration with Nauta Design.

The Marche shipyard is also constructing more units of the WiderCat 92 at its new facility in Fano, the Wider Vision Hub. Following the recent launches of the WiderCat 92 and the first unit of the WiLder 60, the yard says it will expand the range with new models.

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