The new Amer 94 Twin is a boat designed and built with the aim to break new ground and be more ecologically friendly. Two engines rather than three. That is how you get an eco-friendly yacht, because it can get by with using only a limited amount of fuel
by Niccolò Volpati – photo by Andrea Muscatello
Permare presented a very unusual yacht at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2015: the Amer 94. Its official length was just under 24 metres, and just under 30 overall. What did it have that was unusual? Three Volvo Penta engines with IPS transmission, the most powerful then available, fitted to three thrusters taking 900 hp each. For a total of 2,700 horsepower. Practically a record. Like the “old” Lazzara Yachts in Florida, which were the first to try multiple installations of pods with stern thrusters.
Volvo had followed the entire development process of the Amer 94. It was a challenge for the yard, but it was also one for the Swedish firm. It was a challenge that was won because the 94 manoeuvred with disarming simplicity. At the helm, whether under way or manoeuvring, it felt as if you were on board a 15 or 18 metre boat.
But actually it was 24 metres of hull which weighed 64 tonnes that was moving. But the thing that was even more surprising was fuel consumption. It was decidedly low, because it went from using 230 litres an hour at the minimum planning speed, up to a bit less than 500, for all three propellers at top speed. The story that far is already known.
You can tell that the yard likes a challenge. And the more impossible they seem, the more intriguing they are. The new goal was to do still better. And that is how the Amer 94 Twin was born.
It is the same boat with the same waterlines, but lighter. So rather than three IPS each producing 900 horsepower, there are just two producing 1,000 each. The displacement has fallen from 64 tonnes to 60. The tanks are also smaller, because with one engine fewer, there isn’t a need for such a lot of fuel.
So what’s the outcome? It’s incredible. At minimum planning speed of 17.7 knots, the engine was doing 1,800 rpm. Fuel consumption for both engines was just 189 litres an hour. A pair of powerful outboards use more than that. So essentially Permare has managed to get a yacht with an overall length of nearly 30 metres going with the same fuel that a 12-metre rib does.
Sceptics just need to be quoted the litres-per-mile figure. At minimum planning speed, it only burns 11 litres an hour. How many planning mega yachts do you know that consume only 11 litres a mile? And actually as you increase speed, the figures are certainly not any less surprising. At 20 knots around 230 litres per hour were needed, and 11 litres were still consumed per mile.
At top speed consumption rose no higher than 379 litres an hour. And how much is top speed? 27.1 knots. The 2015 version of the Amer 94, with three IPS and 2,700 hp, got to 27.7. So they have very nearly managed to maintain the performance levels while reducing fuel consumption, the number of engines and the weight. That is the most interesting feature and, in our opinion, the most impressive one of the Amer 94 Twin.
Permare has chosen materials and c omponents to accentuate the ecological approach of this boat. Cork was used instead of teak. It is lighter, it doesn’t deteriorate, it doesn’t get dirty, it doesn’t get hot and it acts as a thermal insulator. It is also 100% recyclable. On the flybridge, the instrument panel and the furniture have been 3D-printed from recycled materials.
The wood is lightweight, the insulation panels in the engine room are derived from the aerospace industry and upholstery ones are made from ultra light micro-minerals. Part of the fibreglass is vacuum-moulded, the batteries are lithium, and there are variable speed generators.
Nothing has been left to chance. The RINA has given its Green Plus status to the Amer 94 Twin and at the opening of the METS show in Amsterdam in November, Barbara Amerio received the prize for boats with low environmental impact. Permare and Volvo have shown that you can design and build a yacht that is truly ecological.
They did something simple and revolutionary at the same time. Reducing weight, reducing the number of engines and using less fuel. So it is less polluting.
AMER 94 TWIN
PROJECT: Permare (hull and superstructure) and Stefano Tini (interiors)
HULL: LOA 28.65m • Length 23.96m • Maximum beam 6.30m • Building high 2.96m • Draft 1.85m • Displacement 60,000 kg • Fuel tanks volume 5,000 l • Water tanks volume 1,800 l • Grey water tanks volume 400 l • Waste water tanks volume 400 l
MAIN PROPULSION: 2xD13-IPS1350 Volvo Penta • 6 cylinders in line • Outlet mechanical power 735 kW (1,000 hp) • Bore&Stroke 131mm x158mm • Swept volume 12.8 l • Maximum rotational speed 2400/min • Weight 2.458 kg
EC CERTIFICATION: CAT A – 20 people
PRICE: 6,000,000 € (as standard)
PERMARE SRL
Via del Castillo 17, Portosole
I – 18038 Sanremo (IM)
T. +39 0184 504050
[email protected]
www.ameryachts.it
(Amer 94 Twin, green revolution – Barchemagazine.com – February 2019)
