Ground-breaking beast from Mochi
It may not have the elegant lobster-boat lines that we have grown used to from Mochi, but it could be one of the more ground-breaking motor yachts in recent years.
The Mochi Long Range 23 is being heralded as the first-ever zero-emission motor yacht over 20m.
There is conventional power in the shape of the standard twin 550hp MAN diesels, but these hybrid units have electric motors attached that will allow the 23 to cruise for up to nine hours under electric power emission free, and also without noise, smell and vibration.
There is, not surprisingly, an astonishing array of electrical equipment below to store all this power – for example, almost 330 battery cells weighing two tonnes.
The yacht also hides an interesting hull shape – which builders the Ferretti group call the FER.WAY, for Ferretti Wave Efficient Yacht – offering advantages, they say, in hydrodynamic efficiency and stability.
It certainly is an eye-catching shape, and with a long underwater bulbous bow section and longitudinal tunnel sections aft protecting the props it can also take the ground.
They say it offers a significant reduction in rolling over traditional displacement hulls.
But they also claim it runs with only a small change of attitude as it nears a top speed of around 14 knots, and they describe the hull as “trans-planing”, rather than semi-displacement.
The Mochi Long Range 23 will be launched at the Genoa Boat Show in October.
For more see Motor Boat & Yachting magazine.
