TAKE A LOOK | SA-built electric catamaran makes waves at Cape Town boat show
HopYacht 30 (Image supplied)
- The HopYacht 30, designed
and built in South Africa, draws its power from the wind and sun. - Made for simple bay sailing
and island hopping, the small catamaran has two electric motors that draw
energy from rooftop solar panels. - The vessel was one of the
highlights of the recent Boatica event held at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. - It’s due to make its debut
charter in Greece in March 2023. - For more stories, go to
www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
An electric compact catamaran designed
and built in South Africa was unveiled at the continent’s largest boating
exhibition in Cape Town on Friday.
For the first time in two years, the
Cape Town International Boat Show, known as Boatica, returned to the V&A
Waterfront over the weekend. Visitors were treated to more than 100 exhibitors,
with several luxury boats on display, highlighting the country’s prestigious
position as the biggest power catamaran manufacturer in the world.
HopYacht 30 at Boatica 2022 (Image supplied)
“When looking specifically at
boat-building, including ocean sports and yacht production, this market
contributes around R4.2 billion per annum to the local economy while employing
around 6,700 people, with thousands more in affiliate industries,” said
James Vos, mayoral committee member for economic growth at the City of Cape
Town, during an address which officially opened Boatica on Friday.
HopYacht 30 (Image supplied)
One such locally designed and built
boat, the HopYacht 30, was a highlight of the show.
Designed by award-winning South
African yacht designer Anton du Toit of Du Toit Yacht Design, responsible for
penning ultra-luxurious power catamarans, most in excess of 20 metres, the
HopYacht 30 was officially unveiled at Boatica 2022.
HopYacht 30 (Image supplied)
But unlike Du Toit’s best-known
projects, the HopYacht 30 is comparatively small, with an overall length of
9.35 metres and a beam just 3.44m tall. Because of its carefully plotted
dimensions, the vessel can fit into a typical mono-hull berth, avoiding the
usual premium rate catamarans pay for mooring.
But it’s not just the saving on
mooring fees that influenced the HopYacht 30’s design. Its small size makes it
easier to sail, and it’s specifically built for a couple – or a couple with
young children – to sail in bays or island hop. In keeping with this ethos of
simplicity, the vessel only has a quick-to-raise single furling genoa and no
mainsail, which means “less workload and less anxiety for guests onboard
who might feel a little uneasy if the wind gets up,” said Paul Tomes,
co-founder of HopYacht.
HopYacht 30 (Image supplied)
Two electric motors – equivalent to
9.9hp engines – supplement the compact catamarans wind propulsion, with the
added advantage of not producing any noise or pollution like fuel-fed engines.
The battery-powered motors draw their energy from solar panels on top of the
cabin and, while under sail, are recharged further through hydro-generation.
On a full charge and at full throttle,
each motor can run for 2.4 hours. This increases to seven hours at cruising
speeds.
HopYacht 30, interior design (Image supplied)
HopYacht 30, interior design (Image supplied)
The vessel’s environmentally conscious
design extends to its high-tech wastewater and sewage systems, which include a
macerator toilet. LED lighting throughout also makes the boat more energy
efficient.
The HopYacht 30’s private cabin
contains an island queen-sized bed atop a pull-out drawer and storage space.
The common cabin area or saloon features two-person “coffee bar”
seating, while the vessel’s bathroom has a shower cubicle and wash-hand basin
fed by an on-demand hot water system.
The HopYacht 30 launched at Boatica
will soon move to its first charter base in Greece, where it will operate from
March 2023. Here, the company is offering a unique one-sixth share,
where six people, each paying R465,000, can co-own the vessel. HopYacht, which
will own one of the six shares “for sales demonstration purposes”,
will also “oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the yacht and underwrite
the full running costs for the first 12 months.”
