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BY CAPT. RICHARD THIEL
MOCHI 23M HYBRID BASE PRICE | E3,430,000
SPECIFICATIONS | Length overall: 75'6" Beam: 20'6" Draft: 5'2" Weight (w/ standard fuel load): 192,140 lbs. Fuel capacity: 2,061 gal. Water capacity: 528 gal. >>>
PHOTO: MOCHI CRAFT
(European price only) STANDARD POWER | 2/550-mhp MAN D0836 LE 423 diesel inboards OPTIONAL POWER | 2/800-mhp MAN R6 800 CR diesel inboards
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SILENT REVOLUTIONARY Mochi Craft reinvents the longrange motoryacht, and the result is a thundering silence.
O
f all the boats I’ve ever tested, only a few were really new. That’s not surprising. Boatbuilders are, after all, a cautious lot, and for many reasons—mostly financial—they’re often unwilling to risk doing anything really different. But the Mochi Craft Long Range 23 I tested in Italy can fairly be called not just new but revolutionary. It’s the first of a line of long-range, expedition-style cruisers from a builder heretofore known for sporty, lobsterboat-in-an-Italian-sort-of-way, coastal cruisers, a daring departure in itself. Then there’s the 23’s hull, not just new but unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And if that’s not enough, the 23 also comes with variable-ratio, fly-by-wire steering and twin anti-rolling gyrostabilizers or ARGs. January 2009 Power & Motoryacht 75 ■ ■ ■
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Function), it can draw about 20 kVA for 81⁄2 hours. Of course it’s possible to increase these numbers by running a diesel to supplement the batteries. Here’s another way to look at it: You ghost out of a harbor on electric for 30 minutes at 5 knots, stay on the hook
C >> for eight hours using 16 kVA, then ghost back to the harbor at 5 knots for 30 minutes, and still have some charge left over. How does it work? There are three main components: an electric motor/generator (packaged and supplied by ZF) between each MAN diesel and its marine gear, the battery bank outboard of each diesel with a total capacity of 400 amp-hours at 500 volts, and a refrigerator-size inverter/battery charger on the forward bulkhead, dedicated to the lithium-ion batteries. (Twenty conventional batteries provide engine start and house current and are charged in the conventional manner.) Touch screens control the electrical portion of the hybrid system while separate ZF dual-
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But what really sets this boat apart is her power: an optional diesel-electric hybrid drive system with five operating modes. In Zero Emission Propulsion Mode, port and starboard banks of lithium-ion batteries power two electric drive motors, while in Zero Emission Non-propulsion Mode (at anchor) all of the vessel’s electrical equipment can operate for extended periods off just these batteries—no engine or genset. In Diesel Propulsion Mode, twin 800-hp MANs simultaneously propel the boat and recharge the batteries; plug-in mode recharges them from shore power. In a fifth permutation, which can be employed in the event of a diesel-engine breakdown, the operational diesel recharges the batteries while the two electric motors power the props. Before explaining how all this works, it’s fair to ask why anyone A >> would want such a system. Certainly the hybrid option adds complexity, cost (approximately E25,000), and weight (about 3.5 tons). It doesn’t reduce the vessel’s carbon footprint unless you plug into shore power, and then only marginally. If the mains do the recharging it’ll cost roughly another 2.6 gph per engine. No, the real advantage is silence. The two Zero Emissions Modes allow you to motor to an anchorB >> age, stay there utilizing all of the vessel’s amenities—air conditioning and ARGs included— and return to port without starting an internal-combustion engine. In other words, without disturbing anyone on or off the boat. And you should be able to do this through at least 2,000 cycles before the batteries need attention. How far can you go and how long can you stay? That depends on your speed and how much electrical equipment you use. But here are some guidelines based on current ferrite battery technology. (Cobalt batteries, available in a year or so, will significantly improve these numbers.) On batteries alone (Zero Emission Propulsion Mode) the boat can run for 11⁄2 hours at 8 knots or three hours at 5 knots. At anchor on batteries alone (Zero Emission Mode
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TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATION: WWW.MIRTOART.COM
D >> D >> This sure doesn’t look much like your typical long-range cruiser, does it?
C >> Whether you have crew or not, you’ll appreciate the spacious galley.
A >> Big picture windows on either side have opening ports to let in fresh air.
B >> Light washed oak makes areas like the VIP bright and airy.
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OUR NUMBERS >>> RPM
MPH (KNOTS)
GPH
MPG (NMPG)
SM RANGE
NM RANGE
DECIBELS
TRIM (DEGREES)
1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250
8.3 (7.2) 10.0 (8.7) 12.0 (10.4) 13.2 (11.5) 15.2 (13.2) 16.7 (14.5)
7.9 13.2 22.2 34.4 50.8 78.8
1.05 (0.91) 0.76 (0.66) 0.54 (0.47) 0.38 (0.33) 0.30 (0.26) 0.21 (0.18)
1,939 1,406 1,003 712 555 393
1,686 1,222 872 619 483 342
62 63 65 67 68 70
0.0 -0.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 1.0
CONDITIONS: Temperature: 70°F; humidity: 50%; wind: 5 mph; seas: 1'-2'; load: 1,000 gal. fuel, 250 gal. water, 11 people, 500 lbs. gear. Speeds are two-way averages measured w/ Stalker radar gun. GPH taken from MAN electronic display. Range: 90% of advertised fuel capacity. Decibels measured on A scale. 65 dB is the level of normal conversation.
radar, chartplotter, depthsounder, and GPS w/ repeater; Simrad bow thruster; 2/2,500- AP24 autopilot and watt anchor windlasses; IS20 speed depth and 2/700-watt warping water temp w/ winches; air repeater; electric MSDs; conditioning; Bose 17- and 13-kW Fischer Lifestyle 38 homePanda gensets; bow theater system; 880-lb. stabilizing fins; 2/Antidavit; NAVIOP Roll Gyros; 2/24-volt monitoring system w/ inverters touch screen; NavNet TEST ENGINES: system w/ 2 color 2/800-hp MAN R6-800 displays, Furuno 48-mile diesel inboards STANDARD EQUIPMENT (EURO. BOAT ONLY): 20-hp
TRANSMISSIONS/ RATIO: ZF/3.00:1 PROPS: 36.5x44 6-
blade nibral STEERING:
SteerCommand electronic, variable ratio CONTROLS: ZF electronic
upgrade to Bose Lifestyle 48; captain’s cabin; automotive-style stereos and speakers in each cabin; teak sole on upper deck and bridge; upgrade to 2/ 35-kW Fischer Panda gensets; upgrade to Furuno 3D bridge display; Furuno 3 MFD 12" bridge repeater; hybrid propulsion
stations have Like all control points, the 23’s wing for electric. two controls: one for diesel, one
air and water. Acceleration is leisurely: Standing start to top speed (6.7 knots, although Mochi expects to eventually see 7 or 8) took 35 seconds. (On diesel Navisystem 85 NT; our 23 hit more than double that in satellite TV; upgrade to PRICE AS TESTED: about 25 seconds.) One oddity is the Simrad AP28 autopilot; E3,680,000 relationship between throttle setting and speed. Full throttle produced 6.7 knots; half throttle dropped that by only 0.6 knots, and 20-percent throttle still generated 5 knots. As for recharge, the diesels binnacle electronic controls on the bridge, pilothouse, alone can restore both fully depleted banks in about four and wing stations each control the diesel and electric hours; shore power takes about 12. motors. Under diesel power, the 23 feels like any similar boat, Changing from one propulsion mode to another is rela- with two exceptions. Since the MANs are more powerful tively simple and takes about 30 seconds. Entering electric- than the electric motors—600 kW versus 90 kW—she’s drive mode triggers an electric clutch on each gear that faster—faster even than a conventional displacement vesdisengages the diesel from the electric motor; activating sel. Given a waterline length of 66'8", the 23 has a theoretithe diesel re-engages the two. You cannot operate one cal hull speed of 10.95 knots. Yet I measured a top speed side’s diesel and electric motors simultaneously. of 14.6 knots. How so? Running under electric power is eerie. The propulsion The reason is the hull, the Ferretti Wave Efficient Yacht system produces no sound; whatever you hear is made by or FER.WEY. Created by the 136 engineers and 73 naval architects of the Ferretti Group’s Advanced Yacht Technology (AYT) division, it’s a transplaning hull form. Features include a bulbous bow, relatively flat midsections, and aft sections that warp into extremely deep propeller pockets—so deep, the boat can sit on her keel with neither rudders nor propellers touching bottom. Equally remarkable is the flat running angle: a maximum OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT ON TEST BOAT:
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the FER.WEY hull to Ferretti’s AYT division designed ds. Note the lack exceed typical displacement spee tank-test model. of a secondary hull wave on this
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s like any other Above: The main-deck helm look engine controls except for the two sets of control panel and the Prius-like touchscreen t of the wheel. (close-up below) located to righ
MOCHI 23M HYBRID
TOP PHOTO: MOCHI CRAFT
plenty of Even at 5'10'', the author has ine room. headroom in the 23’s well-lit eng
s of yellow lithium-ion Left to right: one of two bank that engages/disbatteries; the electronic control rter/charger for the engages electric drive; the inve m the control room. lithium-ion batteries as seen fro January 2009 Power & Motoryacht 79 ■ ■ ■
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