This Swanky Electric Catamaran Promises Silent Sailing… With a Diesel Asterisk
Image Credit: Revolution Marine Group.
For as long as I can remember, the choice on the water was simple. You either wrestled with a biblical tapestry of ropes and sails, relying on the whims of the wind like some ancient mariner, or you embraced the internal combustion engine. The latter meant noise, fumes, and the constant, nagging feeling that you were just driving a very slow, very inefficient car across a very large, wet field. It was either the hard work of a purist or the smelly convenience of a brute.
Then came the electric revolution, which, after conquering our roads, has finally decided to get its feet wet. The dream is quite something: gliding through a pristine anchorage in total silence, the only sound being the gentle lapping of waves and the clinking of ice in your glass. No generator rattling away, no diesel sheen on the water. Just pure, picturesque tranquility. And now, a Florida-based outfit called Revolution Marine Group is throwing its very stylish hat into the ring with something they call the Oceanwalker S60e.
Image Credit: Revolution Marine Group.
On paper, it's the future delivered to a marina near you. It's a 60-foot catamaran, which is a sensible start. Catamarans are the sensible shoes of the yachting world - stable, spacious, and far less likely to spill your drink when a rogue wave appears. But this isn't just any cat; it's a solar-electric one. It looks elegant, modern, and promises to be as quiet as a mime in a library.
Powering this slice of aquatic serenity are two 150 kW electric motors. That's about 200 horsepower for each hull, but not the screaming, fire-breathing kind of horsepower you find in a speedboat. Here, we get the strong, silent type. The kind that gets the job done without making a fuss. Top speed is a dignified 12 knots, with a cruising speed around 7 or 8 knots. This isn't about tearing a hole in the ocean; it's about gliding over it with a certain smugness, knowing you're not waking up every dolphin or making every octopus within a five-mile radius squirt its ink.
Image Credit: Revolution Marine Group.
Of course, the first question anyone asks about anything electric is how far does it actually go? Revolution Marine has fitted the S60e with a bank of lithium phosphate batteries, though they're being a bit coy on the exact capacity. What they are shouting about is the impressive 10 kW solar array plastered across the roof. In the brilliant sunshine of the Bahamas, this system is designed to handle the entire "hotel load." That means your air-conditioning, your induction cooktop, the laundry, and most importantly, the refrigerator can all run on pure sunlight. You can, in theory, sit at anchor indefinitely, living a life of luxury without burning a single drop of fossil fuel.
And this brings me to the "asterisk" I mentioned. The little bit of small print. Because while the dream of infinite, sun-powered cruising is lovely, reality has a habit of being cloudy. What happens when you need to cover a long distance, or the sun decides to take a vacation behind a stubborn bank of clouds? For that, the Oceanwalker S60e has a secret weapon. Or rather, two of them: a pair of 45 kW diesel generators.
Image Credit: Revolution Marine Group.
Yes, I know. The silent, solar-electric catamaran has a couple of little diesel engines tucked away. The purists may scoff, but I call it pragmatism. These aren't for propulsion but to charge the batteries when the sun isn't cooperating, or you need to get somewhere in a hurry. With the generators helping out, the S60e has a rather substantial range of up to 800 nautical miles. That's enough to get you from Miami to the outer reaches of the Bahamas and back, with enough range to spare for exploring. It's a get-out-of-jail-free card for range anxiety.
Inside, the catamaran design pays dividends. While the final layout is up to the owner, the S60e can be had with three or four cabins, so expect a floating palace here. We're talking about the kind of space that makes a traditional monohull look like a hallway. The real magic, though, is being able to enjoy that space without the perpetual thrum of a generator. Imagine cooking dinner in a silent galley or sleeping in a cool, air-conditioned cabin with only the sound of nature outside. That's not just boating - that's therapy.
Image Credit: Revolution Marine Group.
Naturally, Revolution Marine isn't the first company to this solar-powered party; builders like Silent and Sunreef have already launched some spectacular electric cats. But more competition is always good. It drives innovation and, hopefully, brings this magnificent tech to a wider audience. The first S60e is being built as we speak, with an expected splashdown in April 2026. And where is this pioneering vessel headed? To Club Ki'ama in the Bahamas, which bills itself as "the world's first solar-powered, shared-ownership yacht and residence club." Of course it is. It's a place where your solar-powered boat can be moored in front of your solar-powered house. It all sounds so perfectly, idyllically green.
The question you've all been waiting for: the price. Unsurprisingly, Revolution Marine Group has been rather quiet on that front. The official brochure seems to have misplaced the numbers. This is standard yachting code for "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." But for a 60-foot, semi-custom, solar-powered luxury apartment that can cross oceans? Let's just say you'll need to have saved up more than just your pocket money.
Image Credit: Revolution Marine Group.
Is the Oceanwalker S60e the perfect, emissions-free future of sailing? Not quite. It's a hybrid, a brilliant compromise. It offers the silent, sustainable dream for 90% of the time, with a practical, diesel-powered safety net for the other 10%. It's a fantastic step in the right direction, and it looks like a phenomenally pleasant way to spend a week, a month, or a lifetime. And with the promise of an even larger model "coming soon," it seems the silent revolution on the seas is just getting started.
