Future Proof? Silent 55

An extended stay on board the revolutionary Silent Yachts 55 allows us to assess whether this really is the future of the motorboat

- Jack Haines

The April 2019 edition of MBY – our Future of Boating special – included a boat test of the Silent Yachts 55 in, shall we say, less than ideal conditions. Given that the boat is a solar-powered power catamaran the sheeting rain that we endured during our short sea trial somewhat hindered the boat’s ability to show us what it could do. At the time I lamented the weather and commented that to assess properly whether Silent 55 is a viable cruising machine we’d need more time onboard to test its technology in realistic conditions and, ideally, somewhere sunny. Luckily, Silent Yachts agreed so in July we headed out to Mallorca to live aboard the boat for three days to see if it works.

Our meeting point is Santa Ponsa in Mallorca’s southwest, not the most salubrious of locations, but the bay, with shelter from the prevailing winds and excellent holding, is where the Silent Yachts team base themselves for the summer months. It says much about the liveaboard potential of this boat that Silent Yachts’ CEO Michael Köhler and his wife Heike run the business from the 55 during the season and are regularly joined by members of their team and potential clients so that they can experience the boat for themselves. A sailor at heart, Michael is not a man who likes to be tied to marinas (they spent one night in port last season) so this tranquil anchorage is ideal. We are met on the quayside by the tender (powered by a Torqeedo electric outboard, naturally) and whisked silently towards the transom of the awaiting 55 where we are welcomed by the Köhler’s Australian Sheepdog, Tinker, and meet the other crew members Euan and Christian, who both work for the shipyard. Every berth onboard is occupied, meaning the boat’s living spaces and the technology used to keep the creature comforts running smoothly are going to be thoroughly tested.