Nova Luxe announces partnership with Aventura Catamarans
by Nova Luxe 2 Apr 04:14 PDT
We are excited to announce our latest partnership with Aventura Catamarans!
The forward thinking builder believes its latest A14 (14 meter, 46 foot) power catamaran should have an electric option and has requested that Nova Luxe provide them with such. We were happy to oblige and in addition to the electric system, we will also provide an alternative, solar array top. The top will generate in excess of 7kw per hour and should all but eliminate the need to have and run a generator. It will be available for both the diesel and electric models.
Sea trials of the Aventura will be completed in April and after understanding the fuel burn we will provide performance numbers on both of the electric systems that are available.
The "A14 powered by Nova Luxe" will be available with either a parallel hybrid system which has both a diesel motor and electric motor on the shaft or 'Full Electric" which only uses electric motors to drive the shaft but will include a large DC generator to run the electric motors for extended periods.
Solar arrays
We have faced some valid criticism that our solar arrays are too large and will blow off in high winds. To combat this, we are working with wind experts and our eventual goal is a hurricane proof top. While it may not hold up for 157 mph winds category 5, we expect to handle winds in excess of 74 miles per hour sustained. To solve this problem we took the following steps.
First off, our 50' yacht is about 40,000 lbs. So if the structure was made of metal, and the connection points were rated for a total 40,000lbs then the yacht would fly before the top separated. Knowing this is the upper limit, we worked backwards. Because that type of roof would be too heavy, our design uses fiberglass. Instead of building a solid structure we added large cutouts for air to flow easily from the underside of the roof to the topside.
This is especially important as the pressure above and below the top will remain the same. Wind is one thing, however pressure differences will cause the most severe damage. The cutouts also allow proper cooling of the solar panels which increase efficiency and we use bi-facial panels that will receive some refracted light from the surface of the water. Also, the panels look great from the bottom side!
In addition, we designed a water capture system into the roof which can direct fresh rain water into a separate holding tank. The water that first hits the solar array will wash dirt and debris off the roof. So, to keep things simple for the captain, we include a flow meter. This will turn green after a specified number of gallons have passed through the system. When the meter is green the captain can direct the clean water into the holding tank. If the captain chooses, the water can be added to the freshwater supply and would then pass through our cleaning system as water from the water maker does.
Spring is here in New York, and it's time to be thinking about boats (if you weren't already), see our lineup at NovaLuxeYachts.com!