Savannah // Feadship // Hybrid Yacht

Savannah’s exterior lines are from the boards of CG Design and the in-house team of Feadship – De Voogt Naval Architects. The interior comes completely from CG Design.

The hybrid propulsion plant includes ONE Wärtsilä diesel engine and three generators. Thanks to a big battery pack, there is not just diesel and diesel-electric. Savannah has also a full-electric mode.

Other innovations are a floating superstructure, an underwater lounge, the ‘open’ aft deck areas, and much more besides.

What means a ‘floating superstructure’? Feadship describes:

“The glass and composite panels appear to float thank to complex visual trickery involving stainless steel strips, aluminum supports, and teak. The stainless steel doors form part of the yacht’s continuous line and also appear to be floating as part of an immensely complicated design feature.”

“Savannah is a yacht full of premieres,” emphasizes Feadship director Henk de Vries. “As the first-ever hybrid superyacht, she offers incredible flexibility in operations and loading of the power plant. The result is fuel savings of some thirty percent compared to the best boats that we have launched to date.”

(Editor’s note: Savannah is the largest hybrid superyacht. The first one was Ethereal by Royal Huisman)

“The way in which one gigantic propeller has been installed in front with another electrically powered prop in its slipstream has also never been applied on a yacht. A similar system has been used onboard passenger ships in Japan, but that is an ‘industrial’ solution, without the attention to comfort required on a Feadship. To achieve this on a superyacht entailed an exceptional degree of cooperation with Wärtsilä and all the other equipment manufacturers.

“Another major innovation is the batteries, which were suggested by the owner. These provide extra speed at the top end, allow proper loading of the generators at any speed and facilitate super-quiet cruising at slow speeds without any engines turning. We have installed Li-ion batteries with no less than one million Watts.

“More than a thousand people have been involved with the creation of Savannah since the contract was signed at the end of 2011. And the tremendous final result once again shows how Feadship is never afraid to venture into uncharted waters.”

The yacht won an award at FLIBS as best yacht over 65m.