There’s a rapidly accelerating trend towards maximising the amount of solar power installed on cruising catamarans, which can be seen being taken up a step on the new Sunreef 60 Eco.

Given multihulls‘ extensive deck areas this makes sense in many ways and obviates the need for a separate diesel generator on an increasing number of craft.

Sunreef has taken this a whole stage further with its latest 60ft sailing catamaran, the Sunreef 60 Eco which is equipped with integrated solar panels that are even built into the hull sides, as well as the superstructure and hardtop. In total up to 17kW of solar can be accommodated in this way. The solar panels were developed in-house and, although they are less than 1mm thick, the Polish company claims they provide a very high degree of resistance to shock and abrasion.

The boat has electric propulsion via twin 70kW electric motors, driven by lithium battery banks of 140-200kW capacity, depending on the option specified. These are sized to be able to run house loads continuously, even overnight, without recourse to the twin 80kW diesel generators that also serve as range extenders.

Sunreef 60 Eco specifications:

LOA: 18.4m
Beam: 10.2m
Mainsail: 110m²
Genoa: 90m²
Main engines: 2 x 70kW
Fuel capacity: 2 x 500L / 2 x 875L
Water capacity: 2 x 800L
Solar panels: 4.5kWp up to 17kWp

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