Tout sur : drivetrain

Even though your catamaran or trimaran is ultimately a sailboat, the motor or motors still remain an essential element. Auxiliary as they may be, this mode of propulsion enables you to get in and out of the marina, to make way on windless days, to guarantee your safety and that of your crew in the event of damage or some sort of setback, and lastly, to recharge the batteries. As for powercats, they need to have engines, otherwise they become houseboats...

In this issue, our second Forever Green special, which is largely devoted to electric drivetrains, we asked two boatbuilders to talk about the advantages of series and parallel connection. In the first instance, the system components (motor, genset, batteries) are freely arranged, whether separately or together. In the latter, the electric motor is coupled to the internal combustion engine and its alternator, in a single space - the engine compartment.