New Silent 120 Cat has an Airplane, Submarine, and a Swimming Pool

Silent-Yachts has unveiled new images of the 120 ft (36.74-meter) Silent 120 Explorer yacht. The impressive flagship solar catamaran can create enough energy to power the yacht and all its appliances onboard.

The yacht has taken the idea of adventure or explorer yachts to an entirely new level by including a vertical takeoff, landing airplane, and personal submarine. The all-electric powered catamaran also will have trans-oceanic capabilities and virtually unlimited range.

The first Silent 120 Explorer yacht is being built and is expected to launch in 2024. The aluminum Silent 120 yacht has an expansive interior volume but remains under 500 gross tons with powerful custom styling and interior design by Marco Casali, who has run his firm, Too Design, in Rome since 2004. Casali is recognized as one of the most active designers in the large yacht field.

“The trend is for bigger yachts and more luxury, more comfort, more water toys and more possibilities,” said Michael Köhler, founder, and CEO of Silent Yachts in a press release. “In the SILENT 120 Explorer we designed a boat that is bigger in volume although not in length, and bigger gives the opportunity to store more of these toys. We build catamarans, which means more beam and more space. We also build our boats with solar power and electric propulsion, and that means we don’t have to give a lot of space to an engine room, which means we gain room for things like a gym or extra tender storage. Finally, the extra beam of the catamaran form means the roof can accommodate an eVTOL aircraft. We can plug it in on board and it will be recharged in a couple of hours.”

The Silent 120 Explorer design is complete, with the first hull featuring a swimming pool on the aft deck and grassy areas for walking dogs on the side decks (oh, your yacht doesn’t have a swimming pool or grass lawn?). In addition, the solar hardtop is designed to slide out in two sections revealing a touch-and-go helipad, and the upper sun deck can be used for sunbathing when not in use.

The plane, an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) named the XP4, is made by the British startup VRCO. It can hold four people, cruise at 160 knots, and fly for an hour. Large solar panels on the yacht’s roof slide out to port and starboard to open a touch-and-go landing pad for the plane.

The submarine, a Nemo from the Dutch builder U-Boat Worx, holds two people and can dive 328 feet below the surface. It has a top speed of 3 knots and can stay underwater for up to eight hours. Owners can store it on the Silent 120 Explorer either on the aft deck next to the swimming pool or in one of two tender garages.

The 36.74-meter vessel features a 13.85-meter beam and an astonishing volume of 499 gross tons to offer extended cruising at 6-8 knots in economical mode or up to 16 knots at full power. The supercat also heralds the next step in solar-powered cruising, with 40 kWp (kilowatt-peak) panels providing enough energy to cover the yacht’s hotel loads (thanks in part to a complicated and highly efficient systems design) as well as offering significant fossil-free cruising autonomy, with carefully selected range-extender generators in addition to the 800kW lithium-ion batteries driving highly efficient 340 kW e-motors, giving unlimited-miles cruising potential.

The electric power produces no emissions, virtually no noise, and requires minimal maintenance. It also takes up less room inside the yacht than a diesel or gasoline system would, opening up more interior space for things like tender garages or toy storage.

“The trend is for bigger yachts and more luxury, more comfort, more water toys, and more possibilities,” said Köhler.

Silent Yachts, an Austrian company, makes seven models of electric-powered catamarans in yards from 60 to 120 feet in Italy and Thailand.

For more information, visit http://silent-yachts.com and watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ0CvbREoD8&t=1s.