Following its fabrication in Vietnam, the bare aluminium hull of Archipelago Yachts’ first A-80 has been transported to the SeaCat Ships boatyard in Thailand for the final stage of the powercat’s construction. Archipelago Yachts is founded and led by Dr Stephen Weatherley, who contributed a Column to Yacht Style Issue 88.

The 24m-long powercat has an 11m beam and is based on a commercial-grade hull form widely used extensively in the offshore wind industry.

The first A-80 has a 20,000-litre fuel capacity and a payload of 16 tonnes, which enables the catamaran to carry extensive expedition equipment such as tenders, amphibious vehicles, submersibles or helicopters. The interior design includes accommodation for up to 12 guests and four crew.

SeaCat Ships will oversee the completion of aluminium structures and engineering, as well as mechanical and electrical installations, exterior outfitting with fairing and painting, plus interior outfitting, accommodation fit-out and final commissioning.

The shipyard is also installing an e-Motion hybrid propulsion system, combining conventional diesel engines (2 x MAN V8-1300) with integrated electric motors (2 x e-Motion 250kW), a genset (1 x e-Motion 180kW), high-capacity lithium-ion battery banks, inverters, supplementary solar input and an integrated control system.

The system is based on parallel hybrid architecture, allowing the vessel to operate in multiple modes including full diesel, electric-only and combined boost operation. This provides flexibility across different operating profiles, from long-range passages to low-speed manoeuvring and silent cruising.

archipelago-yachts.co.uk