Marine electrical specialists Mastervolt, have just received a prestigious order worth 120,000 Euros per yacht, to supply shore power converters, inverters, batteries and chargers to Palmer Johnson superyachts to be built in the UK.
The all-aluminium yacht is a 52m (170ft) Sports Yacht, the first of its type to be conceived by the UK builder. The hull is taking shape at HytheMarinePark in Hampshire whilst the company wait for their new premises to be built at Woolston, on the site of the former Vosper-Thornycroft yard, beside the River Itchen, near Southampton Water.
With the yacht having five guest staterooms, jacuzzi bath, swimming pool, powerful air conditioning and state-of-the-art communications, the need for reliable 230/400 volt power will be paramount, although some countries won’t allow the on-board generators to be run in harbour. This means hooking up to shore power, but as any sailor will tell you, this can be of variable quality, and dubious voltage and frequency. However, Mastervolt will be installing the perfect solution to this.
The Shoremaster Compact 125 is a highly efficient shore power converter and stabiliser, which allows a yacht to connect to the mains anywhere in the world, whatever the voltage or frequency available. Apart from automatically providing the appropriate power required by the onboard systems the Shoremaster filters the incoming power to protect against surges. For additional safety, it isolates the onboard circuits from the shore supply, protecting the boat from any spikes. It runs smoothly and without the annoying high frequency hum associated with some other shore power transformers.
The new Sports Yacht will also be carrying Mastervolt AGM batteries for main propulsion engine and generator starting. Two battery banks, each comprised of four AGM 12/160 sealed batteries will each give over 3000 Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) at 24V to start the twin, high performance diesel engines. These start batteries will be kept in peak condition by two Mastervolt Mass 24/50-2 mains battery chargers, one for each bank. The system has been designed to work in the wide range of temperatures found in an engine room, and uses high frequency electronics to charge batteries quickly and efficiently using a patented three-step method.
Ships Service 24VDC power is provided by four Mastervolt AGM 12/225 batteries, arranged in two banks. These are ideal for a superyacht, as they are designed for deep-cycling, are robustly built and completely maintenance-free. The Ships Service batteries will be charged by two Mass 24/100C chargers, one for each bank.
“We’re very excited that our products have been chosen by such a prestigious builder,” said David Payne, Mastervolt’s UK Marine Sales Manager. “The systems have been created specifically for global demands, and we expect them to perform extremely well on this amazing new build. We are confident this will lead to more Mastervolt installations once the new Palmer Johnson yard finally opens in Southampton.”
Palmer Johnson are part of a worldwide organisation, and produce aluminium superyachts ranging from 36m (120ft) right up to 80m (262ft). A highly innovative company, they were the first builder to fit water jets to their boats, and the first to fit turbines. The company specialises in quiet, low vibration hulls, which makes them a perfect partner for the efficient and unobtrusive Mastervolt systems.