Zin Boats Z11 Electric Tender

The all-electric Z11 has stringent safety protocols that allow it to be stowed inside a superyacht. Courtesy Zin Boats

The first thing that catches my eye as I walk into the Zin Boats production facility in Seattle is the Z11, a 36-foot all-electric tender the company built for Feadship’s Project 821. The Z11’s carbon-fiber lines are distinctive, and its trim looks sophisticated. Piotr Zin, the company’s founder and CEO, opens a hatch in the cockpit sole to reveal a machined-aluminum case with labeled orange cables extending from its port and starboard flanks.

“That’s the Magic Box,” Zin says, smiling.

Zin Boats—which builds high-end tenders and vessels—aims to sell its electric-drive technologies to third parties to help the boating world transition from internal-combustion engines to electric propulsion. Many of these technologies are showcased aboard the Z11, which Zin says is the world’s fastest electric tender with the world’s leading range.

In addition to building high-end custom tenders, Zin Boats is open to sharing its propulsion technology. David Schmidt

According to the builder, the boat exceeds 52 knots and has a range exceeding 100 nautical miles under normal operating conditions.

To power the Z11, Zin Boats worked with Xerotech, an Irish company that builds lithium-ion batteries considered so safe, they are being used aboard the International Space Station. “There’s no cell-to-cell heat propagation,” Zin says.

Additionally, Zin created a multilayer safety approach, including a material that lines the Z11’s steel battery case, liquid cooling, and software that monitors and manages the batteries.

A notable characteristic of Zin’s Magic Box is the level of energy that it can manage safely. Courtesy Zin Boats

Controlling DC power is another critical aspect of any electric vehicle, and Zin says this is where the Magic Box shines. While electric vehicles typically have multiple control boxes that govern and distribute power, Zin Boats created a single box that sits between the battery and the motors, and tackles everything from power control to charging.

It will push anything from 48 volts to 1,000 volts, Zin says. Currently, the highest power that can run through it is 1,000 kilowatts, or 1 megawatt.

While 1 megawatt is a lot of juice, the key is safety. Zin says the Magic Box talks to every high-voltage component before it allows high-voltage power to flow from the batteries. “There’s a very sophisticated communication and handshake between all of the parts and pieces inside the boat that basically confirms that the boat is safe and ready to go,” Zin says.

This same safety focus also applies to charging the batteries.

The Z11’s carbon-fiber construction is as modern as its propulsion system. Courtesy Zin Boats

“The Magic Box has multiple high-voltage inputs and outputs,” Zin says. “On the one end, it talks to and takes energy from the battery. On the other end, it talks to and takes energy from a DC-to-DC charger. The Magic Box also has the capability of talking to the AC-to-DC chargers and controlling those.”

The Z11’s Magic Box has about 40 temperature sensors, controls cooling, and has a centralized vehicle control unit that allows the Magic Box to communicate with upstream and downstream systems, ranging from chargers to joystick steering.

Zin Boats markets two versions of the Magic Box: a 400-volt system and an 800-volt system. These work with single and dual motors, respectively. The 400-volt system liquid-cools its batteries, while the 800-volt system liquid-cools its Magic Box and batteries.

“It’s the heart behind this whole thing,” Zin says of the Magic Box. “Our engineers designed and developed the circuit board that is inside it.”

Zin Boats is equal parts boatbuilder and forward-thinking technology company. David Schmidt

While it’s easy to think that the Feadship owner who ordered the Z11 funded the development of these technologies, Zin says the order simply sped up the development. “We would have done this regardless,” Zin says, noting that the company began creating these technologies years before the Z11 project.

Zin describes the tech as a universal propulsion system, which he equated to a 1950s-style outboard engine and fuel canister. The propulsion system is intended to be plug-and-play.

Zin Boats already has agreements in place with well-known third-party builders. Zin says: “We want to keep pushing the electrification, not just on our boats, but on everybody else’s boats.”

Under the Keel

The Z11’s hull, by designer Patrick Banfield, is also innovative. Rather than having long strakes, the Z11’s hull form is shaped more like a high-performance sailboat. Piotr Zin, the founder and CEO of Zin Boats, says this design reduces wetted surface area and drag, increasing the boat’s range.

The UI Factor

Zin Boats worked with Raymarine, in part to provide the Magic Box’s user interface. The interface resides on a Raymarine module, which can plug-and-play with any Raymarine display.

What’s Next?

Zin Boats plans to build more models that use the company’s technologies, and it plans to sell those technologies to other manufacturers in the marine market and possibly others as well.

Take the next step: zinboats.com

The post Zin Boats Z11 Electric Tender appeared first on Yachting.