innovation

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) announced the winners of its 2013 Innovation Awards in Miami last week.

This 71-foot catamaran by designer Christian Grande may well be the yacht world’s response to the slow-food movement. It celebrates going slow and making time to enjoy nature and family. Nothing will escape guests on board this boat. Even the floor is put to good use to showcase the elements.

Kaiserwerft and Voith are unveiling an exciting new propulsion system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. An evolution of Voith’s extensively tested and proven inline thrusters and propulsion systems used on numerous ships, this new compact magnetic propulsion system, which does away with the gearbox and conventional shafts, could be a game changer for large yachts.

Even considering all means of transportation, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar is the first vehicle to successfully circumnavigate the globe solely using solar energy. After more than 19 months, the largest solar-powered ship ever built crossed the finish line in Hercule Harbour in Monaco May 4. The journey of 32,286 miles took the vessel and its crew through all the oceans and touched every continent.