The architect and explorer Jean-Pierre Heim is crafting plans for an electric yacht that would be used for tourist purposes. A member of the Explorer’s Club in New York, he works from Paris, New York, Shanghai and Greece. Heim lives by the mantra “Travelling Is an Art,” which was also the name of an exhibition that he staged of his art in New York City this spring. Designing luxury resorts that play up sustainability and rely on local resources are his specialty. He has done work in Tibet, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Cuba, Santo Domingo and other locales. He has also designed boats for the Mekong River and the Nile, as well as ones for the waterways near Paris and New York. Heim’s portfolio also includes yacht clubs in Shanghai and Beijing, and eco-marina projects in Greece.
Next up is “Y Le Yacht,” an electric-powered boat that he hopes to unveil in Manhattan. He is currently trying to secure financing for the $50 million project, which will take two years to build. His tourist-centric design would be considerably more luxe than the Circle Line. The design is an 80-meter electric yacht that would include a three-star French restaurant, a spa, a steam room, gym, 20 luxury suites, a movie viewing room and a small outdoor swimming pool. Heim said he is negotiating with city officials to secure authorization to operate Y Le Yacht around New York, but the exact location has not yet been decided. The route for the boat, which would require recharging, could be to circumnavigate Manhattan.
The interior would be reminiscent of the Art Deco designs that were popular in New York. The concept borrows from Franco American journeys like the SS Île de France, which used to cross the Atlantic from Le Havre, France, to New York between 1927 and 1958. Known for its wealthy Franco American clientele, the ocean liner was the first one to be built after World War I that had an Art Deco interior. It was nicknamed “Rue de la Paix of the Atlantic” as a wink at the Parisian street favored by luxury shoppers.
Heim notes how with the debut of the Normandie in New York in 1936, the Transatlantic Company had created the most powerful steam turbo-electric propelled passenger ship that had ever been built at that time. The fact that it was designed by the architect and interior designer Pierre Patout, who was a major figure in the Art Deco movement, was also not lost on him. Years later in 1962, another ocean liner, the SS France, which was at one time the longest passenger ship built, arrived in New York City to the delight of thousands. Now Heim is trying to serve up the electric-powered Y Le Yacht.
Electric-powered yachts are gaining interest with some seafaring people. In March, the Azimut Seadeck 7 was shown at the Palm Beach International Boat Show. The Seadeck 7 is said to be the world’s first yacht that combines hybrid propulsion with the Volvo Penta IPS system, which is based on Volvo Penta’s revolutionary hybrid-electric pilot technology.
The Azimut Seadeck 7.
Photo Courtesy Azimut
That could enable more attentive owners to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 40 percent over an average year of use. The design combines diesel engines, electric motors and batteries with the efficiency of Volvo Penta IPS drives. That allows for a hybrid operation without a generator. The Seadeck 7 can cruise in pure electric mode up to 11 knots. It also can stay anchored with zero emissions for up to 12 hours.
