Silent Yachts offers some of the most impressive electric innovations on water, particularly its solarized battery-powered catamarans that glide with kite assistance and dock in floating villas. Realizing that buyers spending seven figures on an all-electric yacht would undoubtedly prefer a clean, quiet all-electric tender to go along with it, the company presents the all-new Silenter Tender 400. The small electric tender can carry up to six people between land and yacht or zip around in near-silent, emission-free style as a runabout with two+ hours of running time per charge.
The 13.1-foot (4-m) Tender 400 is Silent's first dedicated tender, and it's built to the same exacting standards the boat maker employs on its full-blown dual-hulled yachts that stretch to lengths of 120 ft (36 m). In the case of the 400, that means a carbon fiber hull laid up to save as much weight as possible for efficient, range-boosted cruising, both while out on its own and while being carried by the mothership.
Silent developed the Tender 400 specifically with its 60-footer (18-m) in mind, stating that the tender's 198-lb (90-kg) hull weight makes it light enough to be readily scooped up by the 60's hydraulic bathing platform. The sporty 400 hull also borrows from the 60 yacht in terms of styling, deriving its angular lines, reduced bulwark and black-and-white finish from the larger vessel.
In terms of power, the Tender 400 comes with buyer's choice of 20-kW electric water jet or sportier electric outboard in 20- to 30-kW outputs. The 30-kW outboard can facilitate speeds over 20 knots (37 km/h) for a brisk, sporty ride sure to delight passengers, whether they're making their way to a proper yacht or simply out enjoying the water.
The motor comes powered by a standard 16-kWh lithium battery that can be upgraded to 20 kWh, and Silent Yachts promises a minimum runtime of two hours at a 10-knot (19 km/h) cruising speed. It says that onboard fast-charging hardware will deliver a full recharge in 2.5 hours.
The Tender 400 looks quite small in photos, but it's designed to carry up to six people total. It features a center console layout with three cockpit area seats, two bow seats and midship loading steps in the lowered bulwark. The helm is a simple affair with a leather-padded wheel, a throttle, and a digital display showing speed, heading and depth.
Silent announced the new Tender on Tuesday but did not include pricing information. We've reached out with a pricing request and will update when we hear back. The company says the Tender 400 is ideal for the Silent 80 as well as the 6 and, of course, can also be paired with third-party yachts. Those looking for a larger e-tender will want to wait for the 16.7-ft (5.1-m) model Silent currently has in development.
Update 11/23/22: Silent Tender 400 pricing starts at €76,800 (approx. US$80,100).
Source: Silent Yachts