JPK 45 FC / Team Kahuna
Kahuna is a 13.80m-long JPK 45 Swing Keel, designed by Jacques Valer, boasting a glass-reinforced polyester and sandwich PVC fiberglass vinyl ester structure. It’s a light cruiser designed like a racing boat with everything that makes a great cruise possible. It features 8 beds, heating, a kitchen, a water maker and heater, a satellite telephone, and modern navigation and communication systems.
But what makes Kahuna different from other JPK 45s? It possesses two noteworthy features. First, its floors have been lowered by 15cm providing a headroom greater than 2.05m. Kahuna's larger headroom contributed to a more spacious cruising interior and comfortable accommodations. Additionally, its meticulous design provided a much-sheltered cockpit and better protection against bad weather conditions.
Secondly, it comes equipped with an electric motor making it eco-friendly. Other JPK 45s have a headroom of 1.8m and are powered by diesel engines.
As part of the team’s commitment to spread ecological awareness, they’ve decided to use an electric motor with a minimal carbon footprint and prove that it’s possible to go on an expedition of this magnitude without the use of fossil fuels. To amp up Kahuna’s speed and power, they outfitted it with 31kWh lithium batteries coupled with solar panels and electric motors.
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Technology used in the electric JPK 45 sailboat :
- Boatbuilder: JPK Composites
- Country: France
- LOA: 13.8 m
- Boat beam: 4.5 m
- Displacement: 9500 kg
- Electric motor system: 2 x Oceanvolt SD15
- Electric motor system nominal power: 2 x 15kW
- Electric motor system voltage: 48 V
- Propulsion batteries: 30.4kWh of lithium-ion batteries