Venmar Respiro

An eco-friendly motorboat designed around Yamaha Motor’s revolutionary electric propulsion system. This is “Respiro” by Venmar, the historic Venetian shipyard. The boat was presented in world premiere at the Genoa Boat Show 2021.

“Respiro” is the first boat in the world to be equipped with Yamaha’s innovative Harmo “Rim drive” engine. A 6.90m motorboat with a modern design but which recalls the typical styles of the traditional Venetian boats.

The harmo has the propulsive part totally below the waterline; thanks to this feature it has been possible to develop an innovative aesthetic and functional concept around it. In fact, this is an outboard engine without having the classical dimensions of this type of propulsion systems. This allowed us to combine a cockpit with comfortable benches over 1.70 m long, a rear wheelhouse and a comfortable aft sundeck.

The design concept is based on a modern reinterpretation of the typical stylistic features of the Runabout boats: precious woods, painted with processes now forgotten by the industrial world. The deck is in solid mahogany – sitka spruce, as the solid mahogany saddle tanks with polished stainless steel finishes, hand-modeled by skilled workers. The flooring is in solid teak. A search for beauty that is hardly found even in much larger boats.

The construction is extremely sophisticated and completely “green”: crafted from carbon, basalt and linen fibers, in a vacuum sandwich on a male mold. The hull and the deck, including the wooden deck, weigh less than 200 kg before assembling the electrical and propulsion parts.

The hull was developed with extensive use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). We started from the characteristic hulls of the Venetian boats, which are very tapered, developed more in length than in width.

The tapered shape and the light displacement are the most qualifying characteristics of LDL boats. These features strongly depend on the need to keep the Displacement / Length (D / L) ratio as low as possible. When the D / L is low, the hull is able to distribute its mass over a longer water line and the resistance component due to wave formation is significantly reduced.

This type of hulls are ideal for electric propulsion, as they are optimized for displacement and semi-displacement speeds, low speeds for inland waters, ensuring high ranges of use and many hours of autonomy.

In conclusion, Respiro is a fascinating mix of tradition and technology, designed and crafted around an innovative propulsion, with a hull designed to offer little resistance and therefore low energy expenditure. It is made with sophisticated technologies, combining elegance, rationality and eco-sustainability.

Photo and Video © Yamaha Motor Europe

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