Bell Marine is the industrial specialist in electric motors, with parallel coupling systems (PTO) marketed by Transfluid, another company in the group, which offers the widest range of motors and complete electric propulsion systems on the market.

Although not as well known to the general public as those of its German competitor, Bellmarine engines and Transfluid hybrid couplings are used extensively in many professional applications.

Passenger ships, support vessels, patrol boats, dozens of installations, almost all of them on professional ships, are working perfectly. Transfluid and Bellmarine offer complete packages, motor, controller, controls, batteries, all of which are DNV and Es-Trin (river) compliant.

This certification, which for batteries is based on criteria adapted to marine use (watertightness, solidity, degassing, etc.) but also on a thermal propagation test, provides serious guarantees for the assemblies that carry them. One of Bellmarine's big advantages. 

The second major advantage is the Transfluid Bellmarine network, which has no less than 50 installers around the world. A presence that guarantees the follow-up of... the warranty!

Bellmarine and Transfluid are making their way in the yachting industry and supply two boatyards: Windelo, with Drivemaster shaft-mounted motors, and Neel with electric saildrives, the Sailmaster, which are the subject of this article.

Bellmarine saildrives, like all electric saildrives, have a major advantage, both literally and figuratively: their small size. In engine holds that are cramped because of their adaptation to the saildrive of combustion engines, it is often impossible to replace a combustion diesel equipped with a saildrive by an electric one on a shaft. The possibility of installing an electric saildrive then makes sense, at least until the hull designs adapt to the shaft line or integrate pods.

Bellmarine offers two families of sail drives, one air-cooled and the other water-cooled. The Neel (sailboats) and Leen (motoryachts) use the liquid-cooled version.

The air-cooled version ranges from 1.5 to 15 kW, the water-cooled version from 2.5 to 20 kW. Both versions have advantages, the air-cooled one is extremely easy to install, not requiring a water pump thanks to the absence of a cooling loop. Its controller then embeds a fan.

The "liquid" version allows to increase the power, to 20 kW (25 in peak), at the cost of permanent operation of two circulation pumps, but the controller does not need a fan.

Both versions use Bellmarine motors mounted on a Yanmar leg.