BlueNav offers a range of electric drive solutions designed to hybridize boats with internal combustion engines.

It's a minimally invasive solution, involving the fitting of Rim Pod motors.

The choice of Rim Pods is a sensible one, as these hubless motors have a number of advantages.

Their efficiency is the highest in the marine propulsion family. Their circular hubless propeller is driven electro-magnetically and there is no contact between propeller and motor, if you can put it that way. No contact means no seals and absolute watertightness.

Lastly, the rims play tricks on debris by acting like nozzles that expel it.

These engines can be installed in a fixed position, but they can also be retractable, which is part of the appeal of these systems. They are then installed in the hull, in a box, or, much easier to achieve, still in a box, but which will be installed on the transom of the equipped vessel.

According to BlueNav, hybridisation is a so-called soft hybridisation, in the sense that it is designed to be installed alongside the existing propulsion system, whether inboard or outboard.

This separation creates the simplicity that is the hallmark of mild hybridisation.

The concept also involves fitting low-power electric drives, capable of providing a silent, fume-free sailing experience over short distances, such as when entering and leaving a port or a low-emission zone.

The combustion engine is still available for long distances and speed.