Samar 50 solar-electric yacht claims 30 kWh daily from 5.8 kW of panels

The Samar 50, a 15-metre yacht from Maiorca’s Samar Yachts, pairs a traditional Mallorcan llaut hull with an all-electric drivetrain topped by a solar hardtop rated at 5.8 kW of peak power. The yard claims the integrated array produces roughly 30 kWh per day, enough for fully electric coastal cruising at slow, quiet speeds rather than planing performance. The boat took the Best Electric award at the Best of Boats Awards.

A hull built around electric from the start

The Samar 50 is not a diesel boat retrofitted with a motor. Samar Yachts designed the vessel around electric propulsion from the outset, drawing on the historic Mallorcan llaut, a working boat built from wood by local artisans until the 1980s. The reinterpretation keeps the efficient hull form of the original while switching to electric drive.

That heritage matters in practical terms. The efficient displacement-style hull is central to the energy claims, because daily generation of around 30 kWh only works as intended if consumption stays low. The vessel is pitched at slow, silent cruising where the social life on board and immersion in the natural setting take priority over outright speed.

The powertrain numbers

Propulsion is modular. The yard offers a hybrid version with two electric motors paired with two diesels, and an electric version with a generator available as a fallback. The electric setup uses 50 kW motors fed by a 139 kWh battery pack.

The solar side is where the Samar 50 stands out. The hardtop is fully covered in integrated panels rated at 5.8 kW of peak power, which the yard equates to about 30 kWh of daily production. That figure should be read as a best-case Mediterranean day, but even at lower yields the array makes a meaningful contribution to a boat designed for day trips and short, slow passages.

Who it is for

The Samar 50 measures 50 feet, around 15 metres, and can carry up to 12 passengers for day outings in addition to crew. On deck there is a protected main deck, a moving swim platform and an outside shower. For overnight use the boat has two cabins, one main and one for children, sleeping a maximum of four guests.

The configuration points clearly at charter and family day-boating on calm coastal water rather than long-range passage-making. The 139 kWh pack and 50 kW motors are modest for a vessel of this size, which is exactly the trade-off the design accepts: less speed, more hours of quiet, self-sustained running between charges.

What the judges rewarded

The Best Electric award citation focuses on design intent rather than headline performance. The jury noted that the award requires up-to-date performance, ease of use and system safety with an eye to sustainability, and that the Samar 50 was designed to those criteria from the beginning rather than adapted later. The citation highlights the efficient hull, the 139 kWh battery and the integrated solar system as combining low energy consumption with exceptional quiet and comfort.

The jury also emphasized that the boat privileges quiet, sustainable navigation over pure speed, keeping the electric technology deliberately near-invisible on board, integrated into the experience rather than presented as the main event.

One caveat

The 30 kWh daily production figure is the number to watch. It assumes a solar array operating near its 5.8 kW peak through a full Mediterranean day with unobstructed exposure. For an owner moored under partial shade, or cruising in shoulder seasons, real daily generation will fall well short of that headline. The design’s value is the low-energy hull and the social, slow cruising it enables, not a promise that the sun alone will keep the batteries full on every outing.