Sirena 48 Coupe Hybrid Yacht Review

The most fun I had at a Cannes sea trial a couple years ago was a run aboard Sirena’s new 48 flybridge. It was, however, fun for all the wrong reasons—at least as far as the shipyard was concerned, because the sea was too rough to allow us to note down any performance figures. Further, the fair-weather crowd of customers and guests packing the flybridge were soon soaked—and I mean utterly drenched—as that bluff bow punched into six-foot waves and sent solid salt spray clean over the hardtop.

I didn’t get what I needed, but I loved it. One of the impressions I was able to take away from the test was that the boat felt quite tender—hardly surprising, given the number of people up top—and that its handling downwind was rather wayward in those unseasonably rough seas. I think at the time I wrote that it needed the helmsman’s full attention, which was not much of an understatement.

So I was intrigued by the appearance at the latest Cannes show of Sirena’s follow-up to the 48, a Coupe version with no flybridge. It not only looks better, in my opinion, but the reduced top-hamper can only help with seakeeping. And in place of its flybridge, the cabin roof of this particular 48 Coupe bore an array of photovoltaic cells—for this is not just a new model, but a new concept for the Turkish shipyard.

The 48 Coupe Hybrid, as it’s called, has the same 502 gallon fuel capacity as the original 48, but in place of the earlier boat’s 550-horsepower Cummins engines (or 670-horsepower Volvo Pentas) it is fitted with a boxed pair of 180 kW diesel generators, and two 213 kW clutchless electric motors mounted directly on the propeller shafts. In addition to its pretty substantial fuel tanks the Hybrid also has a formidable 78 kWh of lithium-ion battery capacity as standard, or twice that if you prefer.

So as you might imagine, the engine room is a pretty unusual space. The batteries are not in evidence—they’re way down out of sight, their considerable weight no doubt aiding stability—but the gensets in their boxes sit where the engines used to be, and the surprisingly small, white, circular electric motors can be found just upstream of the thrust bearings at the ends of the shafts. Then there is the cabling—seemingly miles and miles of it—as one of the Sirena engineers indicated with an audible sigh and a hint of an eye-roll. Electric power makes some things simple, but not installation.

All this tech comes courtesy of the Italian company e-Motion, which developed its first marine propulsion system with Ferretti Yachts’ Mochi LR23 back in 2006. Unlike the installation on that boat, however, Sirena’s hybrid has variable-speed generators, which make a lot more sense for a cruising machine. As a ‘serial’ system, only the electric motors can turn the shafts, but they can be powered by the generators, by the batteries, or by them both. It’s versatile.

With the generators off, the yacht can cruise in zero-emissions mode, but like all electric cruising boats it’s seriously limited by battery capacity. Unless you’re in the habit of only cruising within sight of your home port you’ll probably find all-electric propulsion most useful as a sociable and silent means of entering and leaving harbor. According to Sirena’s figures, at a cruising speed of 5.7 knots endurance is 2.5 hours—a range, in other words, of a little over 14 nautical miles. It’s true that the option of bigger batteries does double the electric range and endurance, but the numbers are still small.

It is in diesel-electric mode that Sirena’s 48 Coupe Hybrid will mostly be operated. Although it has a planing hull, which with a pair of 550-horsepower diesels doing their thing can manage 24 knots, as a hybrid cruiser it’s strictly a semi-displacement design, topping out at 14 knots under the full output of both the generators and the batteries. According to its builders this is the combination that offers the best range, a fairly impressive 350 nautical miles, but that’s at six knots. With batteries depleted and running at six knots on the generators alone, Sirena claims a range of 200 miles.

Although these figures tend to emphasize the 48 Hybrid’s limitations as a cruising yacht, as a day boat or weekender the system does have a certain appeal. Underway at Cannes with both generators running, sound levels at the helm were in the order of 48 dB(A), which is virtually silent. And the yard’s range and endurance figures do assume the use of all ‘hotel’ services, including the air-conditioning. There is much to be said for cruising in the cool and the quiet, and once you’ve found a nice spot to anchor, the batteries can continue to keep everything on board running in total silence for eight hours. The panels on the cabin roof help top up the batteries, but a 90-percent fast charge, using either the generators or shore power, takes just 45 minutes.

Considered in the light of its existing attractions as a notably spacious family boat, with a comfortable deck salon, three cabins, two heads and appealing outdoor relaxation areas fore and aft, Sirena’s 48 Coupe has much to offer. And although our sea trial at the latest Cannes show was blessed with calm seas and light winds—and therefore offered no challenge at all to the boat’s seakeeping—its lack of a flybridge and all that weight so far below the waterline can only be a benefit.

As for the Hybrid version, it has to be said that cruising in comfort with no noise or emissions is a pretty special experience. Whether this is enough to secure the boat’s place in the market, only time will tell. So far, it’s been a fascinating tale of two boats at two Cannes shows.

Sirena 48 Coupe Hybrid Specifications:

LOA: 52’7”
Beam: 16’5”
Draft: 3’10”
Displ: 71,429 lb. (full load)
Fuel: 502 gal.
Water: 159 gal.
Power: 2/180 kW diesel generators + 2/213kW E-Motion SAE1

This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.

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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/cruisers/sirena-48-coupe-hybrid-yacht-review