The System Behind Our New Solar Electric Yacht

What actually runs a modern solar electric yacht? In this video, I walk through the control system we designed and built from scratch to run our solar electric liveaboard yacht — covering propulsion modes, automation, safety interlocks, monitoring, and why software-defined systems are changing how solar boats are designed. This isn’t an off-the-shelf solution. We designed the system ourselves, integrating high-voltage electric propulsion, custom blade batteries, solar, and digital switching into a single, calm interface that’s meant to be lived with every day — not babysat. If you’re interested in yacht automation, digital switching, or how modern EV-style system thinking translates to boats, this video breaks it down at a system level — without marketing fluff or spec-sheet overload. Topics covered include electric propulsion, serial vs parallel hybrid electric modes, digital switching architecture, safety-by-design interfaces, automation logic, and how platforms like Garmin EmpirBus Digital Switching enable software-defined yachts. Even if you’re not into boats, this is relevant if you’re interested in EV systems, automation, distributed power, human-machine interfaces, or how complex technical systems can be made simple and safe to use. This is the first in a series documenting the real-world design, testing, and lived experience of building and running a solar electric yacht from first principles. solar electric yacht control system yacht automation system digital switching yacht Garmin EmpirBus digital switching marine digital switching system electric yacht propulsion hybrid electric yacht software defined boat yacht electrical system design high voltage marine systems EV systems engineering smart boat automation marine control software yacht monitoring and alarms custom yacht control system solar powered yacht electric catamaran systems liveaboard electric yacht marine CAN bus systems NMEA 2000 and digital switching