Serenity 74 Neiman Marcus Proposes Solar-Powered Seafaring as Ultimate Luxury

As the Turkey shipbuilder says, with its catamarans, there’s “only you, the sea and your Serenity.” That’s because the all-electric version comes with zero noise and zero pollution, so basically there’s zero elements to interfere with the pleasure of seafaring. It also comes with zero guilt, but that’s only for those who care about their carbon footprint.

Serenity Yachts has both of its models on show at the 2020 Miami International Boat Show (February 13-17), ahead of their introduction to the U.S. market. Serenity 74 is the newcomer and it stands out for being more spacious, more powerful and more luxurious than its older – but smaller – counterpart.

Measuring 74 feet in length, Serenity 74 carries 1,184 square feet of SunPower solar panels on the roof, which allow it to run indefinitely in electric mode, at a cruising speed between 6 and 8 knots, while powering all appliances on board. It’s not a lot, but it’s ideal for those who are in no rush to get to a particular destination – and comes with the promise of 0 pollution.

Serenity 74 comes in both variants: all electric or hybrid. If the new owner chooses the latter, they will get a maximum speed of 20 knots.

The goal for Serenity Yachts is to convince customers to switch to electric, by proving that seafaring doesn’t have to come at the expense of our planet or, for that matter, that you don’t have to sacrifice the level of comfort you’re accustomed to for it.

“At Serenity Yachts, we believe that luxury and technology go hand-in-hand,” Serenity Yachts says. “We offer pure electric and hybrid yachts that use solar panels to give you a power catamaran with a virtually endless range. Not only do we strive to eliminate the dependency on fossil fuel, we are also committed to building yachts that cannot be outdated. Instead of relying on current technology that may quickly become obsolete, we have designed many of our systems in a way that makes them easy to upgrade as new and improved technologies become available.”

Serenity 74 is the living example of that: it’s powerful, it’s reliable and stable, and it’s good looking. The Neiman Marcus Edition comes with an interior penned by Neiman Marcus Fashion Editor Ken Downing. The yachtmaker describes it as “decadent,” but a simple glance at the gallery attached shows it otherwise. It’s more on the minimalist and practical side, but it’s definitely elegant, classy.

Not that Serenity 74 is lacking space. On the contrary: it can accommodate up to 12 guests in 4 to 6 cabins with en-suite bathrooms, and crew in 2 additional crew cabins. It features a grand salon, sundeck and large dining area, and comes with a custom 17-foot electric tender.

As noted above, this is not the kind of decadence one expects from a superyacht, but given the improvement in terms of the massive carbon footprint, it feels like a fair trade-off.

Serenity 74 also has a 528-gallon water tank, a watermaker and 2 separate tanks for greywater. There is plenty of storage space both in the cabins and elsewhere, so whoever sails it can truly take advantage of the possibility of running it on solar power for longer stretches.

However, perhaps the best part of Serenity 74 is that it can be fully customized. Serenity Yachts suggests a basic layout (both for the 74 and the existing 64), but the owner can add or remove whatever element they deem fit.

“At Serenity, we do not want to just build you a yacht – we want to build you your yacht,” the builder says on its website. “Each yacht that we build is customizable. Your Serenity will not be just another boat off the production line, it will be a reflection of its owner."