Our 56-Year-Old Yacht Is Going Hybrid-Electric

We’re Going Hybrid, and This Has Been a Long Time Coming

We’re Blaine and Janis, and we’re bringing our 1969 aluminum yacht, Tangaroa, back to life the only way we know how: tear it down, install modern technology, and do the work ourselves. If you’ve followed us for a while, you already know that hybrid-electric propulsion has always been part of the long-term plan. This decision didn’t come out of nowhere, and it certainly wasn’t a reaction to a failure.

It was the result of experience, timing, and an opportunity we couldn’t ignore.

The Cummins Were Never the Problem

Let’s clear this up right away. The Cummins engines were not the mistake.

They performed exactly as expected and, in many ways, exceeded our expectations. We ran them hard, put more than 4,000 nautical miles on them, and headed straight up the west coast of Vancouver Island without babying anything. Fuel economy impressed us, reliability was solid, and the engines did exactly what they were supposed to do. The issues we encountered early on were minor, documented, and resolved. This wasn’t a failed repower.

The Real $60,000 Mistake

The real mistake was assuming something wouldn’t interest us without taking the time to look.

Years in the marine industry raise your bar for what feels genuinely innovative, and that can make you dismiss opportunities too quickly. A friend encouraged Blaine to look at another boat in our own bay, and that suggestion got brushed aside.

In hindsight, that single assumption cost us $60,000 because seeing what was possible earlier could have changed the entire direction of Tangaroa’s power system.

An Email That Changed Everything

After months of enjoying Tangaroa with the new engines, an email landed in our inbox. It came from an engineer with deep experience in serial hybrid-electric vessels, someone who had been building and refining these systems for years. He invited us to see what was possible and suggested Tangaroa was an ideal candidate.

That email connected the dots.

The boat we hadn’t gone to see was right where we already were, and the person behind it wasn’t experimenting or guessing. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Seeing What’s Possible

The first visit was eye-opening. What we saw wasn’t just clever or interesting, it was exceptional. The level of detail, the integration, the cleanliness of the systems, and the way everything worked together reset our understanding of what a hybrid-electric yacht could be. Long conversations followed about technology, control systems, efficiency, and where marine propulsion is heading.

Both sides agreed that hybrid-electric is not a fad. It’s the future.

Why Tangaroa Is a Perfect Candidate

Tangaroa has space, strong bones, and a layout that works in our favor. Our current thinking puts energy storage in the range of 200 to 240 kilowatt-hours, which completely changes how the boat operates. Batteries, control systems, and electric motors are all proven technology. The real innovation comes from integrating them into a serial hybrid system using DC generators, simplifying exhaust, reclaiming space, and increasing efficiency without sacrificing range or performance.

In fact, the goal is to extend range using the fuel we already carry.

Quiet Matters More Than We Expected

For Janis, quiet is the deciding factor. We both grew up around sailboats, and there’s a specific feeling when the engines shut down and all that’s left is water and wind. That feeling never really leaves you. Hybrid-electric brings us closer to that experience, even on a motor yacht. Generator runtime drops dramatically, noise levels fall, and many long-standing frustrations simply disappear. This isn’t about chasing technology for its own sake.

It’s about how we actually live on the boat.

This Is a Big Decision, Made With Open Eyes

Yes, we just installed the Cummins.

Yes, everything works.

And yes, we’re still planning to go to Japan.

None of this makes the decision easy. But some opportunities are too important to walk away from. This project allows us to prove that a hybrid-electric system can take a heavy, ocean-going yacht anywhere in the world. It offers better efficiency, quieter operation, and a smaller footprint, all while improving safety and usability.

Not a Sponsorship, Not a Free Ride

This matters enough to say clearly: this is not a paid endorsement.

We are not being paid to say nice things, and this is not a free build. We are investing our own money, working with people we trust, Brent Perry and OSEA Boats, and putting our home on the line because we believe in the technology and the mission behind it.

That distinction matters to us, and it should matter to you.

Doing This in Real Time, Together

This hybrid-electric conversion will happen in real time. We’ll be sharing three videos a week and one live discussion every week on our YouTube Channel, The Never-Ending Sea Trial. This isn’t a polished after-the-fact story.

You’ll see the wins, the challenges, the mistakes, and the solutions as they happen.

We want your ideas, your experience, and your questions involved in this project because many of you bring decades of knowledge to the table.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

If we had seen this hybrid-electric project earlier, we might have saved ourselves $60,000 and made different choices.

But hindsight doesn’t move boats forward.

What matters is that we now have a rare opportunity to compare old mechanical diesels, modern common-rail diesels, and a full hybrid-electric system on the same yacht. That comparison alone makes this journey worth documenting. Tangaroa’s next chapter starts now, and we’re bringing you along for every step.