2018 Greenline 39
The Greenline 39 is the first new model introduced by a new ownership group of Greenline Hybrid, SVP Yachts, and the company seems to want to make the most of fitting together people and technology.
Greenline Hybrid, under its new owners, is now full steam ahead, with a full line under 50 feet LOA, including the new 39 (formerly known as the Greenline 36) and refreshed “legacy” models: 48, 40, and 33. The company philosophy is to use smart design and technology, and sometimes hybrid diesel-electric power, to improve energy efficiency on board, from the hull to the hardtop solar panels.
The Greenline 39 I sea-trialed was not hybrid-powered, instead relying on a single 370-horsepower diesel. It’s still the most efficient way to power a recreational boat over any distance. This Greenline gave us an easygoing ride with a 17-knot cruise speed at 3100 rpm. This soft-riding hull (they call it “superdisplacement” because it works at any speed) maneuvered well in gentle conditions.
The layout on the 36 has two staterooms and a single head with one door for private access from the master forward, and one door for day-head or shared use. The master has a 6-foot-1½-inch overhead at the standing area at the foot of the berth. The second cabin has 6 feet 1 inch of headroom in the entryway, but the inboard berth is a crawl-in affair with a low overhead.
The main-deck interior does a lot with the space, from the one-step-up-elevated helm to starboard and dinette to port that provide excellent views from comfy seats, to a galley with lots of stowage and counter space to port opposite a console with a popup flatscreen. Beneath the sole of the galley is the engine hatch.
The aft glass bulkhead has a mirror finish on the outside, with a sliding door in the middle. To port the window flips up and latches to the cockpit overhead, and then a small backsplash on the galley’s aft counter folds down to extend the counter into the cockpit. The transom can fold down to create a twofold effect: The transom becomes a swim platform, and, second, it makes the cockpit wide open and more roomy.
This company thinks about electricity in ways that other companies don’t. “We make it possibile to use 110-volt power on board permanently,” says Vladimir Zinchenko, CEO of SVP Yachts. “We try to bring boating closer to the home environment.” The company’s hybrid boats offer a slick touchscreen battery-management system running an array of Lithium-polymer batteries.
About that hybrid system, I also sea-trialed a Greenline 40, a legacy model from the company. Switching to the 10-kilowatt electric drive (that’s 15 horsepower) in the channel off Harbour Towne Marina in Dania Beach, Florida, the silence fills the boat. No sound. No vibration. No emissions. It’s almost eerie, to be frank, until you push the throttle and touch the wheel and realize you’re under power.
Hybrid technology is seemingly getting better all the time. Greenline Hybrid and others persist in trying to break the code of this system because of its ace in the hole: truly silent running. I’ve sea-trialed electric-drive boats before and I think I would use the system regularly. And I’m curious how the technology would change how I would use a boat. —Jason Y. Wood
[dt_fancy_title title=”Specifications” title_size=”h3″ title_color=”title”]
LOA: 38’1”
Beam: 12’4”
Draft: 2’11”
Displ.: 16,535 lb.
Fuel: 185 gal.
Water: 106 gal.
Std. Power: 220-hp Volvo Penta D3 diesel with Mahle electric drive system
Test Power: 370-hp Yanmar V-8 diesel
Price: $427,650