How the Collaboration Came About
When / Where
The partnership began at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show, when Praxis met Mark Richards, CEO and Chief Designer of Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts. Richards is one of Australian sailing’s most decorated figures, having skippered Wild Oats XI to nine line honours victories in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, competed in two America’s Cup campaigns, and won both the Admiral’s Cup and the World Match Racing Tour. He continues this pursuit of silver with the supermaxi Palm Beach XI.
What was their objective / brief
Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts already used solar across their range – the brief was about doing it better. The builders existing approach combined plastic flexible panels with traditional rooftop-mounted solar.
Praxis’ solution represented a clear advancement on every measure that mattered to both brands; rigidity, lifespan, aesthetics, including the option of a non-slip surface finish that allows the solar surface to be walked on in the same manner as any other section of the vessel.
‘For us, our focus remains on employing innovation and technology to make our boats better, yet simpler to maintain and enjoy. The independence of the electrical system is a key component to this mission, and meets our criteria of robust and reliable components, backed by a company who are like-minded innovators and stand behind their product.’
Mark Richards, CEO, Grand Banks & Palm Beach
The Collaboration
Praxis works directly with the Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts design team on custom solar arrays for models as they are ordered, embedding solar across the build from the design stage.
This collaboration was, from the beginning, a conversation between two industry experts. Praxis Founder Cameron Donaldson’s background as a shipwright means he understood the demands a vessel faces at sea. Richards brought an equivalent depth of understanding from the other side of the table, shaped by decades spent both building yachts and racing them in some of the world’s most demanding ocean conditions.
Result
Praxis solar is now specified across the Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts range, including the GB65, GB62, GB54, PB70, PB42, PB85, PB65, PB50, GT60 and GT50.
The science and stats
Formal performance data is still being compiled. In the meantime, the clearest proof point is scale: Praxis was sent nine boat models to quote on before the team had returned from Sanctuary Cove, and solar is now specified across ten models spanning the Grand Banks and Palm Beach range, with new models continuing to join the program.
‘A lifetime spent racing and building yachts at the highest level meant Mark Richards understood immediately what a composite solar panel designed for this environment would mean for rigidity, longevity and performance. That instinct made this one of the fastest, most productive design collaborations Praxis has been part of’
Cameron Donaldson, Founder & CTO, Praxis