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Built by the Sino Eagle Group, the Aquila 36 power catamaran is a versatile outboard-powered dayboat that is also capable of weekending and angling adventures. There are two en suite staterooms, one in each hull, with nearly queen-size berths and 6-foot-6-inch headroom. On the main deck, which can be covered by an optional fiberglass hardtop, cruisers have a dinette, a cooktop, a fridge, a sink and a smokeless grill. Top speed is 35 knots with 350 hp Mercury Verados. As of July, there were 11 Aquila 36s available, ranging from $439,000 to $725,000.  

From the Archive

“The Aquila 36 is a departure from her sisterships in that she is an outboard-powered, express-cruiser-style catamaran, but she also adheres to MarineMax’s philosophies. With a single main living level from bow to stern and a beam of 14 feet, 7 inches, the Aquila 36 is like a bowrider on steroids. She has seating that can handle 20 adults for outings and barbecues, and there are two staterooms below, one in each hull, for family weekending.”

— Yachting, August 2018

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Sunreef Yachts says its research-and-development department is working on a Zero Cat: a sustainable sailing yacht that can convert methanol to hydrogen, combining with electric propulsion to create zero emissions and what the builder promises will be “unlimited autonomy.”

The Zero Cat will “measure above 90 feet,” according to Sunreef. It will also have a solar-power system with solar cells built into the body of the yacht.

Sunreef says the fuel-cell and solar-cell systems will provide energy for propulsion as well as hotel loads.

“Our goal is to revolutionize the industry by offering discerning customers an exceptional zero-emission sailing experience,” Nicolas Lapp, chief technology officer and co-founder of Sunreef, stated in a press release. “This project represents a milestone in our ongoing commitment to protecting our oceans and preserving the natural beauty of the sea.”

What else is new at Sunreef? In the past year, the builder also unveiled the Ultima, a range of hybrid power catamarans. The first models are the 45 Ultima and 55 Ultima.

Where to learn more: visit sunreef-yachts.com

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One by one, the fleet of a dozen multihulls—11 performance-cruising catamarans and a sole French trimaran—retrieved their anchors and hoisted their mainsails, each with a deep reef in the main. In the anchorage off Anse Marcel on the French side of the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin, in the lee of the isle, the waters were calm and serene. Outside in the nearby Anguilla Channel, however, the easterly trade winds were pumping, and it was a sporty scene indeed, with the roiled seaway flecked with whitecaps.

It was the second day of the fifth-annual running of the Caribbean Multihull Challenge in early February. For the first time, the event was also hosting a rally in conjunction with the usual regatta for racing cats and tris. While the race committee was setting racecourses back in Simpson Bay on the island’s Dutch side, the cruisers were setting sail for an anchorage on the far side of Anguilla, where an evening of music, dancing and merriment awaited.

As anyone who has been to one of the major boat shows in the past decade knows, the multihull segment of the sailboat sector is far and away the fastest growing. And while the CMC rally fleet was well represented by French builders such as Lagoon, Nautitech and Outremer, with a half dozen entries, the South African-built line of Balance Catamarans was easily the most dominant brand. Perhaps not coincidentally, the company’s founder and president, Phil Berman, was in the thick of things aboard his own Balance 482, In Balance, as part of a season of island-hopping.

“You learn so much from the experience of just getting out and sailing your boat, day after day, living aboard and cruising through the islands,” Berman, a former national champion in the Hobie 14 class, told me at the outset of the rally.

Balance is currently building about 25 of its swift, daggerboard-equipped cats a year, and the production run is basically sold out for the next two years. “It’s crazy, but we’re probably the fastest-growing catamaran builder in the world,” he said. “But we’re just doing what we’ve always tried to do, which is build comfortable cruising boats that perform nicely.”

Berman said he’d been looking for ways to link his owners, and the rally was just the ticket. “We’re trying to build a community with Balance,” he said. “And it’s working. The owners all become friends, and they just like hanging out together.”

As the fleet started blasting across the Anguilla Channel, with most of the Balance tribe hoisting spinnakers and seriously trucking, it was clear not only that the boats perform well, but also that their crews were top-notch sailors happy to push the envelope.

Berman said there were several other Balances cruising the islands. Next year, he says, he thinks he’ll have several more cats in the fleet. Steve Burzon, the CMC director of marketing, says he hopes to attract other brands to the rally. “We do all the organizing; they just need to show up, and, for the price of their entry fee, they get the parties, the camaraderie—everything,” he said. Burzon also acknowledged that the rally half of the event may soon overshadow the racing portion, which drew 17 boats this year. “We may have created a monster.”

It’s a good problem to have, and it will be interesting to see what transpires. In that moment off Anse Marcel, however, all those colorful spinnakers soon vanished over the horizon. While the racers back off Simpson Bay were getting ready for a day of bashing their brains out, the rally folks had different priorities. After all, there was a party to attend to.  

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Horizon’s PC60 packs the utility and amenities of a 100-foot monohull into a 60-foot power catamaran. It can have four staterooms, including a main-deck master; can hold a 14-foot center-console on the upper deck; and can host at least 20 guests for parties. Guests can dine inside at the coffee table that switches to a dining table with an L-shaped settee, in the cockpit with a flybridge overhang or on the bridge deck with a grill. The PC60 can do 23 knots. At 9 knots, range is nearly 1,500 nautical miles. As of May 2023, six PC60s were available, ranging from $1,999,999 to $2,695,000.   

From the Archive

“Being a catamaran, the PC60 has a wide beam (nearly 25 feet), and the builder takes advantage of every inch of volume. You can invite 20 friends for a party aboard, and there’s elbowroom to spare, even if you only use the main deck. There’s seating for everyone too. The PC60’s twin-hull design also means exceptional stability, which allows you to have loose chairs, even on the flybridge, without worrying.”

— Yachting, May 2016

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As the largest model in the power catamaran lineup, Horizon’s PC68 boats loads of living space both indoor and out. Yachting got on board to get an in-depth look.

About Horizon

The Powercat Company was founded in 2009, when company CEO Richard Ford forged a relationship with the renown production boat yard, Horizon Yachts in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Over the past decade, the range has grown to include the PC52, PC60, PC65, PC68 and a fully custom PC74. Richard and his team work closely with Horizon Yachts to design and produce these magnificently appointed PowerCats. Horizon operates at the cutting edge of technology and is considered one of the premier boat builders in the world.

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Camper & Nicholsons International has been appointed central agent for the sale of Serenity 72 Power Catamarans, in collaboration with Serenity Yachts and Darnet Design.

The Serenity 72 Power Catamaran has ocean-crossing capability, according to the company. Interiors can be configured to suit the owner’s needs, and interior finishes can be styled to suit various preferences.

Accommodations are for 10 guests in five staterooms. The master stateroom can be on the main deck, or it can occupy the entire portside hull. Guest staterooms can be arranged as double-berth VIPs or as smaller staterooms for families and guests.

“It brings much more volume and space for a much-decreased fuel consumption, and it’s more comfortable both at sea and at anchor,” Franck Darnet of Darnet Design stated in a press release. “Our goal has always been to design nice-looking boats. Today, we have achieved this with the Serenity 72 Power Catamaran’s awesome and beautiful design.”

How is the Serenity 72 Power Catamaran built? With an aluminum hull and composite superstructure.

Take the next step: contact a sales broker at camperandnicholsons.com

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New toys tend to be exciting to play with. In Prestige Yachts’ latest launch, the M48, there is a lot of new. For starters, the M48 is the French builder’s first model in its M-Line, marking Prestige Yachts’ foray into the multihull market. Then, consider the various belowdecks layouts and interior-design options that let owners make the yacht as personalized as they want.

Starting at the top, the M48 has a 215-square-foot flybridge with a portside helm station. Here, the skipper can access Volvo Penta instrumentation and two 16-inch touchscreen displays. Adjacent to the helm station, there is companion seating for at least two. Abaft are a wooden dinette with an L-shaped settee and a sun pad.

Guests can take the portside stairs down from the flybridge to the main deck, arriving in the 140-square-foot cockpit. There is seating in each of the cockpit’s four corners: aft in forward-facing L-shaped settees with tables, and flanking the sliding glass door to the yacht’s interior. Three steps down from the cockpit is a 54-square-foot central lifting platform with 17-square-foot side platforms to port and starboard.

Inside, the galley is to starboard with a stainless-steel sink, an electric microwave and oven, a three-burner induction cooktop, a 47-gallon fridge and an 11-gallon freezer. To port for easy service, there is U-shaped seating around a dining table.

Some guests can head down to their belowdecks accommodations via stairs to port. The VIP stateroom and one guest stateroom are here, along with the day head. Both of these staterooms have twin berths that combine to create doubles.

Forward of the galley, another set of stairs to starboard leads belowdecks to a space that owners can customize. They can choose a master stateroom or two twin-berth guest staterooms. In the master configuration, the head is split into two areas, with a shower to port and a toilet to starboard. The master stateroom also has a lounge and a desk with drawers, making the space a good spot to hide out and read or get some work done at anchor.

Power is twin 320 hp Volvo Penta D4s paired to V-drives. Prestige Yachts says the yacht’s top-end speed is 20 knots; cruising speed is 16 knots with a 240-nautical-mile range; and at 8 knots, the M48 is capable of cruising for 600 nautical miles.  

Take the next step: prestige-yachts.com

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I’ve sailed my fair share of ocean races over the years, but the most unusual of all was the 2016 running of the Conch Republic Cup, a three-legged affair that began and finished off Key West, Florida, with a couple of 90-mile crossings of the Florida Straits to and from the north shore of Cuba. The CRC, at the time dormant for 13 years, had a colorful history owing largely to its Cuban ports of call, but aboard the 58-foot catamaran I was sailing, Impossible Dream, it wasn’t the venue that made it unique. Rather, it was the dynamic crew I was sailing with, three of whom were straddling wheelchairs. Our crew included two paraplegics and a quadriplegic. I’d never before gone to sea with paralyzed mates, but it was pretty fitting that someone had crossed off the first two letters of the cat’s name on the hull, with the “I” and the “m” scratched over. On Impossible Dream, everything seemed, well, possible.

It was my first sail aboard the one-of-a-kind, fully accessible, “barrier-free” catamaran, but hardly my last. For the yacht has continued its stated mission of creating sailing opportunities for people with disabilities, and, in the years since competing in the CRC, it’s made annual summer voyages from Florida to Maine, introducing thousands of inner-city kids, wounded military veterans and folks in wheelchairs to the joys of sailing. When it cruised into my home waters of Newport, Rhode Island, last summer, I was ecstatic to once again hop aboard.

Some background: Impossible Dream was created by extreme-sports enthusiast Mike Browne, who was paralyzed in a skiing accident and commissioned Nic Bailey to design a boat on which he could still pursue adventures. It was built by Multimarine, an advanced composites outfit, in England in 2002. Among its features are a wraparound deck that allows wheelchairs full access forward and aft, internal lifts for wheelchair boarding, a deckhouse with special seating on tracks, and all sail-handling lines leading inside. For more on the boat and its programs, visit its website: theimpossibledream.org.

The boat found a new home at Shake-a-Leg Miami, a remarkable facility based in Coconut Grove, Florida, for disabled sailors and watersports enthusiasts. The organization was founded by an old Newport pal named Harry Horgan, who was paralyzed in a car accident and saw the opportunity to empower others through firsthand experiences at sea. Horgan teamed up with another paraplegic, businesswoman and Shake-a-Leg Miami volunteer Deborah Mellen, who donated the funds to acquire the boat. The longtime skipper is Capt. Will Rey, ably assisted by first mate Paulina Belsky. Together they all make a highly talented, driven and formidable squad.

I’ll always remember our voyage to Cuba aboard the quick cat back in the day, and the genuinely gnarly conditions we encountered in the Gulf Stream, which Impossible Dream handled with aplomb. It turns out a cat is a pretty great seagoing platform. Our spin on Narragansett Bay last August was a much more mellow outing in a light southerly with a very happy contingent of participants enjoying the sun and breeze. Capt. Will always maintains a safe-and-sound ship, but it’s also pretty clear he wants everyone to have a great time. And they do.

We were tying back up in downtown Newport when, not for the first time, it struck me how special Impossible Dream truly is. Whether upright or in a chair, there’s nothing quite like a great sail, and this really cool cat is an equal-opportunity portal to nautical dreams unlike any other. As Muhammad Ali once said, “Impossible is nothing.”

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Galati Yacht Sales has listed this custom 78 transoceanic power catamaran for sale, with an asking price of $3,995,000.

The boat, built in 2012 by IETA, has crossed the Pacific. It has blade technology and wave-splitting fins for easier movement across the water. The superstructure is designed to gain speed in certain wind conditions, and the boat is fully powered by solar as well as twin 300-horsepower John Deere diesels.

Inside, French mahogany and bamboo create a hand-finished look similar to those found aboard larger motoryachts. There are three staterooms and three heads within the 28-foot beam.

Draft is 4 feet, 10 inches for use in shallower-water destinations.

Ease of maneuverability: This boat can be operated by a remote controller, which means skippers can be anywhere on board and still maintain control.

Where to learn more: go to galatiyachts.com

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Aquila Power Catamarans hosted the world premiere of its 42 Yacht at the Miami International Boat Show in mid-February.

The Aquila 42 Yacht has multiple layouts and is a perfect option for someone looking for a pocket cruiser; in the standard configuration, there are two staterooms and a utility cabin. Three- and four-stateroom versions are also available.

Owners also have a choice of engines from Volvo Penta. Aquila says the 42 Yacht is designed for cruising as well as entertaining. There are three outdoor spaces to get the party started.

“Our international Aquila team worked with the famous French VPLP designers to bring this amazing power catamaran to the market, using computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis to enhance the performance and comfort at sea,” Lex Raas, president of Aquila Power Catamarans, stated in a press release. “As well as partnering with European Chedal Anglay for a modern interior design, incorporating our Aquila Yachts DNA of bulbs, walkway from the flybridge, opening aft bar, patented dinghy crane, patented swim ladder, largest panoramic cabin windows in class and our standard CE Category A certification, all culminating in a 42-foot power catamaran unrivaled in the world.”

What other models did Aquila have on display at Miami? The 28 Molokai, 32 Sport, 36 Sport, 44 Yacht and 54 Yacht.

Where to learn more: visit aquilaboats.com

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