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The Power Catamaran Compilation

• By Yachting Staff
• Updated: December 21, 2018

Power Catamarans have been growing leaps and bounds in popularity, and, in lengths and widths. And for good reason. These cruise-centric yachts offer homelike livability for avid travelers, are fuel efficient and are fairly intuitive to run. Power cats are popular in the bareboat charter market too, for these very reasons.

Here, we take a look at 12 catamarans ranging from a cruising-couple-size 36-footer to a 78-footer for friends, family and some more friends. And there are myriad power options: outboards, diesel inboards, hybrid or even all-solar power.

Fountaine Pajot MY44

The Fountaine Pajot MY44 , a creation of Italian architect Pierangelo Andreani and French designer Daniel Andrieu, has a main deck that’s open from the aft-deck seating all the way forward to the starboard helm station. The sense of spaciousness is significant, for several reasons. First, four glass panels aft can all slide to port, creating an indoor-outdoor space with the aft deck and salon. In the salon, 32-inch-high windows extend for 12 feet down the sides of the yacht, with three sections per side, bringing in natural light along with the three forward panes that comprise the windshield. Finally, 6-foot-6-inch headroom provides vertical clearance, with a 21-foot-7-inch beam that adds interior roominess while keeping the yacht stable.

Read more: Fountaine Pajot MY44

Silent-Yachts 55

The ideas about which solar panels, electric motors, inverters and the like to use — and more importantly, Michael Köhler says, how to configure them — became the basis for the brand Silent-Yachts. The company offers 55-, 64- and 79-foot catamarans that run on solar-electric propulsion. The Silent 55 premiered this fall, and the 64 is sold out for the next two years, Köhler says.

Read more: Silent 55

Horizon PC74

As founder and director of The Powercat Company, a Horizon Power Catamarans distributor, Stuart Hegerstrom had long believed that catamaran builders needed to design their yachts to more stylish standards.

“The boats were very boxy,” he says, based on his years of experience with cats in the charter market. He and his partner, Richard Ford, asked Horizon to produce models that had high-end finishes and looked good inside and out.

The Horizon team brought in mega-yacht designer JC Espinosa to work with its own craftsmen. The result aboard the Horizon PC74 is a catamaran with exterior styling, layout and functionality that should appeal to private and charter owners alike.

Read more: Horizon PC74

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. The staterooms have nearly queen-size berths, en suite heads, stowage and 6-foot-6-inch headroom.

Read more: Aquila 36

Lagoon Seventy 8 Powercat

Lagoon is a division of Groupe Beneteau, the world’s largest builder of sailing yachts, and the Lagoon Seventy 8 Powercat is a developmental sistership of its Seventy 7 super sailing cat. The Seventy series yachts are built at Construction Navale Bordeaux in France, which had to add a new yard to construct these catamarans because they require separate stern molds for the power and sail versions.

Read more: Lagoon Seventy 8 Powercat

Horizon PC60

To understand the Horizon PC60 power catamaran , you need to put aside preconceived notions about midsize yacht amenities. For example, main-deck master suites are the province of yachts over 100 feet length overall. Incorrect. This 60-footer has an elegant and spacious owner’s stateroom on the same level as the salon. If you want a 14-foot center console tender on a 60-foot yacht, you have to tow it. Wrong again. On the PC60, you hoist it onto the upper deck, no problem.

Read more: Horizon PC60

40 Open Sunreef Power

Sunreef is known for pushing the boundaries of catamaran design, incorporating four adjustable hydrofoils into a twin-hulled speedboat.

The Polish builder is one of several European builders (including Evo, Fjord, Wider and Wally) transforming the open ­day-boat category with creative designs. ­Beyond its hydrofoils, the 40 Open Sunreef Power ‘s cockpit has side “wings” along the aft gunwales that fold out at anchor, widening the beam from 17 feet to 22 feet 9 inches.

Read more: 40 Open Sunreef Power

Sunreef 50 Amber Limited Edition

Sunreef Yachts introduced its 50 Amber Limited Edition , with plans to launch just 10 hulls of the exclusive design.

The Sunreef 50 Amber Limited Edition will have a carbon fiber mast and boom, four layout options and numerous amber-colored elements, including the hull.

Read more: Sunreef 50 Amber Limited Edition

Lagoon 630 Motor Yacht

Fitted with the optional twin 300-horsepower Volvo Penta D4 diesels, the Lagoon 630 MY burns only 1.64 gph total at 6 knots, giving a theoretical range of 2,952 nautical miles with standard tankage of 793 gallons. Hull No. 1 had an optional 502-gallon tank, giving it transatlantic range.

Luxury, stability and economy are all hallmarks of Lagoon’s return to luxury motor yachts. If you can take a ride, it will be worth your time.

Read more: Lagoon 630 Motor Yacht

Fountaine Pajot MY 37

The Fountaine Pajot MY 37 easily accommodates the seafaring family with three- and four-stateroom options. In the three-cabin version, called ­Maestro, you’ll find an owner’s suite in the portside hull with a queen-size berth and en suite head. Two double-berth cabins and one more head are available for the kids. If your brood is bigger, the Quator setup features four double cabins with two heads.

The 37 is a traveler and can be powered with twin 150 hp or 220 hp Volvo Penta diesels. Top speed with the smaller engines is 17 knots, while it’s 20 knots with the bigger power plants. Interestingly, at 7 knots, the fuel consumption is the same, with either set of motors offering voyagers a 1 ,000-nm range.

Read more: Fountaine Pajot MY 37

Solarwave 64

Many yachts boast eco chops because they have a handful of solar panels that power the microwave or navigation lights. The Solarwave 64 , launched last summer, has the potential to run on sunshine alone. The vessel’s 42 solar panels generate 15 kW that are stored in batteries weighing about 1,300 pounds. They connect to electric motors.

Read more: Solarwave 64

Glider SS18

This British builder says it strives for design innovation and the Glider SS18 displays that DNA, the result of 8 years of research and development. She has a head-turning, catamaran hull form constructed from aluminum and composite materials. She is 60 feet LOA with a 17-foot beam, and has a relatively shallow 1-foot draft. Powered by quad Yamaha 300 hp outboards, she can reportedly reach 50 knots, and with her Stability Control System (SCS), should give a smooth ride while doing it.

Read more: Glider SS18

• More: aquila , Aquila Boats , Express and Flybridge Cruisers , Fountain Pajot , Glider Yachts , Horizon Power Catamarans , Lagoon , Power Catamarans , Silent-Yachts , Sunreef , Yachts
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Sailboat vs. Powerboat: What's the Best Liveaboard?

So you've chosen to live on a boat—the first step towards a pretty awesome dream. Now you gotta start figuring out the logistics. First of which is the choice of the kind of boat you wanna be using - sailboat or a powerboat?

This article gives you all you need to know to make that choice, all the pros, and cons of both so you can easily decide which one is a better liveaboard for you.

What's the best liveaboard, sailboat or powerboat? Generally, sailboats tend to be better liveaboards, since they are more spacious, cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate, and provide better peace of mind than powerboats. Sailboat hulls are also among the most stable designs available. Powerboats are faster, but typically also smaller, and are a lot more expensive to run.

Here are the best liveaboard for different categories:

Let's dive deeper to help you decide what is best for you!

Considerations for a liveaboard boat:

What type of boat is the best liveaboard, peace of mind, ease of use, communication devices, the romance of it all.

In deciding which boat type is best to live on, you need to consider the following categories:

• Comfort - here it is a tie
• Speed - here powerboats win
• Peace of mind - sailboats are a winner
• Cost - sailboats win again
• Ease of use - powerboats take the prize
• Communication - slight win for sailboats
• Ecology - sailboats win
• Romance - subjective, but sailboats tend to win

First of all, a small word of caution - while researching the age-old 'sailboat vs powerboat' question, be careful when reading opinions - instead, look at simple facts. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a PC vs Mac kind of situation, with two zealous camps that would swear by their choice no matter what. Objectivity is tough to find.

So remember - it is all about facts and how these suit your specific needs. I myself do have a bias but will keep it to myself. I've spent a fair amount of time on both sailboats and powerboats, so I'll just be honest, and will let you choose.

Since we are talking about liveaboards, let's start with comfort, because over time, that will become one of the most important aspects for most.

There is no clear 'winner' in this category, as there are pros and cons to both, but when we get to the subcategories, things start to be a bit more clear.

So, for instance, when it comes to space, powerboats tend to be more open. By design, they are usually boxier, which makes for a larger amount of interior space.

Sailboats, on the other hand, take hydrodynamics into account, so their hulls are narrower and sleeker, which is great for efficiency but eats away at the space.

The same goes for deck space. Since on a powerboat, there are no masts, sails, or lines to get in your way, it is more comfortable to move around. Powerboats also often have a flybridge, creating another 'floor' which adds to the overall usable space. And adds a whole lot to visibility.

Things change quite dramatically when we get moving or into rougher seas, though. Thanks to the heavy and deep-reaching keels, sailboats are way more stable and will keep more level.

As opposed to powerboats that don't have these keels, have shallower drafts, and as a result, high center of gravity, so the movement of the waves translates to the hull a lot. They dance around on waves, so expect plenty of broken mugs and hard times when cooking.

The seasick ones will suffer, and so will comfort. This is to such an extent that smart people of the world developed gyroscopes for powerboats that keep them more level. But that is a solution for larger boats only, and it's also an expensive and power-consuming one.

Then again, when under sail, sailboats heel, especially if going 'against' the wind. Meaning your world will suddenly shift potentially tens of degrees. Those who don't like heeling, be aware.

When talking about comfort, I gotta mention the noise and vibrations. When I was speeding around the islands of Croatia on a 46 ft Jeanneau powerboat, I honestly dreaded the moments under power and couldn't wait to get to my destination so I could turn the engine off. Even if you enjoy the roar of a motor, it gets seriously annoying after a while.

For liveaboards, speed usually isn't a priority, but you should know what to expect from your purchase.

Yes, powerboats are generally faster than sailboats. The average cruising speed of a sailboat is somewhere around 6 - 8 knots, while powerboats can easily go around 20 or more if you put your foot down.

But wait, there is a twist! You see, the hull speed is the same for both sailboats and powerboats. Once you want to go over it, the power demands increase drastically, and the power to speed efficiency curve just drops to hell.

Now whether that is good or bad depends on whether you mind that or not. We will discuss cost, comfort, and other implications of high fuel consumption later. But it is safe to say that for passages where efficiency is a thing, the powerboat's power actually doesn't bring much extra speed.

But to be fair, powerboats pick a direction and go straight towards it. Wind power and direction have less influence on their speed and direction than on that of sailboats that have to tack, meaning they have to go a longer route and whose speed drops with the wind.

Very important factor. After all, it is supposed to be your home, and if your home doesn't bring you comfort but rather constant stress, it isn't much of a home, is it? So peace of mind is a big part.

Now there isn't a huge difference between the reliability of a powerboat and a sailboat. They both respond similarly to crashes and waves rolling over them, though a sailboat is harder to capsize.

What needs mentioning is the means of propulsion. Accidents happen, and if your engine breaks on a powerboat, you will either have to tow yourself with a dinghy if you have one, or pay for a tow service.

Neither is a very comfortable option if you are in the middle of a long passage, hundreds, if not thousands of miles from the coast.

A sailboat, on the other hand, has an engine, mainsail, and the foresail, so unless all three of these break, you always have a backup. Actually, even if your sails rip and mast breaks, there is a fair chance you will be able to fashion some sort of a sail to get moving.

This ties into another topic, which is the range. A sailboat has, theoretically, an unlimited range . That gives you peace of mind when planning journeys since you won't have to calculate how much fuel to take on longer journeys and whether there are fuel stop options on the way. And if you realize your passage is too long for your diesel tank, you won't have to fill your boat with stinky fuel cans.

Unless you've got an electric engine and solar panels, that is. Which is a thing these days, one I hope to see more of.

Of course, we have to talk about the cost of it all. This will be a deciding factor for many. Let's first address what's on everybody's mind - fuel. A powerboat will consume large amounts of it, and it costs.

With a consumption of around 6 l/nm, the aforementioned Jeanneau ate up around $1,100 daily on fuel, and though we were covering quite a lot of distance that a liveaboard necessarily wouldn't, this isn't a negligible budget item for many.

Sailboats have motors too, but they don't use them that often and even if they did, all the time, because of better hydrodynamics, they need less fuel to get around.

Moving on to upkeep costs, with sailboats you'll need to pay for the maintenance of sails and rigging. Most boat owners replace sails every 5 - 10 years, and for a 30 something footer, this will cost around $4,000. Give or take a lot depending on the usage, materials, and all that jazz, but you get the point.

Then again, powerboat engines are significantly more expensive, and since they are used more often, they will require maintenance and replacement more often. So all in all, none is a clear winner when it comes to maintenance costs.

Last but not least, there is the purchase cost. This is a tricky one to answer - generally, powerboats are more expensive to purchase, but when buying a boat, there are so many variables to consider, like size, power, condition, equipment, that you would be better off looking at specific offers that are in your geographical and financial range than going by a rule of thumb.

Unlike the previous matter, this has a clear winner. Powerboats are way easier to use. They require less upfront knowledge to get from point A to point B.

If a person who has never been on a boat gets on a powerboat, I am confident they will be able to get to their destination without much hassle (if the seas are calm).

On the other hand, operating sails isn't intuitive. On the contrary, I mean - sailing against the wind? What the hell, right? Yet it is possible.

On a powerboat, you just press a lever and go; not much more effort is needed. On a sailboat, you gotta move around more and work with sails. Now whether that's a good or a bad thing I'll leave up to you.

I'm not sure if this belongs here or to the 'peace of mind' category, but powerboats have a much shallower draft.

With a sailboat, you need to be aware of your keel that goes several meters deep, and you won't be able to go to shallow places that would be reachable by powerboats.

In practice, this isn't really a thing that would make your sailing experience any different from that on a powerboat, but you gotta be mindful of it when going close to the shore.

This is something to think about, though it isn't often considered. The main communication tool of sailors is the VHF, which is a line of sight thing. So having a tall mast to put your transmitter on is a definite plus as you will gain miles and miles of additional range.

Then again, with satellite communications, you have to take into account mast shadow, which creates interference - something powerboats don't have to deal with.

I know, I know, many of you are rolling your eyes now. But the greenness of it all is a hot topic these days and is becoming hotter every year (Global warming joke, get it? Haha.). So there is a fair chance that many of the aspiring boat owners take this into account too.

And the winner here is clear - unless you've got a solar-powered boat, a sailboat is a much more eco-friendly option. And your home won't be called a 'stinky' by the fellow seamen.

This one is rather intangible, and some might say unimportant - but let's be honest, it is what we all got into sailing for, not for spacious salon layouts, good mileage, or hydrodynamic hulls, but for the romance of it. Now which side you will stand on here is a matter of opinion rather than something you can measure, so I'll give you mine, and you see what you wanna do with it.

On powerboats, you get the feeling of power and speed that an equally priced sailboat just won't provide. Which is cool, I gotta give them that.

But sailing to me seems more romantic. Not in the hearts and flowers kinda way, but in the Jack Sparrow one. You feel free, the sense of adventure is there, sailboats seem to have a soul that powerboats don't.

Powerboats are a set of parts that go, but on a sailboat, all these parts put together create freedom. And yes, I kinda stole Jack Sparrow's quote here.

I've heard somewhere that when you get on a powerboat, you do it to get somewhere. But when you get on a sailboat, you're already there.

I'm not exactly sure why, perhaps it is the unlimited range, thus the possibility to theoretically go anywhere without needing much, perhaps it is the fact that a sailboat is more in tune with the sea and weather and wind, but it just feels homier.

And finding this homey feeling on the sea is what you came here for.

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