Power Catamaran World

Wave-piercing Journey 45 LRCat unveiled

The new Journey 45 Long Range Catamaran (LRCat) upstaged traditional trawler designs at the recent Fort Lauderdale Trawler Fest. Designed by Kernan Yacht Design, the Journey’s wave-piercing bows provide the foundation for the power catamaran’s speed, performance and eco-friendly profile. (Click either image for a larger view.)

Capitalizing on a proven commercial hull design, Journey promises half the fuel consumption and twice the speed of traditional trawlers. Projections suggest that when fully loaded it will cruise at 3 nautical miles per gallon at 16 knots.

Journey Hull #1 is available for delivery in 2011 at an introductory price of $759,000.

At the event, Mike Clausen and Neil Riley of Bay Island Yachts of Alameda, California, introduced a built-to-scale model of the Journey 45 LRCat. It will also be displayed at Trawler Fest in San Diego on March 5-7 and Anacortes on May 20-22.

Powered by twin 220-hp Volvo D-3 common rail diesels, the Journey 45 is expected to perform similarly to its sister ship, the Tim Kernan-designed Water Wizards. Commissioned as an offshore filming platform, the 50-foot catamaran completed a non-stop passage of 2,800 miles from Long Beach to the Panama Canal in just less than six days, reportedly at an average speed of 20 knots.

As part of the journey to powercat ownership, buyers are invited to customize the salon area as well as select either a two- or three-stateroom layout. The interior design on all models is open and airy and provides maximum storage, a huge galley and salon and a spiral staircase that leads to a roomy flying bridge. While taking advantage of the latest technology inside and underneath, the Journey elects classic yacht styling above the waterline. 

Partners Clausen and Riley hope Journey will upset the applecart on tired trawler thinking, with “smart boat design that promises the latest in innovation, fuel economy and responsible, green boating.”

Clausen told Power Catamaran World:

“We are waiting for bids back from two yards in China (to build LRCat), have already made a trip there and have a highly placed consultant helping us, and a bid from Navigator Yachts and Bennett Bros. We did have a new yard in China ready to go but, due to their location, shipping was going to be more than $30,000 over shipping from other boatbuilding locations so that set us back about 30 days.
 
“My partner Neil and I have been together for about 20 years, dealing with cats both power and sail for the last 15.  Briefly, we were dealers for Prout, then represented Lagoon, Fountain Pajot & Gemini here in the San Francisco Bay. From 1999 to 2009 we were dealers for Glacier Bay and sold upwards of 85 boats including the 30 and 34. Over that time our customer base was looking for a cruising power cat that didn’t look like a space ship or a stacked container on floats.  Hence, we found Tim Kernan who was very keen on our concept and here we are.”

Hull #1 awaits a buyer:

“We have interest in the boat but it seems they would want #2 or #3. We do have investors for the first hull so we’re ready to go when we decide on the builder.”

Site see: www.journeycatamarans.com

All hail USA's BMW Oracle Racing!

The giant trimaran BMW Oracle, powered by a wing mast of unheard dimensions, has won the 33rd contest for the America's Cup, soundly beating the giant catamaran Alinghi. Finally, have multihulls earned their rightful place at the pinnacle of racing in the sailing world?

Footnote: Water Wizards, an innovative power catamaran owned by Steve Shidler of San Francisco, served as a photo boat during the competition off Valencia, Spain.

Maine Cat P-47 interior design

When Glenn and Pam Cooper ordered a new P-47 to be built by Maine Cat, they requested they be permitted to create their own interior layout. Here's how they explain what they have in mind for the power catamaran that will be launched this summer:

At right is a drawing of the so-called "great room" which is where we have really changed our boat from the other P-47s launched or under construction. Click on the image for a larger view.

Please note we have no forward great room pilothouse steering station. We've decided to have all that in the flybridge with some repeaters below. In addition, our master sleeping quarters have a standard king size
bed rather than the queen. Aside from that the only other significant changes we've made is to extend the cabin top to provide all-weather usage of the cockpit. Our flybridge will also have "all-weather" capability. To do this, we needed lots of cooperation from Maine Cat. It's been a pleasure to work with them.

Why no steering station below? Our rough days and nights at sea are now behind us due to no schedules and plenty of reserve speed. Our cruising grounds will be the east coast and Bahamas the first year with perhaps cruising in the western Caribbean following on its heels.  Being mainly where the sun shines, we are comfortable with only up-top steering but are planning to locate a set of throttle controls in the cockpit for around-the-docks maneuvering
when needed.

We had a major complaint with every other production powercats we looked at. Every place you'd plunk yourself down is molded plastic, curved, probably not where you really want it, and usually uncomfortable. Your flesh and bones have to conform to the molded structures and not the other way around. If we're going to pay the price of a real nice home why not also have the key comforts of home? When we bought seating for our last home, our philosophy was ". . .  any place you sit you should be able to easily fall asleep." We wanted that same advantage on our next boat.

If you look at our interior plan, notice that forward (where the steering station was) is an ultra-suede settee and a table. The settee, which itself has a comfortable incline and depth to it, easily converts to a queen bunk with an inflatable air bed stowed inside. This is all on a raised floorhaving lots of storage. Midway aft, we have cleared out space for two leather
recliners. We are buying these from a Brazilian company called Lafer and they are incredibly comfortable. Beyond them are the "work" areas. We have eliminated the stand-up powerboat-style refrigerator and will have more than 10 cu. ft. divided into well-insulated fridge and freezer boxes, and note we're going to cook inside with an induction top. We have the balanced electrical system to support this and we'll be able to cook faster, greatly reduce interior moisture, and eliminate propane.

While we haven't included a schematic for the cockpit, the concept is to basically have an open box with a rear seat across a large part of the stern. This seat will also provide some storage. For cockpit seating, we have already bought two Lafuma zero-gravity recliners and will probably have similar seating like that stored on the boat. For dining in the cockpit, we'll use a portable, foldable resin table. Beautiful, no, but functional, yes.

We like the idea of being flexible and lightweight, all part of a form-follows-function philosophy. On a couple's liveaboard cruising boat, a good rule to follow is: six for cocktails, four for dinner and two to spend the night. Hope the kids don't read this!

Click on Comments below to share your thoughts on the interior design or start a discussion about Maine Cat P-47.

End of Earthrace?

Earthrace, the record-setting power trimaran, may have met its end in Antarctica after being rammed by a Japanese whaling ship today. Some reports have it sinking, others say it's being salvaged. Here's the latest news report.

The 78-foot wave-piercing trimaran entered the record books in 2008 when it circumnavigated the world in 61 days after failing in its first attempt.

Domino is splashed in Paraguay

Jean-Pierre and Marie DuFour couldn't be happier. Domino, a 65.5-foot/20-meter custom power catamaran that they have been building for the past two years plus, has been launched.

Click here for Marie's account of the emotional day.

Earlier on, here's how Marie explained the decision to build the Malcolm Tennant design in Paraguay.

Click on Comments below to start a discussion or share your thoughts on Domino.

Crosswater #4 has been launched

The fourth Crosswater to be launched by Catman Cats, a 54-footer called Nauti-Gail II, is on her way south on the Intra-Coastal Waterway to her home port of Figure Eight Island in North Carolina. The above photo was taken by the crew of Pretty Penny, an earlier sistership, near Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Conceived by Norm Mosher, Crosswaters are built by Felix Herrin in Urbanna, Virginia.

Pretty Penny, a Crosswater 49, is on her way to the Bahamas for the winter.

Click on Comments below to start a discussion or share your thoughts on Crosswater.

Billionaire boy's toy

Porsche Design Group and Singapore-based megayacht builder Royal Falcon Fleet have reached the first milestone in the construction of the RFF135 with the laying of the keel for the innovative 135-foot/41-metre power catamaran.

The megacat was conceived for a client who wanted a "spacecraft on the water."

By the end of the year, the hull will be relocated from Singapore to Sweden, where the technological installations and interior fit-out will be carried out. Royal Falcon Fleet has engaged the Kockums and the Incat Crowther firms for the construction design of the catamaran. Kockums, a Swedish subsidiary of Thyssen-Krupp, is known for leading-edge technology in the area of marine technology. The Australian-based shipbuilding engineers of the Incat Crowther firm have decades of experience in the construction of large power catamarans. The launch of this first Royal Falcon Fleet power catamaran designed by Porsche Design is planned for the fourth quarter of 2010.

“In 1987, we designed the ‘Kineo‘ power yacht, an exclusive speedboat, of which there are only three examples worldwide and which drew attention for its characteristic dolphin form,” says Dr. Jürgen Geßler, CEO of Porsche Design Group. “Our newest project once again demonstrates that our design, outstanding in many ways, is setting trends in numerous fields. With the first Royal Falcon Fleet yacht, we are building a bridge to the Porsche Design Sport textile collection that was developed specifically for the maritime area.”

“We have now reached an important milestone in mastering this path-breaking project,” says M. A. Zaman, president and CEO of Royal Falcon Fleet. “Under the guidance of highly qualified experts from Australia, France, Sweden and the U.S., we are constructing the hull of the RFF135. On December 15, 2009, it is going from Asia to Sweden, where it will be completed. And at the end of 2010, the first Royal Falcon Fleet will be launched – the ultimate luxury experience at sea.

“In many respects, this project is an anomaly,” says Roland Heiler, executive director of the Porsche Design Studio at Zell am See. “The sole requirement from Royal Falcon Fleet was to implement contours outside of the stereotypical boat aesthetic. This gave us considerable creative latitude and the result was a revolutionary design – a real challenge for the ship architects. This innovative yacht concept quickly drew them into its thrall, however, so that all the participants are now working painstakingly on the realization of the design.”

• Shipyard    Royal Falcon Fleet
• Designer    Porsche Design Group
• LOA    41.20 m/135.18 ft
• Beam    12.50 m
• Draft    1.70 m
• Power    2x4600 HP MTU
• Max speed    35 knots
• Cruising speed    30 knots
• Range    2,000 nautical miles
• Material    Aluminum
• Guest cabins    5
• Guest berths    10
• Crew cabins    5
  
• Crew members    10
• Price    US$58 million

But will it float?*

Domino, a 65.5-foot/20-meter custom power catamaran that Jean-Pierre and Marie DuFour have been building for the past two years plus, has been christened—but she's still to be launched.

The DuFours, natives of France who lived in California for many years, chose to build Domino at Dream Performance Yachts in Asuncion, Paraguay.

At the start of the project, here's how Marie DuFour explained the decision to build the Malcolm Tennant design in Paraguay. Click here to read her report on the christening on October 30 (above photo).

*We're sure it will!

AeroCat makes big splash

While other powercat builders are cutting back or shutting down, AeroCat, a small builder in Erie, Pennsylvania, is starting up with a splash—and attracting a lot of attention with its attractive pricing.

AeroCat offers two models:

• AeroCat Pocket Trawler, from 25 to 36 feet LOA
• AeroCat Center Console, from 16 to 36 feet LOA.

The 27-foot Pocket Trawler, nicely equipped, is being offered for $105,000. That's it in the above photo.

"My company is small but we offer boaters an American-made product built by craftsmen at prices they can afford," says Terry Olsen, AeroCat's owner. "Our name comes from the unique design of our hull and air foil tunnel.  We have incorporated years of sailing, power boating, auto racing and flying into this boat's design."

He adds: "I would put my 27-foot trawler up against any 34-foot boat in its class in cruising and rough conditions."

Power Catamaran World invites comments from those who have seen or sea-trialed the AeroCat.

Rogers 29 powercat takes shape in the BVI

Robert Phillips, managing director of Doyle Sailmakers BVI in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, reports that funding and commitment are in place for a venture to build the Rogers 29 power catamaran in the BVI.

The photos show models of the powercat designed for service as a recreational day boat, or fishing or dive boat, or as a water taxi or tour boat.

Lamination started in early September with a view to splashing the first boat this month for use as a mark boat for the Mooring Interline Regatta. The first boat will be powered by two Tohatsu 50-hp two-stroke outboards.

Here's background on the Rogers 29 project as outlined by Carol Bareuther in an article for All At Sea, a regional boating publication in the Caribbean:

Some of the best ideas in boating are born over a beer. Such is the case with a new boat building venture in the British Virgin Islands that will see commercial production of a lightweight, fuel efficient, power catamaran starting this fall. 

Richard Wooldridge of Island Yacht Management (IYM) explains the vessels conception, “A few years ago, Bob Phillips raced with designer O.H. Rodgers on ‘Three Harkoms’ at the Rolex Regatta. They were enjoying a beer or two in Christmas Cove when Morgan Avery showed up on his ‘Flying Carpet’, a converted Prindle 19. Bob was impressed with the efficiency of the craft, speeding along with no wake and only a small outboard. He said to O.H. ‘design me a 26-foot version of that’ and that’s how it all got started.”

There hasn’t been any production boat building on Tortola since the early 1990s when construction of the popular ‘Tortola Dinghy’ ceased as charter companies started to use inflatable dinghies in their place.

Construction of the ‘Rodgers 29’ started last October when a full sized hull model was created. This was used to create a ‘mold’ in which the hulls will be produced. Molds for the vessel’s structural beams and other sections of the vessel are now being made. IYM plan to have hull #1 launched in time for the ‘Interline’ regatta in mid October. Hull #2, which will be available for sale should be finished mid November. The plan is to build one vessel per month thereafter

O.H. Rodgers is a renowned yacht designer who has a history of success over the last 30 years with designs that include ‘A’ class cats, cruising multihulls and a range of racing monohulls. The ‘Rodgers 29’ is a high-tech build using composite materials to make it strong while remaining as light as possible.

Wooldridge explains, “The design brief was to produce a fuel-efficient boat that is capable of taking the rough trade wind conditions we experience here on the nose. She should be able to take 6 to 8 adults around the islands at speeds up to 28 knots using under 6 gallons of gas per hour. This will be possible because we will only be using 50 or 60 HP outboards, which are extremely fuel efficient and relatively inexpensive. A conventional 30-foot power boat would typically be powered by twin 250 HP outboards that swallow up to 12 gallons per hour each. The vessel will have a 150-mile range with full tanks giving it true ‘inter island’ capability in moderate sea conditions.”

The build is all epoxy.

Perhaps the best description of this new power cat came when veteran USVI multihull sailor, John Holmberg, came for a look at the hull. “He said ‘it’s a 30-foot Tornado with chines’,” says Wooldridge. “Add a bridge deck, a console, two outboards and a hard top and you’ve got it!”

IYM sees a large market for its new power cat.

“We believe that this new power cat will fill a void in the current leisure and work boat markets,” says Wooldridge. “There is simply nothing like it being produced anywhere, its uses are endless from dive boat to water taxi or chase boat or just having fun around the islands with family and friends aboard.”

“The intention is to keep the first boat here to promote the product and to generally assess the performance under a full range of conditions,” Wooldridge says. “We plan to tour the Caribbean with #1 to show her off. She will certainly be at all the major regattas.”

IYM’s partners in the project are Doyle Sails BVI and the Golden Hind Chandlery.