Fountaine Pajot, the second-largest French catamaran builder, has announced plans for the Queensland 55. It replaces a 60-footer that was initially slated to be the queen of its fleet but obviously found no takers.
Queensland Hull #1 is to be launched in spring 2009. The introductory price is 1,300,000 Euros which, at today's exchange rate, works out to about US$2,000,000.
Specs in brief for the Andrieu design: LOA - 56.6 ft, LWL - 52 ft, Beam - 26.6 ft, Draft - 3.6 ft, Displacement no load - 48,500 lb, Power - 2 x 435 hp, Water - 264 US gal, Fuel - 790 US gal.
The last item is the disappointment as at 10 knots the Queensland 55 will have a range of only 1,300 nautical miles. That's wonderful for coastal cruising but the new model cannot be promoted as a "world cruiser" as it won't make it across the Atlantic or Pacific.
Perhaps production powercats are destined to remain coastal cruisers, a role they are perfectly suited for. It's just that when we see a powercat longer than 50 feet, we immediately wonder if it's capable of real passagemaking.
Fountaine Pajot also builds the Highland 35 Pilot and the Cumberland 46.
