VisionF Yachts has launched the second vessel of its E-Cat 80 line, a 23.97-meter all-electric catamaran built in carbon fiber at the company’s shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul. With its expanded solar panel array—62 panels now generating 24.8 kW per hour—the new model improves on the original with more self-sufficient cruising capabilities and updated creature comforts, including a jacuzzi on the flybridge and a kid-friendly fifth guest cabin.

With a nearly 11-meter beam, the E-Cat 80 offers serious volume, including space for up to 12 guests across five staterooms and a sprawling flybridge with four distinct seating areas. A hydraulic tender garage aft houses up to two tenders or a pair of Jet Skis, while the yacht’s twin 180 kW electric motors and optional generators ensure a range of over 1,000 nautical miles when backup power is needed. Tailored for private ownership or charter service, this second E-Cat 80 continues VisionF’s push toward energy-efficient multihull cruising.

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VisionF Yachts has announced that its latest model, the Superfast 46, a 46-foot power catamaran designed for speeds up to 80 knots, will debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September.

The Superfast 46 marks a departure from the Turkish builder’s cruiser models, focusing on high-speed performance with lightweight composite construction. The hull is built using infusion and vacuum bagging techniques with multi-axial carbon fiber materials to reduce weight while maintaining strength.

With a beam of approximately 12 feet and a sub-2-foot draft, this power cat is designed for stability and access to skinny water. Notable features include a carbon fiber spoiler, a custom carbon dashboard and high-gloss gelcoat.

Propulsion comes from a pair of 450 hp Mercury Racing Sportmaster outboards with Mercury’s Active Trim system and Racing Revolution X lower units. The boat also has a VesselView 903 display, 6-inch electric hydraulic jackplate and hydraulic steering. A Mercury Joystick Piloting system is an option.

There are twin 158.5-gallon fuel tanks, providing approximately two hours of run time at high speed. The helm is equipped with a 19-inch Garmin (1623 XSV) display and a Silva 85E compass. Perko pop-up navigation lights are also installed.

Interior seating has a shock-absorbing system designed for comfort during high-speed operation. Safety equipment includes three 2,000 gph bilge pumps and two fire extinguishers. Some options include an anchor and rear camera systems.

Entertainment is handled via a Fusion Apollo audio system with four 6.5-inch speakers, a 10-inch subwoofer and an MS-RA770 stereo unit. The Superfast 46 is part of a lineup, which includes eight other models: the fully-electric VisionF E-Cat 62 and 80, aluminum models in 80-, 82-, 101-, and 120-foot lengths and the flagship VisionF 155.

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Silent Yachts has launched the first hull of its SY80, an 80-foot solar-electric catamaran that marks the Italian builder’s most ambitious project to date. The vessel is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September 2025.

Built in Fano, Italy, the SY80 extends the company’s sustainability-focused approach to a larger platform. This first unit is a 2-deck version tailored to the owner’s preferences. Measuring 24.38 meters in length, the SY80 offers increased interior volume, expanded solar capacity and a larger battery system than its predecessors.

Available in three layouts—2-Deck, 3-Deck Open, and 3-Deck Closed—the SY80 can accommodate up to 12 guests. Owners can opt for either an on-deck master suite or a fully open-plan main saloon with the master located below. The layout of the first hull includes four guest staterooms, with dedicated master and VIP suites.

Social and relaxation spaces include a panoramic salon, multiple lounge areas, a bar and an upper deck with sunbeds. A dedicated helm station allows for navigation with 360-degree visibility. Practical features include a hidden garage built into the aft port hull and a separate equipment locker in the starboard hull, both suitable for stowing water toys or dive gear.

On the performance side, the SY80 combines silent, solar-powered cruising with substantial battery capacity—522 to 696 kWh, depending on configuration—and a 22.4 kWp solar array. The yacht cruises efficiently at 7 to 8 knots and can reach a top speed of 12 knots with near-zero emissions.

Silent Yachts reports that two additional SY80 hulls in the 3-deck configuration have already been sold.

Silent Yachts SY80 Specs

• Length Overall: 80 feet
• Beam: 36 feet
• Draft: 3.9 feet
• Top Speed: 12 knots
• Cruising Speed: 7–8 knots
• Solar Array Output: 22.4 kWp
• Battery Capacity: 522 kWh / 696 kWh
• Guest Capacity: Up to 12
• Layouts: 2-Deck, 3-Deck Open, 3-Deck Closed

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While I’ve always had an affinity for go-fast monohulls, I’m also a catamaran convert. Cats offer a combination of roominess, stability and comfort that’s difficult for similarly sized monohulls to match. The latest foray from Aquila Power Catamarans—whose designs range from a 28-foot Molokai fishing boat to a 70-foot Luxury yacht—is a sleek 46-foot Coupe that pairs semi-foiling capability with a speedy, double-stepped hull form.

Foiling technology isn’t new. Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini designed and built the first powerboat utilizing a foil system in 1906, when he hit 36.9 knots with a 60 hp airscrew. But can a foil really make a big difference in the way a boat rides? In the case of the Aquila 46 Coupe, the answer is a resounding yes.

Aquila calls its technology the Hydro Glide Foil System. An underwater carbon-fiber wing is attached horizontally between the catamaran’s hull sponsons and extends a bit below them. A second, smaller foil is between the hulls at the stern. These combine to produce lift that reduces drag and improves fuel economy. They also help to cushion the ride.

In addition, the steps aerate the hulls, further increasing speed. The foils are attached with titanium bolts for strength, but are designed to break away without compromising hull integrity if there’s a collision with a submerged object.

Running the 46 Coupe from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, following the boat’s worldwide introduction at the Miami International Boat Show, we faced overcast conditions and a solid 15 knots of northeast breeze stacking a steep wind chop against the rolling swells of the north-flowing Gulf Stream. But it was ideal for the 46 Coupe to strut its stuff with a bit less than 500 gallons of fuel and a crew of six.

Powered by a pair of 600 hp Mercury Verado V-12s, the boat had virtually no change in the hull attitude from idling at rest to being at speed on plane. At around 17 knots, the 46 Coupe began to ride on the foil as the two-speed Verado transmissions shifted to high gear. Handling felt a bit tight at that point, but with the engines trimmed out to 20 percent, the boat loosened up and the speed increased to more than 22 knots without any additional throttle.

It felt akin to Aladdin’s magic carpet ride as we bounded across the tops of the frothy seas at 25 to 35 knots. When we had to cross larger ship wakes or maneuver sharply, a quick trim to tuck the engines back in tightened up the ride without the need for trim tabs or interceptors.

There were also no creaks or rattles, even as we hit a top speed just over 42 knots. At a cruising speed of 33 knots, the engines burned 54 gallons of fuel per hour, giving us a range of 338 nautical miles with a 10 percent fuel reserve. Aquila touts the foil system as providing an increased fuel efficiency of up to 40 percent at cruising speed.

Several things stood out at the wheel. A pair of 24-inch Raymarine multifunction displays were mounted in the 60-inch-wide helm, which was free of glare and appeared to be free-floating in its design. The comfortable, three-wide seating provided exceptional visibility through the oversize coupe windows and sharply raked forward windshield. The electrically actuated sunroof opened to nearly 55 square feet overhead, giving us the option to enjoy the sun and breeze, or crank up the air conditioning powered by a 10-kilowatt Fischer Panda generator. CZone digital switching controlled all the boat’s DC-powered components from the helm.

But the coolest feature had to be Aquila’s new multifunction wheel. Its digital display remains centered no matter which way the skipper turns the wheel, with paddle-style buttons on each side to control any onboard function related to the National Marine Electronics Association. Hull No. 1 was set up with the music control settings on the left and the ship’s horn on the right, saving the helmsman from having to fumble for switches on the dash.

Open-air entertaining options range from the bow’s lounge seating to the stern’s loungers and trio of bar stools near a Kenyon grill. With the hinged aft window flipped up and the salon door open, the interior blends with the exterior.

The 46 Coupe is primarily a dayboat, but it’s comfortable for an evening or long weekend aboard too. The VIP stateroom is to port with an aft-facing queen berth and dry stowage. The master stateroom is to starboard with a queen-plus situated athwartship. Both staterooms are en suite with separate showers and 82 inches of headroom throughout. The decor includes light- and dark-gray tones, and accents of stainless steel and carbon fiber.

The galley is to port on the main deck, with additional seating abaft the helm to starboard. A recessed table normally lives within the deck, but can raise electrically for dining or cocktail hour. The 46 Coupe also has several big-boat touches, such as access doors on both sides of the cockpit for boarding, and an option for a compact electric davit that can lift some PWC models onto the aft deck.

With its blend of performance, stability and foiling technology, and a solid balance of interior and exterior entertainment spaces, the Aquila 46 Coupe is well-positioned to be a boat at the head of its class.

CE-Certified

All recreational boats being sold or entering the European Union are required to have CE certification, with four primary categories: A (ocean), B (offshore), C (inshore) and D (sheltered waters). The Aquila 46 Coupe is CE-certified for 12 passengers offshore, 22 inshore and 32 in sheltered waters.

Inboard Option

A pair of 440 hp Volvo Penta D6 DPI sterndrive diesel engines are available as an option for the 46 Coupe. Aquila says performance is roughly equivalent to the standard V-12 Mercury Verado outboards, although the Volvos do offer extended cruising range. Great Loop, anyone?

Solid and Strong

Aquila uses resin-infused vinylester throughout the hull and deck as well as in bulkheads and reinforcing structures. There is no wood in any structural components or below the waterline. Watertight bulkheads are fore and aft. The foils are designed to shear away without compromising hull integrity in a collision or grounding, in a similar manner as the lower unit of an outboard engine.

Take the next step: aquilaboats.com

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The Makai Yachts M37 is a power catamaran from Croatia with twin diesels, an entertainment-focused main deck and accommodations for extended voyaging

This power cat is new to the US market and is part of a two-model lineup from the Split, Croatia-based yacht builder. The other model is a 42-footer dubbed the M42. The M37’s design was created by Emanuele Rossi, a naval architect and yacht designer from Ventimiglia, Italy. According to the boatbuilder, the M37’s overall design inspiration comes from classic sports cars.

The M37’s optional twin 370 hp Yanmar diesels allow the power cat to reportedly reach speeds of 35 knots. Twin 320 hp Yanmars are standard. Makai attributes the vessel’s admirable performance to its proprietary low-drag, tunnel hull form known as the Air-Glide system. 

The hull is Kevlar-reinforced to add strength without significantly increasing weight. The robust build enables the M37 to be beached, making a day at the sandbar sans wet feet a reality.

In addition to the boat’s drag-reducing hull form, the M37 is equipped with a variety of tech features, including optional lithium batteries to manage hotel loads such as heating and air conditioning. Solar panels help with recharging. A CZone digital-switching system provides at-a-glance systems monitoring and control for the M37. The helm has dual seats as well as dual multifunction displays. A Zipwake trim system helps keep the M37 stable as a table.

The 204-square-foot cockpit is set up for at-sea entertaining with a three-person sunbed aft. The open layout has more seating forward of the sunbed. Between the two seating spaces is a folding table. The backrest of the sunbed folds back to help form an alfresco dining area for eight to 10 guests. Additional L-shaped seating and another table is forward and to port. There is even more real estate for a sink and an optional barbecue.

Accommodations include two cabins with en suite heads, including an owner’s space to port with a queen-sized berth and a sole-to-ceiling closet. The berth faces athwartships with ocean views out the hullside windows. The guest cabin to starboard has both an aft-facing double berth with stowage underneath and an athwartships single berth. Hullside windows bring in abundant light. 

The Makai Yachts M37 is available in either a Coupe or Open version. The Coupe model features a hardtop. There is a high level of personalization available for owners too, including a wide spectrum of fabric options, hull colors and engine upgrades in sterndrive or surface-drive configurations.

Look for the Makai Yachts M37 at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show from October 29-November 2.

Take the next step: makaiyachts.com

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Revolution Marine Group has introduced the Oceanwalker S60e, a 60-foot solar-electric power catamaran that the builder says is aimed to address the growing demand for environmentally responsible boating alternatives.

The power catamaran has twin 200 hp (150 kW) electric motors that reportedly deliver speeds up to 12 knots, with an optimal cruising speed of 7 to 8 knots. 

Safe lithium-phosphate batteries serve as the power source for all hotel loads, including air conditioning, electric cooking and washer/dryers. The goal is quiet, emissions-free throughout the yacht.

A 10 kW solar array enhances the S60e’s sustainability credentials, enabling extended periods at anchor with moderate use of climate control and other systems. This setup reduces dependence on traditional power sources and reinforces the vessel’s eco-conscious design.

For longer voyages, the S60e has two 45 kW diesel generators, providing a reported cruising range of up to 800 nautical miles, according to the builder.

“Currently under construction at the Fujian Sky Walker shipyard in Zhangzhou, China, the Oceanwalker S60e is being crafted with meticulous attention to detail,” stated Edward Sacks, CEO of Revolution Marine Group in a press release. “Our engineering experts are closely overseeing every stage of the build process to ensure the highest standards of quality, performance, and durability. While we are delighted with the introduction of our initial solar electric catamaran, we continue to focus on staying ahead of the market when it comes to new and innovative technologies. Soon we will also introduce a larger model.”

The first Oceanwalker S60e is scheduled for delivery in April 2026 to Club Ki’ama Bahamas, a private enclave on Elizabeth Island near Great Exuma. This club offers solar-powered oceanfront residences alongside a fleet of carbon-neutral solar yachts.

“Club Ki’ama Bahamas is beyond excited to make the very first Oceanwalker S60e available to our owners,” stated John Long, Managing Partner. “This elegant, fully electric, solar yacht perfectly complements our sustainably constructed, solar-powered Club residences.”

Long added, “Imagine the enjoyment our Club owners will experience combining a stay in their beachfront Club home with an amazing yacht cruise in the Exumas. It’s the ultimate tropical vacation.”

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Ease of maintenance is something that has impressed Jay Dollries ever since he bought his Tesla almost a decade ago. On a catamaran charter with friends in the Bahamas, he couldn’t help but wonder why boats are so far behind in that department—not to mention still using noisy generators to power basic comforts like air conditioning on the hook.

“You spend so much time going through and checking the oil and doing all these things on the boat,” he says. “It’s been nine years ago now since I bought my first Tesla, and I still have that car, and I have spent a total of, I think, $250 on maintenance in the nine years, and I don’t have to check my oil. I change tires and wiper blades, and that’s about it.”

When he learned about Silent Yachts, Dollries saw people who thought like him. He ordered an SY62 during the pandemic, when the company was going through management challenges. Still a believer in the technology, he ordered a second SY62 that just emerged from the shipyard under the company’s new leadership. He still has Sunrise Dream, but he christened the new SY62 100% because it has been outfitted, in Dollries’ mind, to total perfection.

“We have two water-generation systems on the new one,” he says. “We’ve got a much lighter color scheme on it. It’s a four-bedroom plus two crew, versus a five-plus-one. Originally, when we designed the boat, we were going to do four-plus-one, but we didn’t want to put the onus on having a husband-and-wife combo for operating the boat. The crew quarters are a little bit on the smaller side. Having the second crew quarter gives somebody their own space.”

His plan for 100% is to spend this summer in the Mediterranean, starting around Venice, Italy, and then cruising down the Croatian coast to Montenegro and Greece. From there, he’ll head to Italy’s Amalfi Coast, then over to Sardinia and Corsica. The boat will be on display at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September, and after that, he’ll explore the South of France and Spain’s Balearic Isles before heading to Gibraltar and staging to cross the Atlantic.

He plans to be on board for the crossing, and he’s so confident in the boat’s technology that he’s already talking like an old salt about other priorities that have bedeviled boaters for centuries. “I think we’ve got the right crew, and we’ll be smart about making sure we have the right weather,” he says. “We’ll look at the weather patterns and make decisions.”

The Owner

Jay Dollries, 61, has been boating for 15 years. He had a 23-foot Boston Whaler and did fishing vacations at Tropic Star Lodge in Panama. A Bahamas charter with The Moorings showed him what cats could do, and he sought out one with tech that reminded him of his Tesla.

Designed for Solar From Scratch

Models in the Silent Yachts range are not solar conversions of traditionally powered cats. The team creates each boat from a blank sheet of paper.

The Silent Yachts Range

Silent Yachts builds solar-electric catamarans in the 60-, 80- and 120-foot ranges. The company’s founders have been at it since 2009, with the brand’s official debut in 2016.

Goals have a way of evolving. When Rob Vigors was a teenager, his primary goal was speed. He raced on water skis and then became a driver for the sport in his 30s, representing Australia in chasing a world title at up to 112 knots.

But today, with the whiskers on his chin coming in gray, he has other priorities. He moved to the Whitsunday Islands in 2020, bought a 60-foot flybridge monohull and made decent use of it, even though a cat might’ve better handled the short, sharp chop.

“I had looked at power cats,” Vigors says. “What turned me off was the narrowness of the hulls. The accommodations were tight. You had to climb over the bed to get into it.”

Then, at a boat show, he stepped aboard the Iliad 53S.

“It’s like an apartment on the water,” he says. “I went down into the master bedroom, and it was a bedroom that was east-west, and you could walk all around it, and it was queen-size, and I said, ‘That’s the boat for me.’”

That same day, he and his wife ordered Kailani, which is Hawaiian for beautiful sky and ocean. They’ve been cruising the Whitsundays with the cat for about a year, and they say they feel a significant difference.

“I don’t have to have a gyro running all night with the genset going to try and keep us stable at anchor or on a mooring,” he says. “Even the walkway down each side, it’s so big. It’s not like a monohull where you almost have to turn sideways to walk up to the bow. And the bow area’s great. It’s a great entertaining boat too because people can spread out easily.”

Full-height standing room near the engines is another favorite feature, along with a lot more stowage.

“One of the other factors was the swim platform,” he says. “It not only goes down, but as it’s going down, it extends rearward. It’s literally only a couple of minutes to get the tender into the water or extract it out of the water. It just makes life so much easier.”

Handling with the bow thruster is also easier, he says—so much so that it’s helping the couple’s relationship. “With the engines, the shafts spaced so far apart, it’s very easy for coming back to the berth,” he says. “We nail it every time. The old boat, we had a few moments…”

Real estate is constantly on Steve Lloyd’s mind. He started in the business two decades ago, focused on commercial properties. Now in his mid-50s, his brain went straight to land-based buildings when he decided to move from Pennsylvania to Florida’s west coast during the pandemic. He looked and looked for a dream home on the water, but they were all too big for him. Then, he says, “I saw an ad for the Fort Lauderdale boat show, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to live on a boat.’ My friends thought I was crazy.”

Lloyd had zero boating experience on the day a broker walked him around the show to see various catamarans. He didn’t like some of the finishes; prominent use of fiberglass inside especially bugged him.

Then he went on a build from Horizon Power Catamarans and really liked it. “My broker said a 52-foot Horizon had just come up for sale,” he recalls. “It was about $1.85 million. I said, ‘If you take a little off, I’ll shake your hand.’ I was living on the boat 30 days after the inspections.”

Four years later, he says, becoming a liveaboard power-cat owner has changed his life. He hired a captain and first mate who run the boat so he can be chief entertainer, sometimes inviting dozens of friends for local sunset cruises or to explore Bahamian islands by day while staying shoreside at night.

“Two of the bedrooms, they can handle queen-size beds,” he says of My Best Life. “The kitchen has the two Sub-Zero freezers and the refrigerator. The TV is a tuck-away. It’s like living in a 1,100-square-foot apartment, but you can go wherever you want.”

The more friends he invites on board, he says, the more people realize everything that cruising has to offer: “I have high-level friends who have never been on the water, and they’re like, ‘Wow, this is what it’s like?’ When you don’t have a boat, you’re not used to the lifestyle.”

He’s also become comfortable at the helm aboard smaller boats himself. In April 2024, he ordered a 32-foot Calcutta catamaran because the bigger cat couldn’t get into all the island nooks and crannies where he wanted to play. “I can take the Calcutta and run around to all the different bars and restaurants down there,” he says.

And he has fully embraced the idea that when it comes to some things about cruising, he actually knows more than a few lifelong boaters do. “The beautiful thing about the 52 is the width, the width, the width,” he says. “People walk on my boat who are boaters, and they can’t believe how wide it is.”

His Best Life

Steve Lloyd had zero boating experience when he got stuck in Florida during the pandemic. He looked for a house on the water, but they were all too big. Instead, he bought a Horizon PC52 and became a live-aboard with a captain and a steady stream of friends for parties.

Horizon Power Catamarans

The PC52 is the smallest model from this builder, with the biggest being 74 feet long. On the PC52, there are three staterooms, with open or sky-lounge versions offered.

Quiet Cruising Package

Horizon’s cats are equipped with a phosphate battery package and Termodinamica variable-speed air conditioning to minimize generator use.

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Founded in 2006, Invincible Boats made an immediate impact with its line of highly fishable center-console monohulls. In a competitive market, they stood out through a combination of craftsmanship, innovation and attention to detail. When Invincible entered the catamaran segment, the builder teamed up with multihull experts Morrelli & Melvin. Using computational fluid dynamics, the design team developed a hybrid semi-asymmetrical hull that delivered solid speed as well as good handling and seakeeping, even in windy, choppy seas. By applying its monohull fishing expertise to the new catamarans, Invincible quickly earned recognition in the international sport-fishing community.

At the 2025 Miami International Boat Show, the Florida-based builder unveiled its latest model: the 36-foot Catamaran. It joins a multihull lineup ranging from 33 to 46 feet length overall. The 36 offers a quad-engine configuration and a 606-gallon standard fuel capacity, delivering a range of more than 500 nautical miles at cruising speeds—all while maintaining a single-level deck and 360-degree fishability.

While catamarans are an inherently stable design, the 36 has a raised chine and aggressive hull lines to deflect spray, helping ensure a drier ride. The builder also uses proprietary wave-arrester technology for a more comfortable ride without bottoming out or thumping in rough weather.

Designed for speed, the 36 Catamaran can also offer anglers a crucial edge in the highly competitive big-game tournament circuit. With standard quad 300 hp V-8 Mercury outboards (other engine options are available), the 36 has a top hop of just under 60 knots. At a typical cruising speed of 33 knots, it burns less than a gallon per mile, further proof of the catamaran’s efficient hull design.

Fishing amenities abound, including in-deck fish boxes, in-deck and transom livewells, built-in rod stowage and more. Options are also available for various towers, outriggers, seating, tackle stations and sea-chest setups. The hulls are 100 percent vinylester resin with vacuum-bagged composite core construction. Invincibles are also backed by a 12-year transferable hull warranty.

“The 36 Catamaran exemplifies our obsession with every detail,” says Thomas Wieners, president of Invincible Boats. “From its expanded fishing space to its refined engineering, this vessel empowers our customers to pursue their passion with absolute comfort, whether running 100 miles offshore, navigating challenging seas or just cruising your home waters with family and friends.”

Take the next step: invincibleboats.com

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Power catamarans tend to excel in several key areas. One is their effective use of interior space, not only to wow guests but also to provide one of the most comfortable cruising experiences on the water. Case in point: the new 50-footer from Aquila Boats.

Easily identified by their distinctive hullside windows, Aquila’s five outboard-powered Sport and Molokai models range from 28 to 47 feet length overall. They are in addition to four models of the inboard-powered Yacht line from 42 to 54 feet, and a Luxury 70-foot flagship. The 50 Yacht Power Catamaran is aimed at the owner-operator and charter markets, and is equally adept on a mooring at sunset in the British Virgin Islands as it is cruising the Great Loop.

The length overall is 52 feet, 6 inches, and the beam is 25 feet, 6 inches, giving the boat a length-to-beam ratio of nearly 2-to-1 and an interior footprint that feels much bigger than a 50-footer. Aquila’s design team took full advantage of that space, starting with nearly 7 feet of headroom throughout the salon. To port, there’s an L-shaped galley, access to the port hull, and a dining area with a U-shaped sofa that can seat eight to 10 people. Opposite are a double fridge, wine chiller, access to the starboard hull, and a double sofa.

Hull No. 1 sports the standard three-stateroom layout. The VIP and a utility room with laundry are in the port sponson. This en suite stateroom has an island queen berth that faces outboard for stunning views through the 26-by-55-inch hullside window. To starboard is the second VIP, also en suite, with equally large windows. The star of the show is the master stateroom. It’s a single-level, full-beam affair forward with an island king berth. The master also has a head with a separate shower, a walk-in closet, and 80 inches of headroom that carries far forward.

Owners also can choose a four-stateroom optional layout to maximize charter opportunities, over/under berths in lieu of the laundry room, a forepeak captain’s cabin with a head in the starboard hull, and an owner’s office with a desk in the master stateroom. For boaters who frequently encounter inclement weather, a full lower helm in the salon is also available.

On the main deck aft, a notable feature is Aquila’s tender davit. It’s hidden within the hardtop, and deploys horizontally to winch up the tender from its perch on the stern before extending aft over the water. Singlehanded operation is no problem, and it can handle up to 1,000 pounds. (An Aquila 14 Cat RIB sport console with a 40 hp Mercury outboard can be spec’d.) The walkways to the bow are 30 inches wide and secure thanks to a sturdy railing. At the bow, the sun pads stretch across virtually the entire space, while a Fusion sound system supplies the tunes.

For all the benefits of the power-cat design, one knock is usually in the looks department. To overcome that typically blocky side profile, Aquila raised the freeboard on the 50 and restyled the lines to match the angles of the hull and window lines, resulting in a sleeker and more attractive look. These boats are built using composites and resin-infused vinylester below the waterline and in the watertight bulkheads for strength and durability, along with considerable weight savings and enhanced overall performance.

Standard power is a pair of Volvo Penta D6 direct-drive engines rated at 380 hp each. Options include 480 hp Volvo Pentas or 550 hp Yanmars for even more underway oomph. Hull No. 1 has the 480 hp D6s, which gave us an easy cruising speed of 18 knots, burning 35 gallons per hour. That’s good for a range of 240 nautical miles between fuel stops with a 10 percent reserve. Adding the optional 232-gallon fuel tanks extends that range to 360 miles. Pushing the throttles to the stops yields a top hop of 21 knots at 3,370 rpm. Backing off to 5 knots produces a range of 1,970 miles for long-distance cruising.

The 50 Yacht is also an exceptionally quiet design. At the dock, we could barely tell the engines were idling from the flybridge helm, and at cruise, I recorded 70 decibels—normal conversation was no problem. Thanks to prop pockets in the hulls, draft is just 4 feet, 2 inches.

During our time on board off Clearwater, Florida, I found the 50 to be an exceptionally well-behaved vessel. Tight turns and figure-eights yielded virtually no outboard heeling. The helm is highly responsive, and close-quarters maneuvering is excellent with the props set far apart, even without using the optional bow thrusters. These are all qualities of a very well-designed power catamaran.

And while the calm sea conditions didn’t permit an assessment of the boat’s rough-water capabilities, I felt confident in its ability to handle anything snotty that should appear on the horizon.

The Aquila 50 occupies the sweet spot in the builder’s lineup: large enough to offer plenty of luxury and comfort at the dock or underway while economical to operate in a charter environment or by a cruising couple. It should be a winning combination.  

Why Bulbous Bows?

The foam-cored bulbous bows forward on each hull sponson create lift and help ease the boat’s ride in rough seas. Bulbous bow designs also lengthen a vessel’s waterline for better fuel economy at displacement and semidisplacement speeds. These bows are molded separately from the hulls and can break away without compromising hull integrity in the event of a collision or grounding. 

In the Lineup

The new Aquila 50 steps into the builder’s line to replace the highly successful and now-retired Aquila 48. It’s positioned between the Aquila 44 and the Aquila 54. Designed and built using feedback gathered from extensive research and owner input, the 50 maintains the distinctive and innovative yacht styling of the Aquila brand while incorporating elements of an exploratory aesthetic, which include a higher freeboard and updated lines and styling.

Eco Cruising

In a nod to eco-friendly cruising, the Aquila 50’s hardtop design is optimized for solar-panel integration, while the engine rooms are configured to support either standard combustion engines or an environmentally friendly hybrid engine package. The Aquila Hydro Glide Foil System is also an option for the 50 and is compatible with the Yanmar 550 hp engine package to achieve optimal performance. The system, designed by the French naval architect firm VPLP Design, increases lift and decreases drag at higher cruising speeds.

Builder Backdrop

Aquila Boats has more than 40 years of manufacturing experience, as well as collaborations with multiple award-winning firms and designers. The company’s line spans from 28 to 70 feet in length. The builder aims for class-leading innovation with each model it produces. 

Take the next step: aquilaboats.com

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Pioneering work is seldom easy. Bluegame knows this well as a Sanlorenzo yacht brand that leads instead of following trends. And it doesn’t always lead where boaters expect, as evidenced by its two recent power-catamaran projects.

The first project was to design and build a pair of chase boats for two America’s Cup syndicates. These full-foiling 33-footers had to include an all-new, zero-emissions electric propulsion system powered by hydrogen fuel cells, and needed a top speed of 50 knots. Bluegame’s BGH-HSVs were the only chase boats to fully meet that brief, which later had to be relaxed so the other syndicates could actually compete.

Bluegame’s second project is the BGM75, a thoroughly modern power catamaran. Design credits are shared between Bluegame’s in-house team, led by brand founder Luca Santella, and several creative studios. Philippe Briand’s London studio, which also worked on the chase boats, handled the BGM75’s naval architecture, while Rome-based Zuccon International Project and Milan-based Lissoni Associati collaborated on the yacht’s interior and exterior elements. A key requirement was that the power cat’s profile needed to be as attractive as Sanlorenzo Group’s monohull yachts.

My opinion is that the team nailed it.

This is a beautifully proportioned design in a genre that has thus far been dominated by boxy shapes. Few other, if any, power cats work quite so well. Although the learning curve was steep and involved building a first boat that simply didn’t work well enough, this one has substantially more bridge-deck height, more freeboard, bigger engines and an all-new gyrostabilization installation.

Exterior spaces include a swim platform that extends across the 26-foot-7-inch beam. Fold-down bulwarks on each side create an incredibly wide beach club for the vessel’s 74-foot-4-inch length overall. The BGM75’s wraparound transom has a decorative effect that makes it appear as one long run of dark glass. The cockpit on the deck above is probably twice the real estate footprint of the swim platform and a blank canvas for furniture. The high foredeck is also sizable with a dominating sun pad and a deep well around the ground tackle.

The amount of upper-deck space is also surprising. All of the usual flybridge accouterments are here: a bridge console with three seats and a centerline helm position, a wet bar, a dining table, a choice of sofas and loungers, as well as stairs to and from the cockpit. However, the available space allows that all these features can quite literally be walked around. And the hardtop protects about 80 percent of this deck from the elements.

I am a big fan of this yacht’s companionways, which have stainless-steel rails and link the swim platform, cockpit and flybridge. Instead of being opaque molded-in affairs, they are open structures that reduce visual clutter, and they don’t detract from the yacht’s sculptural structure.

Bluegame offers choices for the decor. The best I’ve seen favor white with rich-grain, satin-varnish veneers. The BGM75 that I got aboard had stained oaks with a contemporary light-dark scheme.

The BGM75 also allows for a couple of interior layouts. Owners can choose three or four staterooms, and galley-up or galley-down. In the galley-down, three-stateroom setup, there’s a full-beam owner’s stateroom forward with two VIPs in the port hull. In the galley-up version, an extra stateroom with a double berth is forward in the starboard hull, with a shower room that doubles as a day head.

In both layouts, the after end of the salon is a substantial lounge space, and the forward section has dining to port. Both layouts also include a lower standing helm position, with or without a wheel, and doors amidships to both side decks. The upper helm is intended to be the principal driving station.

The owner’s stateroom is accessed via a dogleg staircase beneath the windshield. It includes a seating area and vanity/desk to starboard, an aft-facing super-king berth, and en suite facilities to port. Those facilities can have basins—open to the sleeping area, but with separate shower and head stalls—or be fully enclosed with an opaque glass partition.

A cross-bunk cabin for two crew and a mess area are in the after end of the starboard hull.

Groundbreaking is not a word I throw around casually, and it is accurate in the case of the BGM75’s stabilization. This system includes two Smartgyro SG80s programmed to communicate and combat the power cat’s pitch and roll. These gyros don’t move in unison; the pattern of braking between the two quells most issues that cats have at slow speeds and at anchor, which are more about twitching accelerations than actual roll. This technology, right now, is a BGM75 selling point—Bluegame says Smartgyro agreed not to share the technology with any other builders for the next two years.

The BGM75 that I got aboard performed beautifully, although conditions were far from challenging: around 10 knots of breeze and no more than 3-foot seas. This boat had twin 900 hp Volvo Penta D13-IPS1200s instead of the standard 800 hp D13-IPS1050s, and we had the Humphree Interceptors in auto-trim mode with the Smartgyros on. Our top speed was 22 knots at the maximum 2,370 rpm. Fuel burn was just north of 91 gallons per hour.

At a less-stressful 2,100 rpm and a fast cruise speed of 17 knots, fuel burn dropped to around 65 gph, translating to an ultimate range of 410 to 420 nautical miles. Alternatively, an 8.5-knot slow cruise at 1,000 rpm burns 8.5 gph or so, providing a range of around 1,500 nm.

The yard captain on board had delivered the boat a few days earlier to the Cannes Yachting Festival in France, across from Sanlorenzo’s shipyard in Italy. He said the boat maintained at least 17 knots in mostly 6-foot seas, on a voyage of around eight hours. That equates to a 19-knot average speed.

Based on everything I’ve seen, the BGM75 is not just another power cat. It’s a true Bluegame build, and those are really special.  

THE CREATIVES

Luca Santella 

Bluegame’s founder is the driving force behind every new model. He combines design and architectural experience with a lifelong passion for all things nautical. In his early years, he sailed competitively, won many championships and competed in two Olympic Games: Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992.

Piero Lissoni

Piero Lissoni founded the Milan-based design studio that bears his name along with partner Nicoletta Canesi in 1986. They have a New York office for their work with interior design brands such as Alpi, B&B Italia and Kartell. For some brands, including Sanlorenzo, Lissoni also serves as art director.

Zuccon

Zuccon International Project is a family-owned studio based in Rome. For many years, it was the go-to design house for Ferretti and Custom Line. In recent years, it has developed a deep relationship with Sanlorenzo, entrusted with the design of all models across the Yachts, Superyachts and Bluegame divisions.

Philippe Briand

This yacht designer and naval architect is French, but has been based in London for many years. His early experience was mostly with sailing yachts, and he has worked with Groupe Beneteau extensively. More recently, his studio has developed custom superyacht projects with Vitruvius Yachts, which he co-owns with his wife, Veerle Battiau.

Even Keel

Smartgyro has been in business since 2014. In 2018, Yanmar acquired a majority ownership stake, adding the Smartgyro brand to its catalog that includes Vetus, Maxwell and Flexofold. Smartgyros are increasingly popular because of their relative ease of installation. They also can usually be serviced and repaired on board. The company has a competitive pricing strategy. 

Quiet Ride

At 17 knots, the BGM75 is surprisingly quiet. At the lower helm with the doors shut, I recorded just 62 decibels. In the VIP stateroom aft, it was 63 decibels. In the VIP forward, I recorded 61 decibels, with the owner’s stateroom at a remarkably low 57. For reference, 65 decibels is the level of normal conversation.

Coming Soon

Bluegame has a BGM65 power cat in development, with the launch probably two years away. It is expected to include conventional and hybrid hydrogen IPS installations. Coming sooner is the Bluegame BGF45, a foil-assisted open dayboat and weekender model based loosely on the 33-foot, 50-knot, fully foiling BGH-HSV chase boats built for America’s Cup syndicates. The first BGF45 should debut this summer or autumn.

Take the next step: bluegame.it

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