In this article, we explore the world’s top power catamarans, ranging from a 36-footer ideal for a cruising couple to a 78-footer perfect for entertaining friends and family. The propulsion options are diverse, including outboards, diesel inboards, hybrids, and even all-solar setups.

Top Luxury Power Catamarans

The following power catamarans are all vessels we’ve reviewed. They are listed in no particular order.

• Fountaine Pajot MY44: A family-oriented cat suitable for long-range cruising and aimed at owner-operators. 
• Silent Yachts 60: This is a catamaran that can cruise comfortably for long distances using emissions-free solar-electric propulsion.
• Horizon PC74: With interior and deck space like a much larger vessel, the PC74 is perfect for cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean.
• Aquila 36: This beefy 36-footer is an outboard-powered, express-cruiser-style catamaran.
• Lagoon Seventy 8 Powercat: A spacious design, this vessel fits the volume of a 130-foot-long monohull into just 78 feet of length overall. 
• Horizon PC68: This cat has a stable ride, long range, volume to spare and intriguing layout options.
• Two Oceans 555: An elegantly simple yet luxurious 55-foot custom with the space and amenities of a much larger vessel.
• Lagoon 630: From its open salon to its spacious decks, the Lagoon is a comfortable and luxurious platform.
• Fountaine Pajot MY5: A midsize cruiser with serious big-boat space for family and friends. 
• Prestige Yachts M8: The voluminous 65-footer lets owners customize onboard spaces.
• Aquila 47 Molokai: Calling all anglers: This cat has 60-plus-knot speed and is set up for serious bluewater adventure.

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.

Quick Specifications

Silent Yachts 60

Solar panels, ocean-crossing range and self-sufficiency define the electric Silent-Yachts 60 power catamaran. If there was any question that the “Tesla moment” has arrived in yachting, the Silent 60 clearly provides a positive response. Consider, for a moment, crossing oceans in silence at 5 to 6 knots without consuming a drop of fuel and never needing to plan your course between fuel stops. Imagine sitting at anchor and running the air conditioning all night, not to mention all the galley appliances plus the washer-dryer, without the hum or fumes from a genset.

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.

Aquila 36

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.

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.

Horizon PC68

Multihull yachts ride differently than monohulls, often counteracting the sea’s motion for a smoother, more stable ride. On the Horizon PC68, sharp hull entries make head seas seem gentle, and a Humphree stabilization system with blades reduces roll. Horizon uses SCRIMP construction for resin saturation that maximizes strength with an 111,112-pound displacement. And with a 5-foot-4-inch draft, the PC68 invites island cruising.

Two Oceans 555

With 27-knot speed, house-like volume, an on-deck master and top-tier tech, the Two Oceans 555 is a formidable power catamaran. Dave Jirikovic of HMY Yachts was on a quest. The sales broker was looking for the meanest, nastiest patch of Gulf Stream he could find to show a potential client what the Two Oceans 555 power cat could handle. And just as he had intended to show us, the broad-shouldered power cat didn’t even notice. He even dropped the single-lever throttles back to idle and left the 25-foot-wide Two Oceans 555 beam-on to another set of square-edged seas. The 55-footer brushed that off too. Jirikovic tried quartering into the seas—never a happy angle for catamarans—and the yacht drowsed through them.

Lagoon 630

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.

Fountaine Pajot MY5

The flybridge deck on the Fountaine Pajot MY5 is a standout feature, offering virtually unobstructed 360-degree ocean views and an elevated beach club vibe. Aft of the off-center starboard helm is a spacious area perfect for entertaining, complete with a wet bar, refrigeration center, and ample seating. It’s the most popular space aboard according to the builder. And if the weather turns for the worse, a second helm station in the saloon allows the skipper to pilot the MY5 in climate-controlled comfort.

Prestige Yachts M8

How fitting it was that Prestige Yachts introduced its new M-Line flagship, the M8, at Portopiccolo, a picturesque yachting village outside Trieste, Italy. Formerly a quarry, the cliff-side area had been chiseled into a clean site rife with eye-catching vistas, much like the French builder’s 65-foot power catamaran and its nearly 3,000 square feet of usable real estate.

Aquila 47 Molokai

With every boat, there’s an origin story. In the case of the Aquila 47 Molokai power catamaran, it starts with MarineMax, which saw people renting boats for bareboat charters. MarineMax Vacations was born. After experimenting with several production yachts, the company decided to build its own: the Aquila line, designed for charter as well as for sale to owner-operators.

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The MY5, the first flybridge catamaran in the Fountaine Pajot powercat line and previously known as the MY40, pushes the boundaries of powercat cruising in speed, safety and style. 

Thanks to its dual-hull cat design with suspended central platform, the MY5 offers increased interior volume, long range and stability, at rest and underway. Powercats are also highly efficient, requiring less propulsion to achieve similar speeds and ranges as conventional monohull vessels.

The flybridge deck is a standout feature, offering virtually unobstructed 360-degree ocean views and an elevated beach club vibe. Aft of the off-center starboard helm is a spacious area perfect for entertaining, complete with a wet bar, refrigeration center, and seating. It’s the most popular space aboard, according to the builder. If the weather turns, a second helm station in the salon allows the skipper to pilot the MY5 in climate-controlled comfort.

On the main deck, architect Daniel Andrieu and the Andreani Design team created a modern yet timeless look, maximizing the use of space offered by the vessel’s nearly 20-foot beam. The galley, located on the starboard side, connects both interior and exterior spaces while the foredeck offers a sunbather’s paradise with dual lounges and abundant seating.

At the stern, an optional hydraulic swim platform lowers for launching a PWC or small tender. A swim ladder provides easy access from the water. The teak cockpit has an L-shaped settee and easy access to the engines via deck hatches. Crew safety is a priority, with secure grab rails along the spiral staircase leading to the flybridge and tall railings along the walkaround alleys fore and aft.

Belowdecks, the Maestro layout includes an owner’s suite with a private companionway for added privacy. The stateroom, equipped with a transverse queen berth, gets natural light via hullside windows. The VIP stateroom has a similar-sized berth, while the forward guest stateroom offers twin bunks. Two heads and enough stowage space for extended cruising complete the accommodations.

The Fountaine Pajot MY5 is standard with twin 300 hp diesels and Volvo Penta IPS drives and has a 1,000-nautical-mile range at an economical 18 knots. With optional 440 hp engines, the MY5 has a top hop of 22 knots, and with a draft of just 3 feet, 6 inches, shallow-water anchorages are easily accessible.

Quick Specifications

• Overall Length: 42’4”
• Maximum Beam: 19’9”
• Fuel Capacity: 372 Gal.
• Freshwater Capacity: 112 Gal.
• Draft: 3’6”
• Displacement: 46,000 lb.

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French-based builder Fountaine Pajot has teamed up with the charter firm Dream Yacht Worldwide to launch the Aura 51 Smart Electric as the first model in a collection of electric-powered catamarans.

The Aura 51 Smart Electric is a zero-emissions design that stores energy in two lithium battery banks. It will become available for charter in Italy starting in April, with about two dozen electric yachts expected to join the Dream fleet by spring 2024. Ten of them will be sailing catamarans, and a dozen will be monohull sailing yachts from Dufour, which is part of the Fountaine Pajot Group.

“By partnering and supporting the research and development of electric yachts, we can continue to make sailing accessible to people around the world but with a lower impact on our seas and environment,” Loïc Bonnet, CEO and founder of Dream Yacht Group, stated in a press release. “Being environmentally conscious is central to our mission to protect our planet and oceans, and we are confident that our charter clients will support this endeavor.”

How big of an eco-difference can these types of boats make? Fountaine Pajot says only 20 percent of the carbon footprint comes from producing the boats. Some 80 percent comes from the use of the boats.

Where to learn more: go to fountaine-pajot.com or dreamyachtcharter.com

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MCY 105 Skylounge

The MCY 105 is the flagship of the seven-model range from Monte Carlo Yachts, and it’s now available in a Skylounge version. Longtime collaborators Carlo Nuvolari and Dan Lenard worked with MCY on the design, whose enclosed flybridge has more than 460 square feet of space. 

Owners can choose pretty much whatever they would like to fill that space, including “uses never imagined before,” according to the designers. The builder says the enclosed flybridge makes it possible to cruise in “extreme climates” beyond the usual island-hopping. Some traditional onboard elements include an upper-deck helm with 360-degree visibility, an aft terrace overlooking the sea, and a bow lounge with sun pads and dining tables.

Riva 56 Rivale Hard Top

Hull No. 1 of this Italian cruising machine is reportedly with its owner in US waters. The yacht is an evolution of the Open version and follows in the wake of Riva’s Dolceriva Hard Top. Design is by the Product Strategy Committee led by Piero Ferrari, with designer Mauro Micheli of Officina Italiana Design and the Ferretti Group Engineering Department. 

Top speed is 38 knots with a pair of optional 1,200 hp MANs, and cruising speed is 34 knots, according to Riva. (MANs of 1,000 hp apiece are standard, for a top hop of 34 knots.) The yacht has features well-suited for comfortable cruising, with a fixed hardtop, optional air conditioning built into the structure, and awnings that can be added to cover the cockpit and forward lounge.

Flynt 956 Nova 

The Flynt 956 Nova is the debut model from Flynt Yachts, a Dutch company founded by designer Robert-Jan Sanders. Vripack handled the boat’s design, naval architecture and engineering. 

Construction is in composite polyester for lightweight durability. Hexagon patterns are in the bow plate, spoiler grill and fuel-damp outlet, creating a bespoke detail that is a signature of the Flynt Nova’s DNA. “My aim is to create a boat that puts the owner at the center of the event, to produce a curvaceous design with expression, a hint of automotive aggression, and endless, unique lines,” Sanders says of the new model and brand overall. “Flynt is about giving back all that I’ve learned in the motoryacht industry with a boat built for pure, life-affirming enjoyment.”

Fountaine Pajot MY4.S

Fountaine Pajot was expected to host the premiere of the MY4.S at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. This is called the “Sport Top” version, which is designed to create a dynamic look whether the yacht is at anchor or pushing toward its reported top-end speed of 23 knots.

There are two interior layouts available. The Maestro version has an en suite owner’s stateroom as well as two double-berth guest staterooms and a single head for them to share. The Quatuor version has four double-berth staterooms with two heads. Draft in each version is just 2 feet, 7 inches, making this boat ready to explore the Bahamas. Air clearance is 12 feet, 5 inches for owners who have to run a gauntlet of bridges before finding open water to speed across.

ISA Super Sportivo 100 GTO

ISA Yachts says performance is the main ingredient in its Super Sportivo 100 GTO. The builder says that during the first sea trials aboard Aldabra, the triple 2,000 hp MAN engines worked with the hydro-jet propulsion to achieve a top speed of 55 knots. Marco Casali of Too Design penned the interior and exterior, working alongside a staff that specializes in carbon fiber, a material that helps to reduce weight. Other pound-saving design decisions included replacing deck soles with PE/EVA, a closed-cell marine-grade foam that also aids with heat reduction and soundproofing. 

The yacht is available with three, four or five guest staterooms in addition to the two crew cabins. Aldabra has a five-stateroom layout, including a full-beam owner’s space.

Otam 70 HT

The Otam 70 HT is a one-off design from the Italian builder, in collaboration with BG Design Firm for design and Umberto Tagliavini Marine Design for hull lines. The owner requested a three-stateroom layout with no tender garage, in order to increase space available for the beach club. In the main guest area, a glass screen raises and lowers electrically between the interior lounge and cockpit, depending on the desire for an indoor-outdoor entertaining and relaxation space. Quarters for two crew are in the bow. 

This hull of the Otam 70 HT has twin 2,000 hp MTU engines coupled to Arneson drives, but the builder says that with 2,400 hp CATs, a top speed faster than 53 knots can be achieved. Seakeeper gyrostabilizers can be fitted.

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Common wisdom says catamarans don’t like short, choppy seas, especially the kind of maelstrom created when a north-running Gulf Stream meets a leftover northerly breeze. “Washing-machine sea” doesn’t quite describe it.

But the Fountaine Pajot MY 40 power catamaran ate up the confused sea and then asked for more. Running bow on, beam to the lumps, this cat just licked her paws and seemingly smirked, “That’s all ya got?”

The MY 40 I got aboard will be a liveaboard cruiser for an experienced couple. Frankly, I envy them. French charter cats can lean toward easy maintenance at the expense of style, but the MY 40 surprised me with both. It has tactile fabrics, including on the settees in the salon, and lots of solid, light-oak joinerwork.

The salon is the living room for liveaboards, and it’s also home to the lower helm with a double-wide seat and a media room that has a pullout TV abaft the galley.

That galley is definitely liveaboard, with a full-height refrigerator/freezer, double sinks, a microwave/oven, a cooktop and an optional dishwasher. There’s also generous counter space and stowage.

What makes this boat a particularly desirable liveaboard is the owners’ stateroom, which is full-length with 6-foot 7-inch headroom. Inside is an athwartship berth about 6 inches narrower than a king. It faces a hullside window for great views. Forward, the head has a walk-in stall shower opposite a hanging locker, and the electric toilet is in an enclosed compartment.

The starboard hull has guest staterooms fore and aft, although the owners of the MY 40 I got aboard chose to replace the double berth forward with upper-lower bunks for youngsters.

The flybridge is comfortable underway or at anchor, with the helm behind a Venturi windscreen. A companion seat folds into a sun pad, and just aft are a sink, grill, fridge and ice maker.

Standard power is a pair of 300 hp Volvo Penta IPS400 diesels; 370 hp IPS500 diesels are optional. On flat water, the MY 40 hit 24 knots.

After getting to a gunkhole of choice, owners can lower the hydraulic swim platform into the water, creating a teak beach. Owners can also launch the 10-foot-8-inch tender with room to spare on all sides.

Thoroughly likable and refined, the Fountaine Pajot MY 40 could make many yachtsmen cat lovers.

Take the next step: fountaine-pajot.com

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Power catamarans have been gaining popularity, bringing the rest of us in line with the thinking of France-based Fountaine Pajot, which has been in the power-cat game since in 1998. Its latest model is the Motor Yacht 44, the new flagship in a three-model motoryacht series.

The 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.

With the sliding doors to the cockpit open, the salon’s focal point becomes the U-shaped galley aft. It has a four-burner Bosch cooktop, a microwave, a full-size fridge/freezer and more. The galley offers access not only to guests in the cockpit, but also to those on the salon’s 7-foot-long sofa with a corner table and chair to port, or on the twin couch to starboard.

At the business end of the MY44, the forward helm console is sized for two 22-inch displays, and a Volvo Penta throttle and joystick are to starboard. Teak-capped side steps lead to 24-inch-wide side decks, and safety railings encircle the main deck. Forward is recessed seating with a table, perfect for watching dolphins swim in the MY44’s bow wake. Aft, a hydraulic swim platform accommodates a dinghy or Jet Ski for venturing ashore.

Three- and four-stateroom layouts are available. The MY44 that I toured had the four-stateroom setup. The master suite was in the port hull with an entry staircase aft. The king island berth was set athwartships with views out the hullside windows. With more than 6-foot headroom and light alpine furnishings, the stateroom felt airy. Forward was an en suite head with a sink, toilet and shower stall. Twin-berth staterooms were in the starboard hull, with an amidships entrance. Forward on the main deck was a fourth stateroom, ideal for crew or kids.

Optional twin 435 hp Volvo Penta IPS600 diesels coupled to pod drives give the MY44 a top-end around 24 knots, according to the builder. IPS500s are standard.

With a family-size layout, an admirable turn of speed, and twin hulls for added stability, the Fountaine Pajot MY44 should appeal to salty souls with a sense of adventure.

Into the Brine

For swimmers, snorkelers and divers, Fountaine Pajot’s MY44 has a nearly full-beam, hydraulic teak swim platform. It should make getting into the water easy, even in fins.

Built for Owner-Operators

The engine rooms in each hull allow full access around the Volvo Penta diesels and IPS pod-drive components. Fuel filters, the 15 kVA Fischer Panda generator, water heaters, strainers, batteries and other maintenance-needing items are all reachable. The deck hatches are beefy with a 2-inch lip and rubber seal to prevent water intrusion. Sound control is from 1½-inch foam on the hatch’s underside, and the walls are padded with ­sound-absorbing insulation.

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Plenty of boatbuilders use terms like voluminous and cavernous to describe interior accommodations, but catamaran companies — working with far wider beams than same-length monohulls allow — have long held the edge on stateroom space. Fountaine Pajot’s MY 44, which made her U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, is the latest example of a catamaran that allots substantial hull space to sleeping areas, making the yacht feel less like a weekender and more like a second home on the water. Instead of jamming in an extra stateroom, Fountaine Pajot kept the number at three en suites, including a master that runs about two-thirds of the yacht’s length on the port side, earning it the nickname the “private apartment.” Look at the size of the belowdecks windows in the photograph at left. Some of them have opening ports for fresh breezes too.

215 Square Feet
That’s the size of the main salon, which has panoramic views and a cockpit-facing galley for serving guests inside and out.

226 Square Feet
The flybridge guest area — with seating, sun pads and a dining table — inches out the salon in terms of relaxation space.

161 Square Feet
That’s how much acreage ­Fountaine ­Pajot devoted to the master stateroom, which has an athwartships island queen berth so owners wake up to a view out the windows to the sea.

IPS Power
Twin 260 hp Volvo Penta IPS350 engines come standard, with IPS400 and IPS600 power plants available as options.

Forward Fun
The foredeck on the MY 44 has two sun pads with flip-up backrests. Views over the bows (through safety railings, of course) are nearly unimpeded.

THE CAT’S PAJAMAS

SISTERSHIPS
The MY 44 fills the gap between the MY 37 and MY 55 in Fountaine Pajot’s lineup of power catamarans.

BIG BRANDING
Garmin is an official partner of Fountaine Pajot, which calls itself the world’s leader in luxury catamarans.

FORTY-TWO YEAR LEGACY
Fountaine Pajot has been building boats since 1976. Its first sailing cat launched in 1983, and its first power cat in 1998.

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