Year Of The Cat

A new breed of power catamarans is redefining the twin-hull paradigm in both style and functionality.

- Howard Walker

THE OPULENCE IMPLIED by the term ‘luxury power catamaran’ has largely meant the commodious salons typical of these wide-beam motor yachts. Unfortunately, such spaciousness has long come at a price that includes ungainly styling, severely narrow staterooms in the outer hulls and squirrelly handling on big seas—not to mention a lack of compatibility with many marina slips due to the form’s bulky proportions.

But a handful of builders are addressing such issues with slimmer designs and the use of foils for enhanced performance. Take Bluegame’s BGM75, with a width of 26 feet 7 inches, or about 25 per cent of its length overall. By comparison, conventional power catamarans sport beams closer to 50 per cent of their lengths. “This is more like a monohull that happens to have twin hulls,” says Luca Santella, Bluegame’s founder and head of product strategy. Another bonus: thanks to naval architect Philippe Briand’s design, the Bluegame catamaran requires roughly half the horsepower of a 90ft monohull with a similar interior volume.