Leopard 37 Powercat

An article earlier this spring in the highly regarded BYMNews.com website reports that several Leopard 37 Powercats were delivered on their own bottoms, transatlantic, from their South African builder to the Caribbean islands in advance of this year’s charter season.  On one delivery, captain Piet Schepers and two crewmates delivered a Leopard 37 Powercat from Robertson and Caine’s Capetown, South Africa factory to Tortola, BVI.

The 37 Powercat, according to BYMNews, was loaded with 633 gallons of fuel, 32 gallons of water and additional gear.  BYM reports that the boat traveled 1,740 NM before refueling at St. Helena, and then ran an additional 2,k559 NM to Brazil.  The last 2,335 NM leg brought the boat to Tortola, with total travel time of less than one month.  The article says the boat encountered winds to 35 mph and significant seas.  The captain turned right around and headed back to South Africa to pick up another 37 Powercat, saying, “This is a lot more boat than meets the eye.”  We’ve written quite a bit about Leopard Catamarans here on OceanLines.  In our view, they represent seriously good value for cruisers and serious passagemakers.  A transatlantic self-delivery is no mean feat for a 37-foot power boat and while that may not necessarily make it the ideal global circumnavigator, it does speak for its seaworthiness and reliability.

You can read BYM’s full article here.  The site has a good collection of industry, regulatory and cruising news and features.

Copyright © 2009 OceanLines LLC

Leopard 47 Powercat

With the recent addition of its Leopard 37 Powercat, Leopard Catamarans has four boats now in the Leopard pride — two sailing cats and two powercats.  The company had all four boats at the Strictly Sail Miami show recently and like many other manufacturers, it has some compelling offers right now for those looking to buy.  The current Leopard Cat line includes the Leopard 40 and 46 and the Leopard 37 Powercat and 47 Powercat.

Leopard 46

At the Miami show we were aboard the big Leopard 46, which is a huge, offshore cruising yacht intended to take families all over the world.  Like most big cats, the living spaces just go on and on; starting from inside the massive salon, through the wide, beefy sliding glass doors onto the roomy aft cockpit and right down to the extensive “play area” at the aft end of each sponson. 

Leopard Catamarans 46

The standard hard top over the aft cockpit means that you can live al fresco without broiling in the tropical sun.  The sunworshipers can always head forward to the expansive foredeck “tanning acreage,” while Mom and Dad can relax in the shade and sip cool drinks.

The helm station is up and forward in a cut-out of the hard top with all the power and sail controls right at hand.  It’s a great location for visibility both fore and aft and features its own dedicated sun shade.  All Leopard Cats, both power and sail are designed by naval architects Morelli & Melvin and built by Robertson and Caine in Cape Town, South Africa.  They’re built to very high standards, including such features as a deck that is through-bolted to the hull; not just screwed down.  The draft on the 46 is less than 4.5 feet, so you can wander through the shallow atolls of the Bahamas and other favorite destinations without worrying about having to find deep anchorages.

In the standard 3-stateroom layout, the 46 has the starboard hull totally dedicated to the master stateroom and with the big hull, that means a lot of room.  There is no claustrophobia aboard this cat, in any sense of that word.  The entire boat is bright and airy and you always feel in touch with the outdoors; an experience not always common aboard a traditional monohull passagemaker.

Given the current economic conditions, the company is being aggressive with pricing on the boats.  The 46 we saw last weekend is discounted an additional $30,000 until May 15, making the base price $529,000.  Have a look at the Leopard Cat 46 brochure.  There’s also an extensive equipment list for the boat.  Obviously, the price will vary a little bit  depending on how you need to commission it for your particular needs.  Perhaps you will want some custom electronics for it, like the new Navico broadband radar that uses next to nothing for power and radiates less than 1/10th the power of a cell phone, meaning you can mount it anywhere.  OceanLines covered that earlier this week.

Leopard Catamarans 40

Leopard 40

The company’s other sailing cat, the Leopard 40, is a 3- or 4-cabin boat that was named “Boat of the Year” in 2005 by Cruising World magazine.  Its sleek profile adds to its upwind performance and the natural roomy nature of its floorplans has made it a favorite in the Moorings and Sunsail charter fleets.  The Leopard 40 has twin Yanmar 21 HP saildrives for auxiliary propulsion.

The 3-cabin layout features an owner-dedicated starboard hull with master stateroom, office area and large head with separate shower forward.  Another nice touch is the serving window that allows pass-through service from the galley to the cockpit — perfect for whomever has mixology duty during happy hour.  With a special discount that is good until May 15, 2009, the base price of the Leopard 40 is $329,000.  You can see the current Leopard 40 brochure.

Leopard 37 PC

OceanLines was the first to write about Leopard Catamarans’ new 37 Powercat and it’s proving to be a popular model.  Although it is just as bluewater-capable as its larger sister, the 47 PC, the smaller size makes it perfect for long weekends and vacations in the islands, with a slightly smaller group aboard.  With twin 110 HP Yanmar engines, the 37 Powercat is speedy enough to add a couple of islands to your trip itinerary.  Even pushing the boat up to 17 knots, the range still approaches 400 NM, and of course, if you slow down, you can cruise for practically half a winter’s worth of island-hopping.  The current base price of a new 37 Powercat, including a $20,000 discount until March 15, 2009, is $329,000.  Have a look at the Leopard 37 Powercat brochure.

Leopard 47 PC

Leopard Catamaran’s biggest boat is the 47 Powercat, which can take a large group on an extended cruise anywhere in the world.  The boat is capable of ocean passages and in fact, many of the  47 Powercats are delivered on their own bottoms from Cape Town to customers all over the world.

Like its smaller sister, the 37 Powercat, you will drive the 47 PC from the flybridge, with room for lots of company.  This big boat features both indoor and outdoor dining spaces and lots of room on the solid foredeck to relax and count stars at night.

With twin 150 HP Cummins diesels, the 47_PC is comfortable cruising in the 12-15 knot range but can increase speed to the high teens when weather or schedule dictate.  The range performance of this boat is similar to the 37_PC.  At nearly 18 knots you can cover approximately 350 NM, and if you’re willing to slow down to 7 knots or so, you can put more than 1,000 NM under the twin keels before refueling.  Like all of the Leopard Cat hulls, the 47 Powercat benefits from a wide beam and sharp entry forward.  This hull design minimizes roll and softens the vertical accelerations when slicing through a head sea.

Base price on the 47 Powercat is currently $539,000, including a $30,000 discount that is good until May 15, 2009.  Have a look at the Leopard 47 Powercat brochure.

We’ve put together a nice photo album of the Leopard Catamaran fleet here, courtesy of Leopard Cats:

Leopard Catamarans Images

Copyright © 2009 OceanLines LLC

OceanLines is the first, as far as we know, to publish photos (see gallery below) of the new 37 Powercat making her initial sea trials off Cape Town last week. The boat will make her public debut in Annapolis and the Trawlerfest at Solomons Island, Maryland in early September.

The Morrelli and Melvin design features two staterooms and two heads, with the traditional roomy catamaran salon between hulls. There is a relatively large main-deck cockpit aft, shaded by the extended flybridge above. The flybridge features a large, centered helm station, with an L-shaped sette behind and a lounger to port. A stairway leads below to the main deck cockpit, through which the salon is entered.

In the salon, the galley is to starboard, with a navigation station to port.  A large U-shaped dinette is centered forward, facing aft. The boat is powered by two Yanmar 4JH4-HTE 110 HP engines, with a total of 253 gallons of fuel available in two aluminum fuel tanks. Given the typical fuel efficiency of the catamaran design and the Yanmar diesels, range should be significant, although exact numbers weren’t yet available at press time.

Among the options, are a Northern Lights 6 kW generator and dual-zone air conditioning. The boat displaces approximately 8, 500 pounds and has a fresh water capacity of 113 gallons.  A specification chart follows the photo gallery.

For latest specifications, be sure to contact manufacturer.

Copyright ©  2008 by OceanLines