The new 42-foot Aspen C120 power cat is anything but just another pretty boat. Developed by Larry Graf, one of the more creative people in boating, the new C120, like all Aspens, has an asymmetrical proa hull (think of native boats in the South Pacific), where the port side is 35 percent narrower than the starboard side, which houses the single 330-hp Volvo diesel. The point: Stability, performance and above all, fuel efficiency. Graf says the boat burns just 11 gph at 17 knots.
Graf founded Aspen Power Catamarans in Burlington, Washington, in 2008; he had founded Glacier Bay Power Catamarans earlier. At Aspen, he developed the patented proa hull, with the deckhouse offset slightly to port, and launched a 28, then a 32 and now the flagship 42. I tested the first 28 in Miami and have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical of the entire concept until I put the boat through her paces. I came away a believer.
The C120 provides a smooth, stable ride, with all the advantages of extra living space found on a cat.The salon is 24 feet long and more than 10 feet wide, with excellent visibility from every seat. A 15-foot-long galley, filled with Corian countertops, occupies the port side. A six-person U-shaped dinette, with a high-gloss teak table that lowers, is to starboard; the primary helm is forward.
Below, the full-beam master is forward with a king-sized bed on the centerline and a large owner’s en suite head. The guest cabin is on the starboard side with a queen-sized bed, with a full head and shower, while a third smaller cabin is on the port side aft, tucked under the galley, with twin beds. Up top, the flybridge has a wraparound seat on the starboard side, across from the helm, plus an aft-facing seat. The bridge extends aft to cover two-thirds of the cockpit.
For extra strength, the bow sections are reinforced with Kevlar, and watertight bulkheads are glassed into place a few feet aft of the bow with Coosa, a fiberglass-reinfored polyurethane. In addition, each hull has three watertight bulkheads. A molded keel with a stainless steel shoe protects the single prop and rudder.
Specs: LOA: 42’6”; Beam: 13’10”; Draft: 3’3”; Disp.: 22,500 lbs.; Fuel: 180 gals.; Water: 100 gals.; Power: 1/Volvo 330-hp D6.
Aspen C120: A Cat with a Difference
Share.
