Here’s a new brand of power catamaran, the Foilborne 40 from Toro Yachts, a Holland, Michigan, builder that uses the talents and techniques of America’s Cup sailors and designers.
Powered by twin 450-hp Mercury outboards (set wide apart on the cat’s 13-foot transom), Toro’s Foilborne 40 tops out at 57 knots, and has a range of a full 530 nm at 35 knots. Upgrading to twin 600-Mercury outboards adds another ten knots or so to the top speed.
Toro Yachts was founded by Brian MacInnes and his wife, Danelle. A professional sailor, MacInnes has four America’s Cup campaigns with Oracle Team USA and two Volvo Ocean Race campaigns under his belt. For the 40-foot cat, he partnered with Morelli & Melvin, the California design team that was involved in five America’s Cups and whose boats have won 25 national championships, and with Foilborne Boatworks.
The resulting Toro Foilborne 40 was designed to be the highest performing production power catamaran in the world, using state-of-the-art building techniques borrowed from the America’s Cup boats. It uses prepreg carbon fiber for light weight and strength; the wet boat weighs just 12,000 pounds, including the outboards, loaded with fuel.
It has a twin-stepped, foil-assisted hull, and one cabin below with a full-sized head. There’s a bow thruster for low-speed maneuvering, and three solar panels produce 150 watts to charge the Volta lithium battery pack, replacing a generator and powering the cooktop, fridge and air conditioning.
As a relatively new company, Toro will make boats to suit its clients’ needs, including a high-speed luxury ferry, water taxi, dive boat and custom fishing boat. Foil assist is optional.
Specs.: LOA: 42’; Beam: 13’; Draft: 2’; Disp. (with engines): 8,600 lbs.; Fuel: 400 gals.; Water: 50 gals; Power: 2×600 Mercury outboards.
Read more: http://toroyachts.com
