The new Austin Parker Cat 56 is certainly not your average garden-variety power catamaran. Indeed, the high-styled cat looks like a state-of-the-art superyacht, overcoming the floating-box shape that has defined many recent entries in this fast-growing market segment.
A boutique Italian builder, Austin Parker worked with some heavy hitters for the new 56, its first power catamaran. It hired the legendary Pininfarina design office (think Ferrari Europa, Lancia Aurelia and Alfa Romeo Spider) and the creative Fulvio De Simoni Yacht Design office (Rossinavi, Pershing and Filippetti, as well as some recent Austin Parkers). The two designers set up an office in the yachting mecca of Porto Lotti in La Spezia.
As a result, the new Austin Parker Cat 56 features sensuous lines with large side windows, an aggressive slash of glazing running along the hull sides, a highly raked windshield, and prominent plumb bows. The three-stateroom, three-head cruiser starts with a two-level foredeck with a full beam (23 feet) sun lounge on top, and then a smaller C-shaped lounge on the lower tier.
The owner’s cabin occupies the deep bridge that connects the cat’s two hulls. The aft-facing bed is on the centerline; the head is in the port hull and a vanity and dressing area are across in the starboard hull. The two guest cabins are extra-large since each one occupies most of an entire hull.
The flybridge is situated fairly far aft, leaving room for a glass area forward that lets light into the salon below and blends into the top of the raked windshield. It has a massive wrap-around lounge that converts to a sun bathing area, a wet bar and the upper helm with seats for two on the port side.
Aft, the cockpit is protected by the overhang from the flybridge overhead, and it has corner sofas plus freestanding furniture for maximum flexibility. Steps down on each side lead to the full-beam swim platform with an hydraulic center section for launching a tender.
The salon has an open plan with the galley aft on the port side and a dinette with seats for ten on the starboard side. A single helm seat is forward to starboard, with seating across to port.
Power comes from twin 480-hp Volvo IPS650 pod drives, delivering a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 200 nm at a cruising speed of 20 knots.
Austin-Parker now makes boats from 44 to 85 feet, but it thinks the future lies in power catamarans. The new 56 will be ready next summer, and the company has plans to make an entire line of power cats stretching up to 106 feet.
Specs.: LOA: 56’9”; Beam: 23’; Draft: 8’: Disp.: 56,600 lbs.; Fuel: 528 gals.; Water: 171 gals.; Power: 2×480-hp Volvo IPS650 pod drives.
Read more at http://austinparker.com and see the video below:
