Leave it to Larry Graff and his team at Aspen Catamarans to bring out a rigid dinghy that breaks the design mold for yacht tenders. That’s just what the new Aspen Carbon Cats do
Graff and his family build Aspen Catamarans in Burllington, Washington in sizes from 28 to 40 feet. Aspen cats are not your average multihulls with symmetrical hulls and a bridge deck and cabin on top. No, Aspen cats are actually proas, with one hull being the main hull and the opposite being smaller and lighter.
The fuel efficiency these designs provide proves to be seriously noteworthy. In one demonstration of cruising range in one of his proa cats, Graff motored the length of Alaska’s Yukon River, unassisted.
So, that takes us to the fact all Aspen owners need some sort of a tender and quite a few, one could assume, would like a dinghy designed and built by the innovative minds that brough them to Aspen Cats in the first place.
The new Aspen Carbon Cats are rigid dinghies with truly unique hull designs. They come in three sizes, T9, T10 and T11, and T11C with a console. All models can be powered by standard outboard motors or rowed.
The hull shape is unlike anything you’ve seen before. The bow has a sharp fore foot that cleaves waves. Just aft, the hull shapes deflect spray away from the boat and you. Running aft, the hull develops a modified catamaran shape that adds buoyancy and stability.
This hybrid monohull-multihull hull shape is so unique, Aspen has applied for a patent.
To reduce weight and to make the cats easy to handle, they are made of ultra-strong and light carbon laminates. This means you can hoist the dinghy into davits or drag it up a beach without too much effort. It also means that power requirements are roughly 35 percent less than for a standard rigid-floor, inflatable dinghy of the same size.
In sea trials of the prototypes, the 11-footer powered by a 9.9 horsepower outboard achieved a top speed of 21 knots. – at a remarkably good speed-to-horsepower ratio.
To make the new cats as durable as possible and to keep the mothership’s topside pristine, the dinghies’ gunnels are fitted with thick foam bumpers.
Aspen offers stern wheels for the dinghies that make them as easy to move around dry land as a wheelbarrow. And, they have davit options available.
If you’re looking for a unique rigid, durable and fast tender that will keep your butt and the groceries dry, these new Aspen Carbon Cats are a very attractive option.
