Power and Motoryacht
December 2003

Design Portfolio
Cat Cay 53 Performance Catamaran
by George L. Petrie

Setting their sights on the sportfishing set, Cat Cay Yachts and Lazzara Yachts, both in Tampa, Florida, have teamed up to produce a bold new breed of performance vessels, radical in design from the keel up but with due deference to traditions of style and accommodation.

The Cat Cay 53 is built on a catamaran hull form, but you’d never guess it from her profile. Even her length-to-beam proportions are similar to those of a monohull. But head-on, she reveals a pair of shallow-draft, asymmetrical demihulls that promise good stability and a smooth ride even in rough seas. Not so apparent, but just as important, each hull sports a pair of steps in the running bottom to increase lift, cut wetted-surface drag, and get the hull up on plane quickly.

Construction is equally uncompromising, with all structural components built of advanced composite materials to achieve the weight savings necessary for top performance. Triaxial fabrics of Kevlar, carbon fiber and e-glass are laminated with vinyl-ester resins, the hull is vacuum-bagged to achieve the optimum resin-to-glass ratio, and her hull and superstructure are cored with end-grain balsa and foam for maximum stiffness and weight savings.

Even her drivetrain is aggressively configured, with an all-carbon-fiber surface drive system (produced by Q-SPD of New Zealand) that features five-blade surface-piercing propellers for top performance and trailing rudders to ensure good low speed maneuverability. Based on testing of a full-scale prototype, the builders expect top speeds of better than 50 knots, while at a 45-knot cruise she should sip just a bit over a gallon per nautical mile. To reach those impressive speeds, the 53 needs just a modest pair of 690-hp MAN diesels, thanks to her highly efficient hull form and weight-conscious design and construction.

In support of her primary mission, the Cat Cay 53 offers a generous, 140 square foot cockpit with a livewell, a big insulated fishbox, and plenty of room for gear. For creature comfort, her lavish interior boasts book-matched cabinetry in exotic wood grains granite counter tops, UltraLeather, and optional home theater and entertainment systems–perfect compliments to a most innovative design.