Five-year, full-displacement power catamaran project by Roger Hill and Dave Pachoud produces one of the most interesting local new builds of the year
Although it is easy to bemoan the lack of local big-boat builders these days, that dearth does have one upside. Those that remain tend, like the boat builders of old, to be remarkably versatile.
Dave Pachoud is a good example. In recent years he and his Tauranga yard have built and launched power catamarans, large motoryachts, a high-performance carbon fibre racer cruising yacht and a high-tech wave-piercing rower, designed to handle a double transtasman crossing.
The same holds true of today's designers. Roger Hill, for example, may not be as well known as people like Bruce Farr, Rob Humphreys, Jim Young, Alan Warwick, Ron Given or Scott Robson (although he has worked with all six) yet he, too has an incredibly versatile portfolio. In the 18 years since he started his own design business, Hill has drawn monohull and catamaran yachts and launches and seen them built in steel, alloy, wood and composites.
It should therefore come as little surprise that it is Hill and Pachoud who are behind one of the most interesting local new builds of the year.
Tenacity is a full-displacement 20m power catamaran that took some five years to build (hence the rather apt name) and boasts a construction that consists mainly of wood, with a light touch of GRP and foam.
Hill says Tenacity is about 80-85 per cent timber. The hulls feature a structural timber core with plywood bulkheads and decks. On the other hand, the decks, cabin tops and remaining superstructure areas consist of a combination of plywood/foam/plywood sandwich and "glass/foam/"glass.
It is, he says, a style of building he recommends for owners looking for a light, rigid and stiff vessel at a good price.
It is also, according to Pachoud, a great combination of materials with which to build, allowing a fair degree of customisation and flexibility throughout the build process.
Like many of Hill's powercat designs, Tenacity's hulls are purely displacement, designed to go through the water as efficiently as possible. They boast a large waterline length to beam ratio and, thanks to Tenacity's twin 500hp Cummins 6CTA diesels (running conventional shaft drives), produce a very creditable top speed of 23 knots. They also, as Tenacity's delivery voyage from Tauranga to Auckland (through 20 knot easterlies and confused seas) proved, cope well with adverse conditions.
The good-looking, well performing Tenacity is a credit to her local designer and builder.
The owner's brief was for a comfortable family cruiser with open, practical spaces and Hill and Pachoud have certainly achieved that.
Those unfamiliar with modern cruising catamarans (as opposed to those designed solely to go fast) will be astounded at the amount of space on board. Although the owner wanted just three cabins, one could easily fit in four, five or even six.
"The layout is really whatever the owner wants," says Hill. "There is such a huge footprint to work with in a powercat that the opportunities are almost limitless."
In this case, the owners have chosen light toned leather and fabrics to complement the semi-gloss American white hard maple timber; the absence of any dark hues accentuating that massive feeling of space.
Hill and interior consultant Kim Forkert of Parkhurst Design have used this abundance of space to produce a split-level saloon layout that, although quite unusual, is immensely practical. In modern style, the galley is aft but, again, slightly unusually, its U-shape opens not into the centre of the boat but rather aft, towards the cockpit. Like the rest of the interior, it is substantial and easily large enough to cope with the entertaining of large groups of people.
There is an eight-seater dining area across from the galley and, forward of this, a stylish combination stairway and air-bridge to the enclosed flybridge.
The upper level of the saloon is also quite different from the standard pilothouse layout. Instead of the traditional lower helm station, Tenacity's owners have opted for just the single station, up in the flybridge. That has freed up space for what is likely to become one of the most popular areas on board.
A huge U-shaped set of couches, complete with oval coffee table, occupy the port hand side, allowing guests to choose a view through the front or side windows, back through the lower saloon to the cockpit or, when it is in use, across to the pop-up flat screen TV in the starboard cabinetry. As one would expect on a vessel of this size, the flybridge is far more than a place for the helm station.
As game fishing does not appear to be a priority, the station has sensibly been placed forward, creating a large social area behind.
As most crew tend to want to be on the bridge while a vessel is under way, there is no shortage of seating to accommodate them. In addition to the twin helm chairs for the skipper and first mate, there is a large lounge settee to port, complete with fixed table. There is also, through the wide doors that open on to the aft deck, a full-width teak slatted seat as well as plenty of space for loose chairs and another table. Add a handily placed wet bar and fridge and this is also a great spot to sit and watch the sun go down.
This aft deck also provides welcome protection over the cockpit, which, again, is fairly entertaining-oriented. It features a comfortable built-in central sofa flanked by a barbecue. On either side are storage units and access to the twin aft boarding areas. There is also a handy day head complete with shower, another wet bar and another fridge/freezer.
Tenacity's tender is stowed between the hulls and raised into and out of service with a custom davit (although Hill's design does include a dinghy garage as an option).
Check out the comprehensive boat test on the Hill 20m powercat, Tenacity, in the November/December issue of Pacific Powerboat magazine or at www.pacificpowerboat.com
