Boating USA — February 2018

(Jacob Rumans) #1
FAST ACTION:
SPEED VS. EFFICIENCY
With 960 hp from twin Cummins diesels, the Sea
Ray easily wins in top speed at nearly 34.5 mph
compared to the Leopard (27.6 mph), but at a
serious cost in fuel. At 20 mph, the Leopard is using
just 20 gph, for an even 1 mpg. At the same speed,
the Sea Ray is using 32.6 gph, netting 0.5 mpg.
“A strength of the catamaran is that it has
such low drag,” says Gino Morelli, the catamaran
designer, whose credits range from America’s

Cup contenders and Olympic-class cats through
power cats for charter use up to a record-setting
round-the-world 125-foot cat. “It’s just basic
hydrodynamics: Two slim hulls have very low
resistance. They push much less water than one
wider hull and therefore require smaller engines
for increased effi ciency.”
The Sea Ray is faster; the Leopard is more
effi cient. It’s nice to have speed when you
want to outrun an approaching squall or get
to an anchorage fi rst. On the other hand, you’ll
probably spend most of your cruising time at the
lower speed more comfortable to your guests.

Our take: Both are winners. It’s your choice.

PAIN AND GAIN:
RIDE VS. HANDLING
“Two sharp hulls pound less in a seaway too,”
says Morelli. Monohulls, especially cruising
monohulls like the Sea Ray, tend to experience
bow rise when accelerating, while catamarans
remain fl at throughout their speed range. It’s
generally agreed that catamarans provide a softer
ride in a seaway because their knifelike hulls slice
the waves rather than crush them, and the motion
of a catamaran in waves is more like a cantering
horse, which some people like and others don’t.
At low speeds in a beam sea, some power cats can
have a sharp roll as swells pass under each hull
separately, but monohulls also roll considerably,
which is why gyrostabilizers and stabilizer fi ns
have become popular aboard monohulls. But the PHOTOS: (FROM TOP) COURTESY LEOPARD CATAMARANS, COURTESY SEA RAY BOATS

“A strength of the
catamaran is that
it has such low
drag. It’s just basic
hydrodynamics:
Two slim hulls have
very low resistance.
They push much
less water than
one wider hull and
therefore require
smaller engines for
increased effi ciency.”

92 | BOATINGMAG.COM | FEBRUARY 2018

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