At the maximum point of 25 knots, in displacement touches the 1,800 miles range. It has three cabins with private bathrooms and spaces of a 60/70 '. A cat capable of satisfying many needs.
Tester Alberto Mariotti
✔ Where we sailed: In Palma de Mallorca, in Spain.
✔ Weather conditions: 20 knots of wind from the west with rough seas.
✔ Model: hull n ° 1 with Ips 600 engines instead of the Ips 350, 4 people on board and 50% tanks.
"It has the comfort of a boat over 20 meters for a third of the price". These are the words with which Paolo Gottarelli, the Italian ship owner of the first MY 44 built, defines his boat. He bought it at the Düsseldorf show in Germany, where the boat was presented for the first time. The third model of the motor fleet is located between the small MY 37 and the 55-foot flagship. It is powered by a pair of Volvo Penta IPS 350 engines, but this first model features the most powerful optional engines, the IPS 600 with 435 horsepower each.
With a base price of 578,000 euros + VAT (with a good optional equipment and VAT is almost one million euros) is a means capable of competing with larger motor yachts, from 60 feet upwards. In fact, Gottarelli, born in Bologna in 1952, nasal surgeon and long-time owner (he is his fourteenth boat, he has been sailing since he was a child and also loves sailing, but for reasons of time he has always preferred the engine) tells us that « I had a yacht of 64 'and when I saw the first renderings of this cat I immediately fell in love: compared to the previous boat has twice the volume, has a fly that is three times wider, the bed of the cabin is wider, it has a retractable aft deck, two giant engine rooms and unparalleled stability at the bottom. And it's 20 feet long! All these strengths make it today, for me, the best boat on the market, able to satisfy customers up to 20 meters that can make a nice downsizing and reduce by one third the purchase and management costs without giving up any comfort ».
TO EVERYONE HIS PRIVACY
Three cabins, three private bathrooms and a privacy difficult to find on boats of this size. The layout is fixed and aims not to crowd the interiors too much. On board the MY 44, three couples can live without getting entangled and find themselves in the large common areas of the main deck and deck.
There is also a fourth smaller cabin built at the bow of the main deck ideal for children. It does not have a bathroom, but is perfect for surfing while keeping small guests safe.
During our test in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the yard had already sold eight MY 44, a quantity that defines the growing success of motorized catamarans and the fact that the first model went to Italy is a satisfaction for us too. The vitality of this sector is also confirmed by Domenico Furci, head of the national dealer network: "in the two previous years the engine accounted for just 20% of the boats sold, today has risen significantly and nearly 40. The yard has always had a motor range, but not organized as the market today requires. To do this we invested a lot of resources in the development of the models and in the production, we had to create solid bases for the motor product and make it live in its own light. The results are seen and today we are approached by customers who have only known Fountaine Pajot products, which do not come from other experiences because we have credibility and the means to make it grow within our range. This is for me the fourth year of activity in Italy with the French shipyard and we have managed to create an excellent network, we have five dealers that cover well the whole national territory ".
THROUGH 24-NODE WAVES
We sail to Palma on a "tough" day with about twenty knots of air and about a meter of wave. The MY 44 does not break down and follows its course without delineating slipping between the waves in fluency and not undergoing the tight and fast turns.
On the fly, when we are at full throttle - 23 knots at 3,600 rpm - and against the sea, some spray of water arrives. Retesting the maximum with sea and wind in favor and a touch of interceptor (trim tabs) the MY 44 reaches 24.8 knots. But it is in the first part of the log that this cat gives the best of itself: sailing between seven and eight knots on the 1,000 miles of autonomy that go up to 1,800, decelerating to 5/6 knots. Outstanding performances that allow the new Fountaine Pajot to also challenge the shuttle markets and, why not, sailing catamarans.
