New Boat: Fountaine Pajot Power 67
The Fountaine Pajot Power 67 is the largest-ever power multihull from the France-based builder.
Living Space
When looked upon from the dock, the first thing that strikes you about the Fountaine Pajot Power 67 is her sheer width. Tied up stern-to at the Miami boat show among her brethren, she appeared to me as some mystical winged leviathan, poised to take to flight.
Credit goes to the big feline’s over 32 feet of beam and the large, tall hulls that protrude high above the sea. The view from the dock also told me the France-based builder nailed her proportions, with two stairwells that led to the aft cockpit flanking a large hydraulic swim platform and continuing as wide side decks to the bow.
Boarding via a passerelle and into the aft cockpit, I was charmed by the pair of staterooms, accessed in the forward bulkhead. Ofttimes reserved for crew quarters, the designers back in France saw an opportunity to not only grace the area with a pair of mirrored, double berth, en suite staterooms but also obviate the need to access these areas from the salon. A sliding, deeply tinted glass door adds privacy when guests are in the aft cockpit, with light also coming in via both fixed and operable hatches in the headliner.
The star of the aft cockpit, which is completely shaded by her flybridge overhang, is the sheer living space. With three distinct seating areas, one replete with a large dining table, I counted room for more than a baker’s dozen. For the sun worshippers, the flybridge offers a quartet of sunpads aft, and the option to soak in the rays by opening the large, electrically retractable roof that takes up a good deal of the hardtop. In addition, her foredeck—wide enough for a frisbee toss—has sunken seating for 5, a hot tub for 2, and space for loose furniture.
Before I entered the salon, accessed via a paneled, steel-and glass door that folds away to starboard, I asked Hélène De Fontainieu, Fountaine Pajot’s director of communications on what drove the company to build a 67-foot power cat, which is about 20 feet longer than the next-largest in its power fleet.
“Monohull owners are looking for more room, and longtime sailors that are moving onto powerboats are [driving] the business, looking at power cats for [their] excellent seakeeping, safety and stability,” De Fontainieu told me.
The salon continued the floating villa theme, with a large galley, ample refrigeration and stowage capable of keeping a crew well fed for weeks. A beefy, watertight door forward and on centerline grants access to the foredeck. Hull No. 4, which had her stateside premiere at the Miami show, had two more staterooms (for a total of four en suite staterooms), one occupying each pontoon. A five-stateroom version is available as well.
De Fontainieu introduced me to Director of Flagship Products Yves de Kerangat, who filled me in on the 67’s technical details. We had a “vision of a long-range, efficient boat when designing the 67,” de Kerangat told me “[and] with her semidisplacement pontoons, she behaves well on plane from 7- to 20-knots.” He added that she came across on her own bottom to the Miami show and on the open Atlantic, burned about .5 gallon per nautical mile while cruising between 10 to 12 knots (standard power is a pair of 300-hp D6s from Volvo Penta, with hull four getting the larger 480-hp iron from the Swedish giant.) Overall, she has an approximate 1,700-nm range at displacement speeds, which will also serve her well island-hopping in the Bahamas, as will her 3-foot, 8-inch draft.
One thing I noticed that I haven’t seen on other vessels: her lower helm was without a wheel, just throttles and an autopilot. I asked de Kerangat, who explained that on long passages, captains can adjust headings on the autopilot, with close-quarters maneuvers reserved for the flybridge helm station. Rear-facing cameras help in both locations, but I’d add the optional aft wing station with throttles and joystick, which folds out on the aft bulkhead in the cockpit.
And by the end of 2023 power cats will outsell sailboats among Fountaine Pajot’s offerings, accomplished by the three models between 35 and 45 feet, with impressive sales coming from the Power 67 as well. The company announced that an 80-footer is in the works.
Fountaine Pajot Power 67 Specifications:
LOA: 64’ 6”
Beam: 32’ 3”
Draft: 3’ 8”
Displ.: 104,279 lbs.
Fuel: 1,057 gal.
Water: 277 gal.
Power (standard): 2/300-hp Volvo Penta D6
Optional power: 2/480-hp Volvo Penta D6
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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boats/fountaine-pajot-power-67-yacht-review
