Stepping into the main salon of the new Aquila 42 Yacht at the recent Palm Beach International Boat Show, my first impression was one of abundant space—it felt more like a condo than a boat. The interior living, cooking and dining area was far larger than it would have been on a 42-foot monohull. That volume is a major reason why power catamarans have been gaining market share at a rapid pace in recent years.

In fact, in the rolling 12-month period from February 28, 2022 through February 28, 2023, MarineMax reported that Aquila Power Catamarans was third in new boat registrations across all brands of inboard cruisers and yachts, including catamarans, and first in the 44- to 45-foot category. “The volume is key. We want to take the kids and the grandkids, so we need the space,” said Bob Davis. He and his wife, Shani, who live on Florida’s Gulf Coast, ordered Aquila 42 Yacht Hull #3 through their local MarineMax dealer. Shani also is excited about the fact that the boat will be equipped with a davit and tender. “We want to spend more time out at anchor. With the dinghy, you can zoom around more and explore,” she said.

The Davises have owned a number of traditional monohull boats over the years, including a 32-foot walkaround cabin fishing boat and their current 30-foot express cruiser, but none of them quite fit their needs. Even on the 30-footer, Bob said, “it gets a little tight.”

In 2017, the Davises went on a MarineMax Vacations trip to the British Virgin Islands, where they stayed aboard a MarineMax 484 power cat built by Aquila. “There were four couples on a 48-foot boat and we weren’t running into each other. The volume of space is what I was looking for. After that, I was thinking catamarans,” he said. In 2021, when MarineMax sent out a teaser postcard about the Aquila 42 Yacht, the newest addition to Aquila’s power cat line that runs from 28 to 70 feet, he and Shani realized that was the boat for them. “It just fit what we’re looking for, the space,” he said.

Aquila offers different layouts for the 42, ranging from two to four staterooms. The Davises opted for the two-cabin plus utility cabin version, which is the same configuration we saw onboard Hull #1 at the Palm Beach show. A “bonus room” you could only fit in a catamaran, the utility cabin is located on the main deck, forward of the salon. It features a single berth and a sliding door for privacy, making it a viable third cabin. On Hull #1, it also was equipped with an optional built-in washer/dryer and wine cooler, along with standard storage cabinets.

Alain Raas, MarineMax brand manager for Aquila Power Catamarans, was my tour guide for the 42. He pointed out that the utility cabin also can be used as a captain’s stateroom when the yacht is booked for skippered charter vacations. “There is a large hatch that the captain can use to enter and exit the cabin without disturbing the guests in the salon,” he said. The hatch leads to the bow, which has stairs up to the flybridge.

On the two-cabin-plus-utility version of the boat, the master stateroom and head are in the port hull, accessed from the salon by a private stair. Although the hull is slender, its length and volume make this a luxurious owner’s suite. It features an island queen berth and a vanity big enough to be used as a desk. The head has a big shower with teak seat.

The VIP cabin in the opposite hull is not quite as large as the master and its head also doubles as the boat’s day head. Nevertheless, it also has a queen berth and generous volume.

On the optional three-cabin version of the Aquila 42, the utility room is converted to a full stateroom with an athwartships queen and a third head, a few steps down in the starboard hull. (In the version we toured, that space was occupied by a large storage area that owners can fit out with amenities for long-range cruising like an additional freezer.) The optional four-cabin version splits the port hull into two staterooms and relocates the master cabin to the starboard hull.

While the Davises, who have four children and two grandchildren, could have ordered the boat with more staterooms, they prefer to cruise with just one other couple on board plus a grandkid in the utility room. “We want to spend a month and a half on the boat,” Bob said, mentioning the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and U.S. East Coast as likely destinations.

For day trips near their home on the Gulf Coast, however, the Aquila 42 can comfortably accommodate their whole family, thanks to its many spacious entertainment areas. “You have all these independent social zones and breakaway spaces, depending on the number of people on board,” Raass said. “There is a place for everyone.”

The aft deck has a large al fresco dining table plus a clever two-stool bar mounted in the window next to the rear sliding door. On rainy days, the hinged bar top folds down so you can close the window. (This neat feature is also on the Aquila 44 and 54.) There is another social area on the bow, which features two sunlounges with pop-up backrests. The flybridge with its large, sheltering hardtop is likely to be the most popular space for entertaining, however. Behind the pedestal helm station and seat is a built-in wet bar with barbecue grill, making it highly convenient to cook and serve steaks to five or six hungry diners seated on the wraparound lounge seat aft. There are two cocktail tables instead of one long dining table so guests can come and go easily.

The huge interior salon/galley is yet another inviting social space. Hull #1 has an optional layout with a long galley counter to port, offering plenty of meal-prep space. The Davises’ boat, on the other hand, will have the standard U-shaped galley, which frees up space for an additional built-in seat opposite the large raised dinette. The Davises kept the wraparound dinette seating but deleted the table on their boat, which shows how flexible Aquila can be. “We didn’t want the dog to hit his head on it,” Bob said.

They did not order the optional lower helm station, but even without it, the boat has a panel mounted on the salon bulkhead that holds a VHF radio, controls for the Fusion stereo system and a Victron display that lets you monitor onboard energy usage without having to go up to the flybridge.

The Aquila 42’s interior décor is fresh and contemporary, but it’s clear that the main design goal for this boat was to make it easy to clean and maintain. For example, the flooring looks like wood, but is actually mop-friendly Amtico. I also was impressed by the width of the walkarounds and the stairs to the flybridge, both forward and aft. There are stainless grabrails thoughtfully placed where you need them to walk securely around the boat in rough seas.

“I feel like [Aquilas] are very serviceable from a mechanical point of view,” Bob said. “It’s easy to get to everything.”

The Aquila 42’s twin hulls were designed by VPLP, a naval architecture firm that also specializes in racing catamarans. Powered by twin Volvo D4 300 diesels, the boat has a top speed of just under 22 knots. But it is offered with optional foils that will lift the hulls partly out of the water when it is on plane. Aquila has not built the foiling version yet, but Raass predicts, “If you go with the foils, you should get at least a 15-percent improvement.”

The Davises, who ordered the standard version of the hull, will take delivery this summer. They started looking months in advance for a marina in their area with a berth that could accommodate the power cat, however. “I knew it could be an issue,” Bob said. Ultimately, they found a marina that is only 15 minutes from their house. “We lucked into a side-to slip on an outside dock,” he said.

Finding a slip wide enough for the boat is a common concern for many new power cat owners. That is beginning to change, however. Raass said that with the growing popularity of this style of boat, “Marinas have to adapt at this point.”

There are cases when power cat owners may have to pay a premium—especially when the marina has to adapt a double monohull slip into a single catamaran slip by removing the center piling. “It’s not enough of a negative to prevent us from getting the Aquila,” said Bob. “The volume of space we are getting, it far exceeds a couple of bucks extra a night.” ­—Louisa Beckett

Aquila 42 Yacht

LOA: 41’ 6”

Beam: 21’0”

Draft: 3’ 7”

Displ.: 34,168 lbs.

Power: (2) Volvo Penta D4 300s

This article was originally published in the June 2023 issue.