Winter Yachts 86' "Pacific Harmony" Cat

Catamarans, Multi-Hulls, Tunnel Boats or “jet ski intakes”… whatever you want to call ‘em, expect to see ‘em propagate like an un-spayed litter.

Cats have literally revolutionized powerboat racing and with good reason. They are faster, more stable and more efficient. Tunnel boats dominate just about every form of waterborne racing, whether it be F-1, Drag or Offshore. And recently, the center console market has fallen prey to the cat. In recent years, there has been a small pride of cubs trying to pounce on the luxury yacht market, but they have been met with the resistance of a rabid dog. That is… up until now.

Winter Yachts has released a tiger from the cage that goes by the name of Pacific Harmony. It’s an appropriate name, because they’ve achieved a harmonious balance that rivals a feline. Luxury, performance, style, ergonomics and hydrodynamics are all traits of this newborn.

Powered by a pair of kitten size 800hp Cat’s, this 86’ yacht can achieve 26 knots, with a sustained 20 knots. At 10 knots, she can cover better than 3000 miles, making her a global explorer. These performance stats are accrued by efficient hull design and lightweight construction techniques. At 55 tons, this is a VERY light ship. This was accomplished by using materials usually found in offshore race boats, such as vacuum-bagged, epoxy foam laminates with Kevlar reinforcement. Because cats are inherently stabile, there is no need for stabilizers either under way or at rest, which also adds to performance, as less drag is induced.

Built in New Zealand by Dave Pachoud in conjunction with well-known cat designer Malcolm Tennant, Pacific Harmony represents the epitome of their combined years in catamaran building and design. Cats are more popular down-under than an Outback Steakhouse for an early-bird special. Many cutting edge marine ideas have originated from “way” down under and they’re got more experience with these hulls than Don Aronow with a Deep-V.

Being a hydrodynamic engineer, I tend to take an interest in what’s going on beneath the surface. From my perspective… this is one cool cat! It is rare to combine separate design technologies into one effective platform. In this case, they have merged a catamaran, wavepiercer and displacement hull, which has resulted in unprecedented performance, stability, efficiency and ride comfort. It’s no surprise that many of the world’s passenger ferries utilize a similar configuration.

In this picture, it looks like Pacific Harmony has a huge draft, but in reality the sponsons have a very narrow cross section. This enables a reduced wake signature, but more importantly, because the sponsons are running fully submerged, the hull is less susceptable to surface irregularities. This provides a smoother ride.

The exterior style looks like a part-time enclosed sportfish… and full time luxury yacht. This is the first catamaran to successfully blend sleek European design elements into a multi-hull craft that is ergonomically functional and aesthetically appealing.

Sunsets on the Pacific. She's certainly not hard to look at.

This is the aft deck, which is sheltered by the flybridge deck above. Plenty of space for entertaining. Stairways to port and starboard lead to a surface level transom swim platform that houses this cat's cub.

In the past, luxury cats have had the living space of a South Beach condo, as they lack the depth of a monohull. Pacific Harmony dispels this notion with topside figures in the 100’ class. Below deck, the interior space easily matches mono-hull volume of the same length. This is all partially due to an exceptionally wide beam and well planned use of the interior space.

The salon is a split lay-out with the bar centrally located between living sofas. An entertainment center is also provided that serves both sides equally well.

The flush deck galley is located to port and features stainless steel appliances to prevent rust from salt-laden hands.

Now this is something you WOULD NOT expect to see on a cat. A master that really is a stately room.

This is the exterior stairway leading from the flybridge to the lower aft-deck. There is also a stairwell inside the salon to the bridge.

The sportboat helm offers full walk-around access, including the deck below. The picture fails to represent the quality of woodwork throughout, which is extensive.

This concludes YachtForums review of Pacific Harmony. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. It easily gets nominated as one of my favorite yachts and certainly made the list of yachts I'd like to own.

Written by Carl Camper

If you would like more information on Winter Yachts, click on their banner or contact them at...

WINTER YACHTS
36/SHED 24, PRINCE'S WHARF,
AUCKLAND 1001, NEW ZEALAND
PH +64 9 357 6877
FAX +64 9 357 6117.

www.winteryachts.com

Specifications:

Length Overall: 86.77 feet
Beam: 27.4 feet
Draft: 5 feet light ship, 6ft full load
Displacement: light ship 55 tons approx.
Year of build: 2003
Engines: 2 x 800 hp Caterpillar 3406E.
Generators: 2x 25 kva Northern Lights, 110v.

Air conditioning: Cruise Air.
Water: 790 US gallons cold, 80 gallons hot in two stainless cylinders.
Watermaker: HEM 800 gallon/day.
Fuel: In tanks: 3450 US gallons.
Waste capacity: 607 US gallons.

Sprint speed: 26 knots light ship, 24 knots heavy.
Cruise speed: 20 knots
Range at 10 knots: 3250 nm on own tanks.
Range at 20 knots: 1300 nm on own tanks.