Aberration launched in early 2021 after a full conversion from a 35-foot sailing catamaran into a wheelchair-accessible, electric-powered passenger catamaran.
Anne in Newport, Rhode Island, 1985.
The Luau 35 after being towed to Jersey City, New Jersey, from Westport, Connecticut, by the Transworld 50 fantail Consensus (left), before continuing up the Hudson River to Albany, New York.
After the Luau 35’s gasoline outboards failed on Long Island Sound, Rik enlisted friends and family and used the 1989 Transworld 50 fantail Consensus to tow the catamaran up the Hudson to Albany, New York.
The Luau 35 during its transformation into Aberration at Scarano Boatworks in Albany, New York.
Anne and her mother-in-law relax on the bow.
The boat’s salon and decks accommodate large family gatherings comfortably.
Rik is pleased with the final result, though he wishes the Torqeedo motor mounts had been slimmer and more hydrodynamic.
The twin Torqeedo outboards deliver a relaxed cruising speed of about 5–7 knots.
The forward deck offers ample space for Anne and family to gather and enjoy the view.
Rik surveys the view from the stern.
The stern includes a bench seat, fender storage, a ladder to the roof and, at far left, the hydraulic lift used to board Anne and her wheelchair.
Aberration on the Erie Canal.
Aberration entering the Hudson River at Watertown, New York.
The roof carries 36 solar panels that keep the battery bank charged; Rik rarely plugs into shore power when the boat is idle.
The interior is arranged to provide clear circulation space for Anne’s wheelchair.
Family friend Michael Humphreys mans the bow while locking through on the Erie Canal. Although Rik can handle the boat alone, friends keep trips social for Anne. The layout includes a master cabin on the main level, a double cabin in the stern of the starboard hull and a single forward cabin for Anne’s aide.
Stern view showing the Torqeedo electric motors.
Rik steers while Anne relaxes and enjoys the ride.
Anne surprised Rik by wanting to steer; he plans to refine the helm so she can pilot the boat more often while seated comfortably.
Rik believes the boat is ideal for the Erie Canal and other protected waters.
Anne on Lake Champlain, late 2022.
My brother Rik and his wife Anne have shared a long and devoted partnership. They met in high school, and although Anne never shared Rik’s lifelong passion for boats, she accompanied him gladly through 37 years of marriage as he pursued that love. Over the years Rik owned a 24-foot Pearson Lark, several small sailboats and skiffs, iceboats, and in 2019 he acquired the substantial 1989 Transworld 50 fantail trawler Consensus.
Anne agreed to the trawler purchase on one condition: she wouldn’t have to handle the boat. That suited Rik perfectly. During their first summer with Consensus they cruised the Hudson River, crossed Raritan Bay and explored the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers near Fair Haven, New Jersey, where they raised their three children.
Seven months after buying the trawler, when Anne was 61, she suffered a massive stroke and developed frontotemporal dementia. The family realized she would likely be wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life. Rik adapted their home—installing a ramp, adding a lift and converting a downstairs bedroom into a wheelchair-accessible bathroom—and hired a full-time live-in aide to help with daily needs.
Anne’s world had narrowed to the interior of their house. She could no longer work as a substitute teacher or enjoy the outdoor activities that had defined her life: hiking, gardening, canoeing and walking the dog. The loss of speech and cognitive decline led to depression. Rik recognized that social engagement and fresh scenery were the keys to lifting her spirits, so he organized gatherings and built a front deck so Anne could visit safely outdoors during the pandemic.
When boating season returned, Rik saw that getting Anne aboard the trawler was impractical: she couldn’t manage the stairs or reach the pilothouse in her wheelchair. He began sketching a single-level power catamaran with wheelchair access and twin electric outboards. Drawing on his aerospace and ocean engineering background (including work as a naval architect), he conceived a 30–35-foot power cat with a flat, accessible deckplan.
Anne met the idea with her dry humor: “I am so sorry that my health situation requires you to spend all our money on boats,” she said. Rik approached Scarano Boat Building in Albany, New York, where he had previously worked as a marine surveyor and where he and Anne had become friends with owners Rick and John Scarano. Scarano suggested locating an existing hull to save time and money, and their calculations indicated a 35-foot catamaran would provide the necessary beam and displacement for Rik’s single-level layout.
Within hours, a 1996 Luau 35 sailing catamaran appeared in an online forum, and Rik and John went to inspect it in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Rik bought the derelict Luau 35 on the spot and quickly prepared it for transit to Scarano. After initial mechanical failures on Long Island Sound forced a tow into Westport, Connecticut, and unsuccessful repair attempts, Rik used Consensus and additional crew to tow the Luau through New York Harbor and up the Hudson to Albany.
Soon the Scarano team began converting the vessel. They removed the mast and shortened the trunk cabin while designer Keith Duffy and Rik refined the layout over nine intensive months. The plan retained much of the belowdecks structure—galley and cabins to port, the head to starboard—while building a completely new abovedecks superstructure: a wide forward deck with high bulwarks across the boat’s 19-foot beam, an open-plan salon with an L-shaped settee, a master stateroom on the main level, a spacious desk and storage to starboard, a wheelchair-accessible shower and a cockpit area equipped with a hydraulic wheelchair lift.
Converting a sailing cat into a wheelchair-accessible, electric-drive catamaran posed complex systems challenges. Rik selected Torqeedo twin 10-kW outboards and planned a conservative cruising speed—about 5 knots—for local rivers, Hudson River runs, and protected waterways such as the Erie Canal and Lake Champlain. To extend range and reduce shore-power dependence, Rik installed 36 Xantrax 110W thin-film solar panels on the cabin top and added a Fischer Panda diesel generator for longer trips. Scarano systems specialist Chris Kane and Tekris/Victron representative Chris Hanrahan helped phase-install the steering, propulsion, battery packs and shore power first, then commissioned additional systems as the build progressed.
Aesthetics were another concern: a 35-foot hull topped with a large single-level cabin could look boxy. Rik minimized that effect with varied window heights, modified bow stems, hull portholes, and a Garolite cove stripe sanded to resemble teak. Inside, simple staining and a water-based clearcoat improved the white interior’s warmth without excessive expense.
On April 26, 2021, the newly named Aberration was sea-trialed on the Hudson River. With seven people aboard she reached about 8.5 knots and handled well in 15–20 knot winds. Electrical glitches and supply-chain delays meant the boat wasn’t entirely finished, but Rik and Anne accepted delivery in May 2021 and spent that summer cruising locally with family and friends. After resolving electrical issues and keeping spare parts on hand, the 2022 season finally allowed extended cruising, including successful time on Lake Champlain.
Rik is grateful the design fulfilled its purpose: to give Anne a way back into the world. He praises the Scarano team for their expertise and oversight, noting that experienced designers and builders were essential to navigating the project’s many technical challenges. If he could revise small details, he would, but he says he would not change the overall design. For him, the conversion produced a large, comfortable liveaboard platform with the feel of a much larger yacht—one that restored shared experiences and brought new joy to Anne and their family.
On their final cruise of the 2022 season through the Erie Canal, after a lock transit, Rik and Anne sat together holding hands while watching the landscape glide by. Anne looked at Rik and said, “I married a good one.” Rik smiled and replied, “I married a good one too.”
LOA: 34’9”
Beam: 19’0”
Draft: 2’6”
Displacement: 14,000 lbs.
Power: (2) 10-kW Torqeedo Cruise electric outboards
This article was originally published in the February 2023 issue.