Stepping into the main salon of the new Aquila 42 Yacht at the Palm Beach International Boat Show, the first impression was unmistakable: space. The interior felt more like a waterfront condo than a typical 42-foot boat. The living, dining and galley areas provide far more volume than a comparable monohull, and that generous interior is a key reason power catamarans such as the Aquila 42 have steadily gained market share.
MarineMax sales data underscore that trend. In the 12 months ending February 28, 2023, Aquila Power Catamarans ranked third in new registrations across all inboard cruisers and yachts and led the 44- to 45-foot segment. “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, residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast, placed an order for Aquila 42 Yacht Hull #3 through their local MarineMax dealer. Shani is especially pleased their boat will include a davit and tender. “We want to spend more time at anchor. With the dinghy, you can zoom around and explore,” she said.
The Davises have owned several monohulls—past boats included a 32-foot walkaround and their current 30-foot express cruiser—but never found the space they wanted. “Even on the 30-footer, it gets a little tight,” Bob said. Their thinking shifted toward catamarans after a 2017 MarineMax Vacations charter in the British Virgin Islands aboard a 48-foot Aquila 484. “There were four couples on a 48-foot boat and we weren’t running into each other. The volume is what I was looking for,” he recalled. When MarineMax introduced the Aquila 42 Yacht in 2021, the Davises knew it matched their needs: roomy, social, and family-friendly.
Aquila offers multiple layouts for the 42, from two to four staterooms. The Davises chose the two-cabin plus utility-cabin configuration—the same arrangement seen on Hull #1 showcased at the Palm Beach show. The utility cabin, a catamaran-exclusive “bonus room,” sits on the main deck forward of the salon and provides a single berth with a sliding privacy door, making it a practical third sleeping space. On Hull #1, that cabin also included an optional washer/dryer and wine cooler, along with standard storage.
Alain Raas, MarineMax brand manager for Aquila Power Catamarans, noted the utility cabin can double as a captain’s stateroom for skippered charter use. “There is a large hatch that lets the captain enter and exit without disturbing guests in the salon,” he said. That hatch opens toward the bow and the companionway to the flybridge.
In the two-cabin layout, the owner’s suite and head are located in the port hull and accessed by a private companionway from the salon. Despite the slender hulls, the length and volume create a comfortable owner’s stateroom featuring an island queen berth and a sizable vanity that can serve as a desk. The en-suite head includes a roomy shower with a teak seat. The VIP cabin in the starboard hull is slightly smaller but still offers a queen berth and generous volume; its head also serves as the guest/day head.
Optional layouts include a three-cabin version that converts the utility room into a full stateroom with an athwartships queen and a third head a few steps down in the starboard hull. On the boat we toured, that space was configured as a large storage locker—ideal for long-range cruising gear or an extra freezer. The four-cabin option divides the port hull into two staterooms and moves the master cabin to the starboard hull for different owner preferences.
With four children and two grandchildren, the Davises considered more cabins but prefer cruising with one other couple and occasionally a grandchild in the utility room. “We want to spend a month and a half on the boat,” Bob said, naming the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and the U.S. East Coast as likely destinations.
For day trips close to home, the Aquila 42 easily handles larger groups thanks to multiple distinct social spaces. “You have all these independent social zones and breakaway areas depending on the number of people on board,” Raas said. “There’s a place for everyone.”
The aft deck includes a large al fresco dining table and a smart two-stool bar mounted in the window adjacent to the rear sliding door; the hinged bar top folds down to allow closing the window in bad weather. The bow offers two sunlounges with pop-up backrests for relaxation. But the flybridge—sheltered by a substantial hardtop—is likely the most popular entertaining area. Behind the helm sits a built-in wet bar with a barbecue grill, serving the generous wraparound lounge aft where five or six guests can dine easily. Aquila uses two cocktail tables rather than a single long table so people can move freely while socializing.
The interior salon and galley form another inviting gathering space. Hull #1 showed an optional long galley counter to port for extensive meal prep, while the Davises selected the standard U-shaped galley on their boat to free space for an extra built-in seat opposite the raised dinette. They retained the wraparound dinette seating but removed the table—“We didn’t want the dog to hit his head on it,” Bob explained—demonstrating Aquila’s flexible customization.
Although the Davises skipped the optional lower helm station, the salon bulkhead includes a control panel with a VHF radio, Fusion stereo controls and a Victron display to monitor onboard energy use without going to the flybridge.
Finishes on the Aquila 42 are fresh and contemporary, designed for easy maintenance. The floor looks like wood but is mop-friendly Amtico, and wide walkarounds and well-placed stainless grabrails make moving around in rough seas safer. Access to mechanical systems is straightforward, a feature Bob appreciates: “I feel like [Aquilas] are very serviceable from a mechanical point of view. It’s easy to get to everything.”
Naval architecture firm VPLP shaped the Aquila 42’s twin hulls; the yacht is powered by twin Volvo Penta D4 300 diesels with a top speed just under 22 knots. An optional foil package is offered to lift the hulls partially out of the water at speed—Aquila has yet to build the foiling variant, but MarineMax predicts about a 15% performance improvement if foils are fitted.
The Davises ordered the standard hull and expect delivery this summer. Finding a marina berth wide enough for a power cat was a priority; after several months of searching, they found a slip 15 minutes from home. “We lucked into a side-to slip on an outside dock,” Bob said. Slip availability remains a concern for some power cat owners, but Raas noted the industry is adapting: “Marinas have to adapt at this point.” In some locations owners may pay a modest premium when marinas modify double monohull slips into single catamaran berths, but Bob believes the extra cost is worthwhile given the substantial increase in living space. “The volume of space we are getting far exceeds a couple of bucks extra a night,” he said. —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.