Any experienced seadog with the briny in their blood will love Queensland’s Powercat boats. The new Powercat 3100 Platinum Series Sedan Cruiser is an oceanic siren with fire in her belly and a flame in her heart, all wrapped up with the seduction of an Athenic temptress and the aesthetic lure of Medusa. You will either fall for this Cruiser’s many charms, or alternatively sell your soul for the red-blooded Powercat Sports Fisher models.

Powercat Marine

Queensland’s multi-award-winning Powercat Marine Australia is probably the country's most successful fibreglass twin hull manufacturer. The company has been owned and operated by industry icons Steve and Lynda Shaw since its inception. Steve brings well over 30 years of construction experience to a progressive brand that hits the mark both in Australia and overseas. The couple is slowly handing the reins over to Production Manager Grant Oliver, who brings young enthusiasm to their state-of-the-art designs and production.

Being an ex-28’ Shark Cat owner, I was very keen to test the new Powercat 3100 Sedan Cruiser as a comparison. When I discovered it was fitted with a pair of the gutsy 300HP Suzuki outboards, I found it hard to contain my enthusiasm. I wasn’t disappointed – more like gob-smacked!

Legendary 3100 Sports Cruiser

The Powercat ride is legendary, and its stability is exceptional. Blend that with premium manufacturing, sleek yet purposeful design, comfortable layout and accommodation, plus beautiful finishes with magnificent trim, and you certainly have a winner. 

Our chosen boat test morning dawned nothing short of ugly. It was one of those days when you just wanted to roll over and ignore the world outside. (Lucky they had recently done another photo shoot!) An early morning logistics phone call with Steve said, “Perfect Powercat weather, I’ll meet you at Bribie!” An hour later, we launched into a 25 – 30 knot sou-easterly running straight up the south end of Pumicestone Passage, taking the brunt of the famous Moreton Bay slop head on. ‘Perfect testing conditions”, I chuckled as Thor’s hammer struck and crackling fork lightning pitched in our path. I looked hesitatingly at Steve, and he replied with a wide grin as he planted the chariot's throttle into the fray like some ancient God of War.

Powercat Marine says, “The smoothness and dryness of their ride, particularly in rough seas, has to be experienced to be believed...”, and they’re dead right. It wasn’t a big rolling swell, but instead that famous steep, sharp chop that splits your spine in lesser boats. The 3100 blazed a gladiator’s demeanour with an impressive performance that tamed the fray with barely a jolt. The big tunnel hull gave that famous air-cushioned ride. It was not quite a magic carpet, but it was undoubtedly impressive. As I turned, I could have sworn that Hercules was feeding Aphrodite grapes seductively in the sumptuous rear lounge. (but there goes my imagination again!)

Twin Suzuki 300's

In reality, most 3100s are rated to a maximum of twin 200HP outboards, not the explosive twin 300s fitted to this flying machine. Yes, by usual standards, it could be considered overpowered, but by God, it was fun, and the hull handled it perfectly. After inspecting the manufacturing process, I have no hesitation with the construction capabilities either.

We found a little bit of less exposed water for some speed tests, and experienced some impressive economy as we rocketed through the rev range up to a speedy 50 knots! Perhaps even more startling was that we only used a total fuel consumption of 1.6 litres per kilometre in a boat package weighing a trifle under 3000 kg dry.

Sensibility eventually overcame our enthusiasm as we rolled through the performance testing. We found a fast, family cruising speed of 26.5 knots at 3100 RPM, where we used as little as 1.1 litres per km or a thrifty 52 litres per hour. The economy got even better at 30 knots and 3500RPM, where we found a dazzling 1 litre per kilometre. The combination of seamanship, payload capacity, volume and hull efficiency makes this one hell of a coastal cruiser, offshore warrior or comfortable commuter.

Creature Comforts

If you have a safe, accommodating, and splendid cruiser in your sights, then take aim at the Powercat 3100 Sports Sedan. It combines its impressive athletic abilities with the ultimate in stability, gorgeous looks, and premium finishes. The layout, comforts, and amenities are attractive for an overnighter or weekender, or perhaps an extended cruise through the Whitsundays, maybe even the rugged Bass Strait Islands.

The layout is terrific. It has a luxuriously upholstered L-shaped lounge on either side of the large rear walk-through transom and drop-down ladder that’s ideal for some play time in and out of the water. There’s a drop-in table for an entertaining outdoor meal or afternoon drinks catered by a very neat kitchenette on the port side, complete with a stainless steel sink, Ecoheat slimline convection cooktop, a small pantry and Isotherm bar fridge freezer.  The starboard side has a matching cabinet with an Isotherm Fridgemate chest fridge and more storage. It is all neat and simple, but very practical. There’s also a side cockpit door to simplify dockside loading, plus a practical and hard-wearing Rhino-coat flooring.

The helm is comfortable, well-appointed and has plenty of visibility through 360 degrees. It displays a terrific combination of twin binnacle controls with the key starts, anchor winch circuit breaker, and power isolation switches all neatly accessible around the control mouldings. The dash moulding itself is quite high, but it holds plenty of instruments, including the twin Suzuki LCDs, twin Raymarine 9" Axiom multi-function screens with built-in DownVision Sonar and Wi-Fi, Raymarine System Remote Control Keypads, plus Raymarine Evolution Auto Pilot & Power Assist. There is a full band of switches plus a very sporty steering wheel with leatherette and graphite trim, plus the controls for the Maxwell anchor winch.

 The driver and passenger are treated to thickly upholstered bolster seats, although you will be tempted to naturally stand at speed. The helm unit also creates an enclosed head/bathroom module with a small vanity and a pull-out shower. It’s not huge, but certainly in easy proportion for us larger specimens. There’s even a microwave neatly moulded into the forward bulkhead, powered by a 1800-watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter and shore power.

The hard top isn’t just aesthetically beautiful; it is exceptionally practical, no matter the season. It provides tremendous visibility through 360 degrees and terrific protection from sun, wind, cold and swell. The vision is aided by three strong windscreen wipers with washers, each fed by the 120 litre water tank that services the entire package. The hardtop is beautifully trimmed and has good ventilation, including sunroof, big sliding side windows and an inventive scoop that feeds fresh, clean air into the hardtop, thus eliminating any of the traditional suck back of spray from the engines as defines many opposition cats.

Comfortable cabins in trailerable catamarans have always been a bit of a challenge, but the 3100 Sports Sedan has met the task. You step down easily into the port side pontoon through a two-piece hatch to find a large double bed on the starboard side, plus plenty of storage in a fully lined and inviting bedroom that is bathed in natural light and ventilation from the forward hatch. There’s even a 22" LCD Marine TV and DVD combo.

The Wrap

I can describe the complete list of fittings and features until I’m blue in the face, but the overall feel of this superb package sets it apart. It not only delivers ultimate seamanship and premium construction for the old salts and coastal travellers, but it also has a very inviting and practical layout with premium trim, plus the stability, volume, amenities, and comfort for harbour-side cruising. Add in the optional sunpads for the front deck, and you have treats for the whole family and their friends. And then there's the power - Oh yeah!!!!

Powercats are designed and built by experienced Australian "Boaties" who take pride in providing personalised and friendly service. They believe in listening to customers' wants and identifying their needs to produce an all-inclusive package. Would I own a Powercat 3100 Sports Sedan? Yep, in a heartbeat!

Specifications - Powercat 3100 Review

Length Overall: 9.3M

Beam: 2.82M

Weight BMT: (2 x 300 HP Motors) 3980 kg

Fuel Capacity: 2 x 240 litre

Water Capacity: 120 litre

Power: 2 x Suzuki DF300AP V6 4-stroke outboards

 

Supplied By: Powercat Marine Australia,  Caboolture, Queensland 4510

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