Prestige reckons its first ever powercat has all the benefits of a multihull with none of the drawbacks. Does this clever new design deliver on that promise?
Prestige has become justly renowned over the years for its cleverly arranged owners’ cabins, for its ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ approach to powertrains and for its ability to create motor yachts that feel as much like floating homes as boats. What it hasn’t been known for up to this point is catamarans – and yet in spite of the fact that Prestige is part of the vast Beneteau Group, which also owns Lagoon, the new M48 has been designed not as an adaptation of a sailing yacht but as a powercat from the ground up.
That certainly means it can afford to be narrower and loftier than most comparable cats, but as Prestige is at pains to stress, this is not so much a cat as a novice-friendly cruiser with acres of deck space, plenty of stability and wallet-friendly running efficiency. In fact, to help us really grasp the idea, brand director Erwin Bamps explains, through a broad grin, that the M48 has been created to deliver the space of a Prestige 590, the price of a 520 and the running efficiency of a 40-footer. Time to get on board and see how all that theoretical promise translates…
WALKING THE DECKS
The aft end of the M48 is certainly a bit of a triumph. You can elevate the central section of the bathing platform to sit flush with the cockpit, extending the deck space by means of a removable seat in the centre of the aft bench. And even rigged like this, there is still a pair of good-sized swim platforms at water level on both sides, so the watersports fun can continue unabated. The lifting aft platform also enables you to deploy a 3.2m tender or to elevate it for safekeeping during a lively passage. And there’s a huge central lazarette with handy internal canvas dividers and easy access from the cockpit when the aft platform is in use.
Down inside the hulls themselves, you will find a pair of Volvo Penta D4-320s hooked up to V-Drives. They are concealed beneath a false floor, which enables you to make best use of the hulls’ internal volume for the stowage of additional cruising gear. But we would prefer to see these deck sections lifted out – partly to improve ease of access for servicing and partly to ensure that, if something goes wrong during a cruise, you’re not having to fight your way down to reach the problematic engine.
Back up in the cockpit, there are plenty of other interesting design choices. The use of freestanding furniture, for instance, reduces weight and complication, while increasing flexibility of deck layout but it also limits the
