NEW BOATS
LOA 36ft 5in (11.10m) BEAM 15ft 3in (4.64m) ENGINES 2 x Yanmar 320-370hp diesels TOP SPEED 38-44 knots PRICE from €499,000 CONTACT www.makaiyachts.com
While power cats are hardly famed for their sex appeal, Makai is committed to making W them genuinely desirable. Developed in collaboration with Italian sports car designer, Emanuele Rossi, and built at Makai’s production facility in Split, Croatia, the firm’s new Makai M37 is being marketed as a high-end sportscruiser which draws direct inspiration from both classic and modern supercars.
Rossi refers to the “harmony between elegance and masculinity”; to the importance of finding a way to “portray grittiness as well as elegance”. And florid though that might sound, you can see what he’s getting at. With its plunging aft gunwale line, elevated bow and one-piece wraparound screen, it has the look of a muscular modern take on a classical limousine. And in line with company policy, the performance appears to live up to its looks.
As you would expect of a fast, sporting power cat, the hulls are designed to funnel the air into a channel that narrows as it moves aft, increasing pressure, creating lift and helping cushion the ride through the chop. The bridge deck also looks reasonably elevated to help minimise wave slap, improve comfort and retain running efficiency. In terms of power, twin Yanmar 8LV-320s or 370s, hooked up to Q-SPD surface drives, should deliver 38 knots in GT guise and 44 knots i
