A
42' motorsailer daycharter catamaran in developed
plywood. 49-passenger "AKIALOA." Photo courtesy Keith Karasic (808-742-6541)
This
42' motorsailor daycharter catamaran was always one
of my favorites. The flat run of the hulls and
the big engines and sails give it remarkable speed
no matter what the wind is like. Akialoa was
the first catamaran certified for exposed waters by
the USCG. This cat was certified with a tradewinds
sailplan. Many areas could use a larger sailplan.
This cat has a pair of 110 hp inboard diesels.
On
her delivery to Hawaii from the west coast of the
US, Akialoa made a 9 day passage. The
skipper said "It was bad out there. We
were leaping fully off of waves at 25 knots.
This is the only boat that I have been on that can
be steered by autohelm at over 20 knots. It
really felt right."
Akialoa
also survived hurricane Iniki. She parted
a 72,000 pound strength anchorline and flew over
a hundred yards, landing upside down. She
was repaired, painted and sailing again.
