PERFORMANCE & RUNNING COSTS
By adopting IPS, Fountaine-pajot has gone a long way to ensuring the MY40 is easy to handle
Nervousness around the handling of power catmarans has historically been a major factor in buyers’ scepticism. By adopting IPS, Fountaine-pajot has gone a long way to removing any trepidation and ensuring the MY40 is an easy boat to handle at slow speeds. Those who know traditional catamarans will appreciate that they are very easy to spin on their axis because of the distance between the propellers, but moving them sideways is another matter altogether. The joystick removes all of this pain, and a dab of its stubby handle has the boat gliding away from the dock with the elegance of a prima ballerina. There are two engine options to choose from, IPS400 with 300hp or IPS500 with 380hp (the boat we tested had the older generation of IPS500 installed, with 370hp per side). The larger motors are €26,000 more but it’s worth the outlay to maximise the flexibility of the boat’s cruising band.
The cat is almost double the weight of the Beneteau and that shows in the fuel consumption data, as does the IPS’S relative inefficiency at displacement speeds. On a calm day with no time pressure you may want to take it easy at a 6-knot chug, and here the Swift Trawler’s range dwarfs that of the Fountaine-pajot. The cat has a marginally larger fuel capacity than the trawler but those 4-cylinder D4s consume just 6.6lph combined at 6 knots; the MY40 uses almost triple that amount at the same speed. Both boats top out at just over 22 knots so their fast cruising speeds are similar but again it is the ST41
that boasts the greater range. The Fountaine-pajot is the more enjoyable boat to drive, however. Though Interceptors are an option it has a sweet natural running angle and needs very little intervention from the helmsman to slip along happily at a decent lick. The 6-cylinder D6 blocks are more robust in the mid-range than the D4s so the boat never feels sluggish and is surprisingly agile off the mark. As with all IPS drivetrains the fly-by-wire steering is beautifully light but doesn’t require corrections to the wheel at cruising speed. In contrast, the trawler with its cumbersome ship’s wheel and stiffer steering feels lumpen. It is agricultural and uncomplicated, but there is an air of capability about the way the ST41 takes to the water that reassures you it will get the job done no matter what the elements throw at it.
The ride quality on both boats takes some getting used to but they iron out lumps without slamming or crashing. The Beneteau suffers from that semi-displacement wallow where the keel can get caught in a trough and force some quite insistent counter measures from the helm. Its hull is undoubtedly solid but the Beneteau’s creaking interior lets the side down and acts as an unwanted reminder that it is the cheaper of the two boats. The Fountaine-pajot slices through a slight chop like a cleaver but can become quite jolting when the wavelength stretches out. With its engines marooned within individual machinery spaces beneath the aft deck, it is the quieter of the two boats but the trawler fares pretty well considering its engines are mounted far closer to the boat’s occupants beneath the saloon floor. Despite this, access to the engines and their ancillaries is good but with so much space around each engine and great access to the pod drives the MY40 is the one that will keep marine engineers most happy – partly because of the space they have to work in but mostly because they can charge you more for a service; £1,999 inc VAT for an engine and drive service compared to £1,230 for a service of the D4s in the Beneteau.