Aspen C120

hris Wyman’s 40-foot Aspen C120 power cat gets 1.5 nmpg at 17 knots. Wyman, a former trawler owner who lives in Seattle, says the speed and efficiency puts destinations as far south as Olympia, Washington, or as far north as the San Juan Islands within easy reach for three-day weekends. “I’m used to getting good mileage but at much slower speeds [with the trawler],” he says.

Wyman was one of the first buyers of the C120, a three-stateroom, two-head model from Aspen Power Catamarans. It’s the sixth boat in company owner Larry Graf’s fleet, which ranges from 28 to 50 feet. ( Graf was also the founder of powerboat builder Glacier Bay Catamarans.) Aspens are built on Graf’s patented asymmetrical proa hulls. The port hull is 35 percent narrower than the starboard hull, so the 40-footer can run on a single starboardmounted diesel, burning just 11 gph at 17 knots, Graf says. “My owners want a boat that doesn’t hammer the environment,” he says.

The C120 runs efficiently and delivers a smooth ride, he says. “It’s a very stable platform that owners feel safe in,” he says.

“It punches through the waves and has good lateral stability, so there’s no rolling,” Wyman says. “The stability — both anti-pitching and anti-rolling — was an unexpected bonus.”

So was the C120’s living space. “With three staterooms, two heads, and a big flybridge and cockpit, it’s comparable to a 50- to 55-foot monohull,” Wyman says.

The saloon, which is in the deckhouse, is 10 feet, 6 inches wide by 24 feet long. “We made sure there was excellent visibility outside from every seat in the house,” Graf says.

Six people can sit at the starboard dinette. Across from the dinette is the galley, which takes up most of the deckhouse’s port side. The flybridge seating includes a wraparound starboard-side seat and an aftfacing lounge. The bridge extends aft to cover two-thirds of the cockpit.

The layout below connects the master stateroom to the port and starboard heads, each with a separate shower. “It was an owner’s idea,” Graf says. “When a cruising couple is alone, they each have their own head and shower — how nice is that on a 40-foot boat?”

Aspen builds its boats with attention to detail, from the plumbing to the glass work to the wiring, Graf says. “One owner said the wiring behind the dash was like a piece of art,” he says. “My electricians are anal-retentive guys, and I encourage them to work for perfection.”