Mega-Multihull concept

If this BlackCat crosses your path, give way.

BlackCat chief designer His inspired conceptual work, space planning, exterior styling and construction have earned more than 30 international awards. An Olympic medalist with 40 years of catamaran racing under his belt, he now aims to build record-breaking, high-performance cruising supercats.

With crosshairs trained on raising the bar for supersize, stable, luxury cruising multihulls, Australian yachtsman Mitch Booth, founder of the BlackCat brand, has teamed with superyacht designer Malcolm McKeon. Their high-performance concept, at 164 feet (50 meters) length overall, would best 145-foot (44-meter) Pendennis Hemisphere, which is the world’s largest luxury catamaran, power or sail.

The BlackCat 50- meter, while not the first supersize multihull concept to emerge ( for instance, Sunreef has a 210- foot trimaran design), would add the element of McKeon’s superyacht sensibilities. He previously was the lead designer at Dubois Naval Architects, and he has worked with pedigreed Dutch power and sail builders including Feadship and Vitters.

“It’s a logical progression for superyacht designs to move toward catamarans,” Booth said. “There are so many advantages to large multihull cruising as compared to monohulls, such as speed, space, low heel, comfort—the list goes on and on.”

According to Booth, the BlackCat would become the largest single-structure carbon-fiber yacht, a massive entertainment platform with a stable main deck as well as minimal roll and pitch at anchor. Extensive use of glass in the superstructure would provide a light, airy feel to the interior, which would include a whopping 3,660 square feet (340 square meters) of accommodations space.

The BlackCat 50-meter would be capable of 30 knots. Her lightweight, low-drag design and ease of sailing should spell lower fuel and crew costs for the owner, while her shallow draft would provide a bounty of options for cruising destinations.

“I’ve noticed a heightened interest in catamaran discussions recently, perhaps due to the increased awareness of the America’s Cup racing yachts,” McKeon said. “There’s been a [need] in the market for some time for a large catamaran design that can offer the luxury and quality of a superyacht this size, and also provide this level of stability and high performance.”