by B ARRY TYLER models to such a high level of specification Even walking down the pier the Leopard

and presentation that there is now little 47 Powercat was one of those boats that
difference in their range, between a stood out in a crowd. They have proved
charter example and a version for the beyond question the humble catamaran
private sector. As such, there emphasis has configuration can look stylish, that it
been re-directed to include the private doesn’t have to be all square corners and
uilt by world-renowned

B
sector also. “The major difference I high hull and topsides. Step aboard and
South African boat-building
suppose is the four-cabin versus three- you are left in no doubt that innovation
manufacturer Robertson and
cabin layout options,” LCA CEO David too is still very much alive and kicking in
Caine, the brand has found its
Flynn explained, “and a lack of teak on the the boatbuilding profession.
way here cour tesy of
cockpit and boarding platform levels. Yes, the Leopard brand has obviously
Australian importer, Brisbane-based
Leopard Catamarans Australia (LCA). “Otherwise, they are virtually the same. evolved over the years, especially
While many would venture to suggest the Highly sort after by the charter industry, considering they have had so many charter
timing of the introduction into our region over the years Robertson and Caine have operators to listen to and take notice of,
was tantamount to business suicide, evolved the Leopard brand to a point but the underlying realisation is they have
coinciding with one of the biggest down- where with a bit of cunning and innovation obviously listened, and acted, and the net
turns in the world economy since the they are now a very attractive proposition result is a vessel that is as close as you can
infamous 1987 share-market crash, LCA for the private sector also. Even in this get to being all things to all people.The fact
believe the timing in fact is perfect. particular charter guise the finish and level this vessel is a brand new model, ostensibly
of specification is right up there with the offering an alternative to the Leopard 460
As prolific manufacturers of both power
best our region has to offer. You sailing version, suggests they have been
and sailing versions predominantly to the
questioned the timing of the release of this listening and learning - and appreciating
worldwide charter industry, Robertson
brand into Australia and New Zealand and the fact (efficient) ‘power’ is fast becoming
and Caine have fine-tuned the various
this is precisely why we made the decision the preferred option for many cruising
at this time. Today people are very boaters.
conscious of cost, in particular running
costs, and with this brand we have an The Epitome of Lifestyle Living
almost sublime efficiency factor to Cruising boaters are a very different
The Leopard 47 Powercat capably addresses compliment the practicality, space and breed to your rank and file day-boater,
efficiency, practicality, performance and innovation this respected catamaran brand more par ticular, knowledgeable and
lifestyle expectations. (below and main pic) is renowned for,” Flynn enthused. therefore more discerning. These owners
know what they want in a boat and the
cockpit for starters was surely indicative of
the fact the builders have made every
endeavour to accommodate the ideology
that is long-range cruising. Boarding was
easy, it was low enough to the water to be
of practical use for the swimmers and
divers, and the steps led you easily up onto
the cockpit level.
Special effort for instance had been
made to separate the entertaining part of
the cockpit from the ‘working’ area aft of
the transom beam (upright), but what
impressed me most was the thought and
attention that had so obviously gone into
the actual moulding of the entire aft end.
The shapes, edges and features, even down
to the integral rear tender davits, were all
very easy on the eye. Wherever you
wanted to sit, be it gathering your
thoughts, having a cuddle with the bride,
doing a spot of fishing, boarding your

The cockpit takes outdoor living to a new

level. (right)
tender or indeed enjoying a wee dram assembly, beckoned you up onto a well
around the outdoor table and U-shaped encapsulated foredeck area. The very
dining setting as the sun sets – there was a stylish (futuristic) louvred front windscreen
seemingly appropriate place for every
panels made a great seating position when
situation. Idyllic I think they call it!
underway and while this was a charter The builder’s expertise was evident on the
And if you couldn’t find an appropriate flybridge level too - aesthetically very pleasing
‘mood’ location there the convenient steps version and therefore devoid of it in that to the eye. (above left)
and wide walkways, complete with inner instance, a padded sun-lounge would be The galley - indecently capable in either
grab rails and a substantial bow rail perfect for the sun-worshippers. cruising or charter mode. (above right)
 Most guests however would probably you would never want to leave! Should it however that this was not the case with
gravitate to the fly bridge level, taking the rain or blow hard, the open-hardtop the Leopard for with a bit of innovation,
entirely safe semi-spiral staircase up to setting can instantaneously be enveloped and indeed experience from the designers,
enjoy the sensation of the ride with the with a set of quick-fit clears around all four they have been able to include all the
skipper. A single helm station vessel in this sides. expected features – and still have sublime
instance, and again subtlely segregated uncluttered floor space left over.
from the guests but still par t of Spacious Saloon
The galley was to port as you entered
proceedings, the skipper and two others With so much space devoted to the through the sliding S/S doors, with a really
enjoy a commanding view of all corners of outdoor lifestyle aspect, I was more than a nice touch being the fold-down bench
the vessel. From an electronics perspective little surprised at how capacious the extension that was perfect when laying out
the helm was surprisingly well spec’d with saloon actually was. The most convenient the ‘nibbles’ for guests ‘reclining’ out in the
a Raymarine integrated sounder and GPS aspect of a catamaran configuration I guess cockpit. Another pleasant surprise was not
package complimenting the Seastar is the fact that to change from a three to only the size of the galley, but its
hydraulic steering and the Volvo four cabin layout impinges nought on the specification. Plenty of bench space, plenty
instrumentation and remote controls. saloon space above. Any changes are all of cupboards and drawers; and standard
Forward of the helm module was your below decks so to speak, with the net features such as microwave, house-size
guest area and again it was a tasteful result you would think, of a sizeable saloon oven and four-burner gas stove,
combo of innovation, curves and rounded area! dishwasher and twin sinks. Seemingly
corners that softened the often stark look Wrong, very wrong, for immediately a ambidextrous, it was perfect for a long-
of a gelcoat finish. I would best describe number of catamarans as well as monohull
this as a classy rather than outright marques spring to mind, that definitely do
opulently luxurious level, but none-the-less not take anywhere near full advantage of
once you got up here and laid back in the potentially ‘available’ space. Their
forward lounge or indeed grabbed a drink consideration of this single-most All the features are included but still there was
from the wet-bar module and ‘relaxed’ at important facet of the vessel (the saloon), space galore in the rather salubrious saloon.
the ambient upstairs dining setting – then is often abysmal. I am happy to say (below)
range cruising situation - or for a charter
situation with four couples aboard.
An obviously integral appointment
within the saloon was the generous-sized
genuine six-person (eight with a squeeze)
dining setting across the front bulkhead –
it set the mood so to speak. On the end of
this dining setting was a pseudo work-
station or chart table, complete with a
leather side seat. Still room left? You betcha
for to portside and just inside the saloon
doors was another impressive
cherrywood module that housed the
appropriately-sized refrigerator and
separate freezer and above it, a servery, a
cantilevering laser TV and behind the glass
doors, the AC/DC switch panel and
‘entertainment’ facia.

You aren’t going to run out of freezer or

refrigerator space here. (left)
 Compact where it needed to be,
expansive where it needed to be, but the
point was it was all neatly and effortlessly
dove-tailed into this most impressive
saloon that was while ambient, as more
impor tantly (very) well presented,
practical and user-friendly!
‘Equal Billing’ Below Decks
Below decks, as previously stated, the
layout options are either three or four
completely private (that’s impor tant)
cabins, each with its own attached ensuite
that included vanity, separate shower and
Jabsco electric macerator head. In the
instance of the three-cabin version, the
starboard side becomes the masters
quarters and the forward bedroom and
central ensuite is replaced by a study and
a larger bathroom forwrd of that again.
An observation from the outside
confirmed our impressions once below; all
four cabins in our test boat were light,
bright rooms courtesy of the generous
por tside windows and the overhead
Lewmar hatches. Décor was a tasteful
combination of cherrywood timber, vinyl
panels and some gelcoat, but the best
aspect for me was the fact both the for’ard
and aft cabins in this four-cabin version
were vir tually the same as regards
dimension, appointments, layout and
décor.
In other words, there is no real need to
sprint down the wharf to nab the best
cabin! Even the (queen-size) berths were
the same - apart from the fact there was a
little more room either side of the berths
in the aft cabins, for ease of ‘making’ the
beds. That was compensated however by
the fact the two forward cabins included a
single berth forward of the queen-size
berth – great for a family situation.
Also within the confines of the aft cabins were either the smaller 150hp Cummins Like the rest of the vessel Robertson
was direct access to the engines. Down in diesels which provided a top speed of 18 and Caine had done a very effective job of
the aft cabins while underway certainly knots at the maximum 2800rpm, or at the maximising space when housing the
YES, you could hear the engines ‘beating other end of the scale the 260hp Volvo
their drums’ but NO, it most definitely was tankage and all the mechanical peripherals
Pentas which provided a top speed of 22.5
not onerously noisy for the insulation did a knots at their maximum of 3500rpm. It – so the boat was well balanced fore and
very good job. Just on the engines, power really depends on what your usage and
for this particular ‘charter’ version was twin expectations are but sensibly LCA have
225hp Volvo D225 diesel engines through bisected the two with in this instance
Volvo gearboxes and conventional shaft power courtesy of 225hp Volvo examples
drive, to the 4-blade 21”D x 25”P nickel- which returned a top speed of 21 knots – The aft master cabin, well spec’d and well
bronze propellers. figures I suggest that graphically accentuate presented. (top)
The other engine options the efficiency of this 14,500kg GRP Direct access to the engines is via the lift-up
recommended for this particular vessel catamaran. bed-base in the aft cabin. (above)
 Design Name: Leopard 47 Powercat
Year Launched: 2008
Designer: Morrelli and Melvin
Interior Designer:Morrelli and Melvin
Builder: Robertson and Caine
LOA: 14.42 metres
Beam: 7.57 metres
LWL: 14.38metres
Draft: 0.985metres
Displacement: 14500 kg
Max Speed: 21 knots
Cruise Speed: 12-15 knots
Construction: Composite GRP
sandwich, stitched E glass
Generator: Northern Lights 9KVA
Inverter/Charger: Mastervolt 240V
240-volt Inverter. Battery charger 40
amp Victron Centaur 12 volt/40 amp

Air Conditioning: CruiseAir 40000

BTU
Anchor Winch: Lofrans 1200 watt
windlass
Anchors: 25kg Delta, 16kg Brittany
Steering: Seastar Hydraulic
Engine Controls: Morse Electronic
double lever
Lighting: 12V Cantalupi.
Paint (Topsides): Isopthalic gelcoat
Paint (Antifouling): International
The three-cabin ‘private’ version sees the Bisecting these two deck lockers was a Hatches: Lewmar
master cabin looking out onto a study and cover that when lifted revealed the Heads: 4 x electric Jabsco
bathroom forward of that again. (top) Lofrans 1200 windlass and guide channel
Veneer/Plywood: Cherrywood
Robertson and Caine have done magnificent to the Delta and Brittany anchors secreted
job of presentation, the angles and shapes under the bow beam – I mean to say, you Davit Crane: Robertson & Caine
were very easy on the eye. (top) Custom Fibre Glass
certainly would not want a messy old
anchor chain running right through the Stainless Steel Doors: Robertson &
middle of your sun-bathing area, would Caine
you?! Helm Chair: Robertson and Caine
aft. Aft of the engines and accessed Batteries:3 AGM house batteries (210
Conclusion amp hours each), 2 deep cycle
through the rear cockpit hatches were the
Forget about the fact this vessel was engine batteries
two 600-litre fuel tanks, the 40,000btu of
destined for the charter industry, the
CruisAir air-conditioning, the fire
Leopard 47 Powercat was quite simply the ELECTRONICS
extinguisher system, the three 210Ah
consummate cruiser. With may I add
AGM deep cycle house and two engine Autopilot: ST6002+ Autopilot control
styling, specification, efficiency, and – class! It unit
batteries, and the Master Volt battery
was certainly a breath of spring air to go
chargers, inverters and shore power. GPS: Raychart A65 chart-plotter
aboard a boat that while practical, still had
Forward of the engines and virtually complete with RS12 GPS, Ray55 VHF
the styling of a European Sports Cruiser. It
amidships were the two 500-litre water Depth Sounder:ST 60 Tri data Ray 55
looked the part and it certainly embraced
tanks and then up in the well sealed the typical ideology of lifestyle boating. Entertainment Systems: Sony Am/FM
cavernous bow lockers on the foredeck Consider the price of AUD$1,200,000, Radio & CD Player CDXHS radio-CD
we discovered in the portside locker a player
and what you get for that money?!
Northern Lights 9kVA Generator. The Engine Instruments: Volvo Penta
starboard-side locker was empty in this Contact address: Switch Panel: Robertson & Caine
charter instance but of course it would Leopard Catamarans
Price As Tested: 4 cabin version in
lend itself nicely to the private sector as a Ph: +61 1300 661 321 QLD commercial survey -
convenient ‘home’ for a desalinator or a Email: [email protected] AUD$1,200,000
dive compressor. Website: www.leopardcatarmarans.com.au