Of all the boats I stepped aboard at the 2025 Cannes Yachting Festival, few left me as impressed as Aquila’s new 46. The three-cabin foiling catamaran I picked apart with my colleague Dan Harding is the builder’s successor to its highly successful 44—a model that has seen over 200 hulls sold over its ten year lifespan. With a litany of options and features—a couple of which even Dan had never seen—this spacious, efficient and even reconfigurable cat should hold plenty of appeal to liveaboards and charter operators alike.
Taken from the dock, the 46 is at once tall and stocky (her beam is nearly half her length) yet somehow sleek. Dan and I chatted about her dockside with Aquila’s Global Brand Director Alain Raas. The son of South African powercat pioneer and Aquila Co-Founder Lex Raas, Alain grew up immersed in multihull evolution. First off, he pointed out that though increasingly common, fixed foil catamarans are not new—especially to Aquila. “We’ve been doing this for over a decade now,” he said. “We started with the 36 coupe.”
The 46’s “Hydro Glide” foil is mounted roughly amidships and is supported in the middle by a foiled spar. The foil bows slightly upwards, spanning the boat’s 23-foot beam and presents no addition to an impressive 4-foot 1-inch draft. The 46 is available with three shaft-driven twin engine options: 320-horsepower Volvo Penta D4’s, 480-horsepower D6’s or 550 horsepower Yanmars—but the foil is only available with the D6’s or Yanmars. Raas says that the difference between foiled and un-foiled boats is readily noticeable—not only in terms of the ride, but efficiency. “It gets on a plane much more quickly,” Raas said. “Our efficiency goals with the yacht line were 15 percent (over a non-foil boat), but we’re seeing as high as 20.”
Tested on freshwater, and thus riding a bit lower than in saltwater, the D6’s pushed the 50,000 pound foiled yacht to around 25 knots wide-open with a cruise of 18- to 20-knots. Without foils, she reached 20 to 21 knots with a 16- to18-knot cruise. With the foil, she also runs on plane with around 30 to 40 percent less wetted surface area, substantially reducing drag. “So you’re also getting that load on the engines down and still maintaining that relevant cruise speed,” Raas said, adding that the sea handling abilities of the foil cat also simply made the ride more comfortable—particularly in shorter period waves.
Assisting in seakindliness will be the 46’s railings and grab points—which are everywhere—and her 12 feet of freeboard. That’s about four feet higher than on the 44 she replaces in Aquila’s Explorer series, and she joins the newly launched 50 with this added height. This allows more space between the water and the tunnel between the sponsons for less hull slap in rough seas—and a high, flat floor that joins cockpit, salon and master suite. That freeboard also allows huge side windows and an expansive forward cabin—but more on that in a minute.
Stepping aboard, you first notice the full-beam beach platform. There’s no hydraulic swim platform, but a sturdy stern ladder/passerelle combination should suffice for most. Just overhead, a nearly hidden crane in the flybridge floor hoists the tender onto that platform.
Dual side stairs lead to a cockpit served by massive hatches for the dual engine rooms. There’s plenty of room for servicing the engines, tanks, filters, climate control and genset, with gobs of recessed compartment storage for fluids and tools. Wiring is top-notch with everything well-labeled.
The 46’s salon is vast and airy, boasting indoor dining for probably eight via a U-shaped starboard lounge. A nook to port was full of cabinets for storage but can also be configured as a salon helm—something I’d opt for. Though the flybridge helm can be enclosed with acrylic inserts, it’s still not where you’d want to be in challenging weather. Forward sightlines from the lower helm would not be as good as the flybridge—owing to the high-ceilinged forward master suite—but at least you could pilot dry and climate controlled.
This 46 was a three-cabin version. Guest suites amidships in each sponson are reached via forward stairs and are essentially identical—big and comfy, with copious storage, and walk around queen beds that look out through movie-screen rectangular windows. The en suite heads offer two-person rain showers, handsome single basin sinks and windows.
Forward of the salon, a forward passageway leads to the elegant full-beam master. A king size bed anchors the center space. Stepping down to port, you enter a Ritz Carlton level bathroom setup. The head lies all the way forward, dual basin sinks anchor the middle and the shower sits aft. To starboard of the suite, there’s another recessed, but open space. In this case it doubles as a dressing area, powder room, or an office—though you’ll be so distracted gazing seaward, that you might not get anything done. And here’s where we found one of the 46’s unique parlor tricks. Opting for the four-cabin layout, you keep most of this master suite, but this lower starboard area is separated by a bulkhead that creates a fourth cabin. An entry door is added off the salon, and an en suite head—which then conveniently also becomes a day head. Buying this boat to put into charter? Get the four cabin configuration. Then when you’re ready for your own passagemaking, Aquila will sell a module that will re-open the master suite and turn the whole thing back into a single cabin. For full charter service, you can opt for a five cabin configuration. The center master becomes crew quarters with two cabins in each sponson.
Another impressive 46 parlor trick was the flybridge setup. Accessed from the cockpit stairs, it’s as beautiful as you’d expect—fully outfitted with fore to aft bar and galley, sunpad and a brilliant amidships three seat helm with Raymarine systems and fully supportive bolstered seats. But what sets it apart are the three forward stairs that lead to the forward lounge. It’s a seriously practical touch that would make docking and anchoring far easier—and safer—for a passagemaking couple. There’s just tons of entertaining space up front too. A rear-facing sofa perched above the sea could seat probably eight. The princess seats off the bow sponsons put you right out over the water, doubling as watch posts for dropping the anchor. The sunpad offers multiple configurations for upright seating, lounging or a long nap. It’s about as versatile as a forward space can get.
If you’ve been thinking about a mid-sized power cat, check out the 46 before you pull the trigger. Efficient and capable, she has plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
Specifications:
LOA: 47’2”
Beam: 23’3”
Draft: 4’1”
Displ.: 45,720 lb.
Fuel: 476 gal.
Water: 211 gal.
Power: 2/320, 480 or 550-hp Volvo Penta D4/D6 or Yanmar
This article originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
