Prestige’s pioneering M48 powercat

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Prestige staged the world premiere of its long-awaited M48 powercat at this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival before showing the twin-hulled motor yacht at the Genoa International Boat Show. Designed by long-time Prestige designer Garroni Design of Italy with French naval architect Philippe Briand, the 14.8m yacht has a beam of just 6m, so is thinner but taller than most powercats of this length.

The model has several innovative social areas, starting aft. The central swim platform can carry a tender and lower to become flush with the twin transoms, forming a 6m-wide terrace and allowing access to a toy storage locker.

The platform can also be raised to form an extended lounging area just one step down from the aft cockpit and accessed by a central walkway that separates the L-shaped sofas and two tables, which are from the outdoor collection by RODA, like all the exterior furnishings. When needed, the tables can fold out and connect to provide dining for up to eight guests.

Port stairs lead to a flybridge where the starboard side has a teak table and a C-shaped sofa adjoining a modular sunpad aft and a forward-facing sofa. To port is a wet bar with grill and a bench seat helm station. There’s a large windshield, while the hard top is optional.

The foredeck has an integrated triple sunpad, but the major innovation is an aft-facing C-shaped sofa in the bow. There’s also access to the anchor windlass and storage lockers, while a skipper cabin is in the port forepeak, with a head to starboard.

The saloon starts with a C-shaped galley to starboard, where the aft window can be opened flush with the roof. The lounge to port features a C-shaped sofa, dining table and the option of loose chairs, while to starboard are three steps to a small door to the side deck.

The hull on show in Cannes featured the forward option of a full-beam master suite with a width of 5m, with Garroni describing the 18sqm cabin as “an owner’s suite worthy of that found on a 70 footer”. The cabin has an aft-facing king-size bed, a bathroom with shower to port and a separate toilet with sink to starboard. The optional layout features two en-suite cabins in this area.

Both en-suite guest cabins midships have private access and feature window-facing queen beds that can be split into singles. In contrast to most catamarans, the M48 features a full-beam lower deck, with both midships cabins only separated by a bulwark.

The M48 is fitted with twin Volvo Penta D4-320 V-drive engines. A world leader in 40-70ft monohull motor yachts, Prestige is next set to expand the M-Line with the M68.