Moorings Power Cat 393 PC

I swear, we have never faked it…until now.

When you read one of our Canadian Yachting Powerboat Reviews, we have actually travelled to the boat along with our test equipment, our camera and whatever other paraphernalia we need on board to drive the boat under real-world circumstances. But, not this time.

We wish we could though!

The three-cabin, two-head 393 PC is available as a charter yacht from The Moorings. You don’t have to buy one; you could enjoy this boat for a fraction of what it would cost. Just contact The Moorings and book a BVI vacation onboard one of their 393 PC Power Cats.

The idea of spending your vacation onboard a yacht in the British Virgin Islands (Mediterranean bases coming soon), is never a tough sell except that many people automatically think sailboat when they think charters. So, of course, you would need to know how to sail for those charters. Of course, you do need knowledge and experience to operate any boat, but you don’t need to be a sailor to charter a 393 PC from The Moorings.

This issue of Canadian Yachting features our annual ‘Waypoint’ supplement with lots of information about destinations where you can charter a boat for your winter vacation down south, so we thought it would be fun to walk you through the accommodations and the boating experience of chartering a Moorings Power Cat.

The 393 PC was conceived among a group of participants – The Moorings, yacht builders Robertson & Caine and architects Morrelli & Melvin – to create a power catamaran design that would be the ideal cruising yacht for Moorings charter customers. Their goals were to provide three deck levels to deliver large and individual living spaces combined with easy boat handling and plenty of amenities to ensure a memorable onboard experience.

A catamaran provides some important sea-keeping attributes. While it is 38’7” in length, the 393 PC is 19’9” wide. With the hulls spread so far apart, this catamaran design delivers tremendous side-to-side stability for passenger comfort.

The two relatively narrow hulls offer much less resistance at typical cruising speeds of 16-18 knots, so the two relatively small, Yanmar 110 HP diesel engines can deliver impressive fuel economy and range.

A powerboat like the 393 PC can deliver all the comforts of home, too. The 393 PC features air-conditioning, an onboard generator, a suite of navigation electronics and everything necessary for comfortable cruising. The boat is ready to go on your arrival.

Out on the water, everyone will enjoy being on the flying bridge – a spacious area with a double-helm seat and instrument console mounted in the looking forward when you’re under way, so the designers gave included a large semicircular seating area ahead of the helm where all the guests can gather. This way, the driver can be part of the party and everyone gets a fabulous view of where the boat is heading.

centre of the boat. This gives the driver excellent sightlines in all directions for handling the boat out on the water as well as when docking. Of course, the driver will be There’s plenty of room to stand up and a Bimini top lets the breezes blow but keeps the sun from making the day too uncomfortable. Speaking of comfort, the seating area is almost exactly in the centre of the boat to minimize any ride motions that inexperienced boaters might find unpleasant.

The flying bridge is accessed through a curving staircase up from the main deck. The aft part of the bridge also serves as a hardtop over the main deck which has another enormous outside seating area. Through the door is a wonderful big salon including a dinette large enough for six adults across from the galley.

The salon has cherry-laminate finished cabinetry and simulated Austrian walnut flooring for easy care but a rich look. Indoors you can enjoy the air-conditioning, or run the ventilation fans that use much less power. The nighttime overhead LED lighting makes this space a particularly charming spot for lively conversation.

The galley is set up for cooking full meals and includes a Force 10 gas cooker with two burners and an oven with a broiler for versatile food prep options. The 393 PC includes two, front-opening refrigerator/freezer drawers for keeping your food fresh and the large U-shaped galley worktop surface is finished in heat resistant Corian. There’s a separate garbage bin locker and lots of storage space too.

For entertainment and enjoyment, there is a 19-inch flatscreen television and DVD player as well as a Sony CD player with MP3 jack inputs. Just bring all your favourite tunes with you and with the Bose marine speakers in the cockpit and on the flying bridge, you can enjoy your tunes.

The lower deck is divided into the port and starboard hulls.

As you step down the companionway stairs on the port side, the day head is directly in front of you. This has a washbasin and faucet, separate shower compartment and a large bowl electric toilet for everyone’s comfort.

From there, the portside hull is divided forward and aft to offer two separate cabins. They are almost identical. Each has a double berth measuring 4’5″ or more wide and 6’7” in length. In the event a child needs to be accommodated, there is child’s berth in the front cabin in the forepeak.

Both cabins have LED overhead lighting, ventilation fans and air conditioning, overhead fluorescent lighting and a large hull window incorporating a port light.

The starboard hull is the master suite and when travelling with three couples, to be fair, you had better flip for it beforehand! On the other hand, if mom and dad have chartered the 393 PC to bring sons and daughters and perhaps a grandchild or two, they should grab the starboard cabin.

Again, this area is finished with the cherry wood laminate cabinetry and has a 4’9″ wide double berth, 6’7” long. Like the other two cabins, there’s a hanging locker, LED overhead lighting, ventilation fans and air conditioning, overhead fluorescent lighting and another large hull window. But this cabin also has a study desk, bookshelf and quite a bit more storage.

The master suite also includes its own bathroom that has a wash basin in a vanity, a separate shower compartment and a large bowl electric toilet.

The cabin accommodations are quite complete and offer comfort as well as privacy even although you’ill spend the most time outside on the back deck and in the dinghy heading for a beautiful beach or restauarant.

The interesting thing about the twin hulls is that there is a wide space between them where you can bring up the inflatable dinghy. Both hulls have steps down to water level platforms making swimming and getting back onboard easy with the teak stepped boarding ladder.

For many male charter customers, the most important thing is the BBQ that’s here, keeping smoke out of the covered area under the flying bridge and the salon and galley that are near at hand.

Finally, you can also step up a bit further to the wide side decks and go forward to the spacious and flat front deck to tan or just enjoy the breezes.

The 393 PC looks like a spacious and well-equipped boat but all it costs is $770 per person/per week based on six people.

Could you afford to be cruising a 393 PC on your next vacation?

By Andy Adams

To see if this boat is available, go to www.boatcan.com to check listings!