Horizon PC60
To understand the Horizon PC60 power catamaran, you need to put aside preconceived notions about midsize yacht amenities. For example, main-deck master suites are the province of yachts over 100 feet length overall. Incorrect. This 60-footer has an elegant and spacious owner’s stateroom on the same level as the salon. If you want a 14-foot center console tender on a 60-foot yacht, you have to tow it. Wrong again. On the PC60, you hoist it onto the upper deck, no problem.
A Different Tack
Monohull vessels are the traditional choice for many recreational yachtsmen, but when it comes to interior volume, cruising comfort and range, catamarans, like this Horizon PC60, are an attractive alternative. And for owners whose cruising time is limited, cats prove popular in the charter market, which can help offset annual expenses.
His, Hers and Theirs
The PC60 is a four-stateroom yacht. The highlight of the onboard accommodations is the master, where the owners awake to a view through panoramic forward windows. They have an en suite head with a shower big enough for two. A VIP suite is forward to starboard with en suite head, and a second stateroom has either twins or a king, with an optional en suite head. In the port hull are self-contained crew quarters or a twin guest stateroom, also with en suite head.
For The Chef
This galley is big enough to feed 20 guests. A counter, made of marble and burled wood, doubles as a bar with four stools. If you’re in the mood for barbecue, take the party to the bridge, which has a grill, fridge and sink.
Dining Choices
Inside dining is at the L-shaped settee with a coffee table that morphs into a full-size dining table. Or you mightprefer alfresco dining at the table for six in the cockpit, shaded by the overhang. Or move to the bridge, which has another large dining table, as well as a bar with a pair of stools.
Open Or Closed
The PC60 is offered with the choice of an open bridge, a semi-enclosed bridge (with forward, opening side windows) or a sky lounge with sliding glass doors to the aft deck, as well as a day-head.
How Did They Do It?
Being a catamaran, the PC60 has a wide beam (nearly 25 feet), and the builder takes advantage of every inch of volume. You can invite 20 friends for a party aboard, and there’s elbowroom to spare, even if you only use the main deck. There’s seating for everyone too. The PC60’s twin-hull design also means exceptional stability, which allows you to have loose chairs, even on the flybridge, without worrying. There’s no need for stabilizer fins or gyros; the hull form gives a solid ride, and it’s comfortable in a seaway. The flybridge is 22 feet wide and nearly 45 feet long on the open-bridge version after you launch the tender.
Behind The Boat
Stuart Hegerstrom and Richard Ford are the co-founders of this power catamaran series:
What led you to create the pc series?
SH: We wanted to develop a high-quality power cat with great seakeeping abilities, one finished to mega-yacht quality.
How did you hook up with Horizon?
SH: Our first owner owned and loved Horizons, and he opened the door for us. Horizon took an immediate interest, and they wanted to market the PCs as its own [brand], so we formed The Powercat Company as its distributor in the Americas and Caribbean, but we are still the driving force behind the PCs.
Who designed the PC60?
SH: A combination of several designers: Lavranos Marine Design in New Zealand is well-known for multihulls, and they were responsible for the hull design and naval architecture. Winchester Design Group did the layouts, and JC Espinoza, who has designed many Horizons, worked with both teams. The basic design didn’t just fall off a truck: It’s a highly refined version of hull forms used for 25 years for high-speed ferries and survey vessels. We carefully tank-tested the hull shape at the National Taiwan University towing tank.
Born To Cruise
Bluewater cruising comfort is a hallmark of the Horizon PC60. The yacht’s hull (solid fiberglass bottom), deck and superstructure are all built using the Seemann Composites Resin Infusion Molding Process for improved strength with reduced weight.
Clever Touches
Easy-to-overlook gems include: two relatively large lockers on the foredeck that can absorb everything from water toys to oversize fenders; the transom so big that five people could join you; and the door in the cockpit corner that conceals upright stowage for rods, reels and a lot more gear. Twin stairs from the transom are great for swimming or exiting the tender, and twin boarding doors on each side make for easy dockside access. That little door in the cockpit side? It hides a maneuvering station with engine and thruster controls.
Cool Stuff
On the bridge, the double-wide companion settee converts into a stretch-out chaise so your co-pilot can put his feet up. The teak-planked side decks are secure with high bulwarks capped by stainless-steel grab rails, and the walkways seem as wide as the ones on larger yachts.
The Oomph
Horizon’s PC60s are powered by twin 705 hp Cummins QSM11 diesels, and a 21.5 kW Onan generator keeps the blenders going for piña coladas. Speaking of electricity, the yacht uses the Moritz Aerospace OctoPlex system for AC and DC, allowing fingertip power control.
The Numbers
With two low-drag hulls, the Horizon PC60 tops out at 23 knots and has a comfortable cruising-speed range of 18 to 20 knots. At the “sweet spot” of 18 knots, those Cummins diesels burn 45 gph, giving her a 540 nautical-mile range. If you want to make a longer passage, just pull the throttles back to a leisurely 9 knots to get better than 1 nautical mpg, for a range of nearly 1,500 nautical miles.
