Metal Shark launches new powered cruising cat range
Huge cruising ranges, high-rise apartment feels and Aussie smarts are all behind this all-new US aluminium cat rangeUS military shipwright Metal Shark has branched out into the leisure market, revealing a range of 30 metre-plus catamarans that includes a 70-metre floating hotel that’s as regal as the White House.
Metal Shark said its new aluminium powered catamaran range was made up of “highly advanced, industrial grade oceangoing vessels” that “defy convention while enabling a new level of worry-free exploration and adventure”.
Built as long-range cruisers taking full advantage of the twin-hull design, the new range of cats will “cruise at 10 knots comfortably, cross oceans at 17 knots, and exceed 23 knots at sprint speed, all at efficient fuel burns with epic ranges”, Metal Shark promises.
The three-model range is built with floor to ceiling windows to give the same feel as a luxury penthouse.
The range starts with the 30-metre M30, providing a cruising range of 7000nm – that’s half-way around Australia – on a single 60,000-litre tank of fuel while travelling at 10 knots.
Step up to cruising speed – 16 knots – and the range falls to 4000nm. Even putting the hammers down holds other boats to shame, with a 2000nm range at 23 knots delivered by the twin 1920hp MTU 16V2000 engines.
Top speed for the 150,000kg light displacement Metal Shark M30 is 30 knots.
Inside, the M30 features a beamy, modular space across three levels that can become whatever its owners can dream up.
Step up a rung, and you’re looking at the 48-metre, three-deck Metal Shark M48. It’s based on a catamaran design penned by Australian shipwright Incat Crowther that’s made to stay out at sea – or at your favourite location – for months at a time.
Long-range cruising from the twin 2600hp MTU 16V2000 engines will peak at 11,000nm at 10 knots, with range dropping to 4500nm at 17 knots, and 2500nm at 23 knots.
Top speed for the 240,000kg light-displacement boat is 27 knots.
But overshadowing both of these boats is the Metal Sharks M70, stretching 70 metres long and with an equally impressive 20-metre beam. This thing is huge.
According to Metal Shark, the four-deck M70 is a “flying fortress” large enough to comfortably accommodate 24 people – including 10 crew – and sustain them for months at a time.
The Metal Shark M790 includes a 15,000kg submersible stern platform for launching a dayboat or even a submarine, as well provision for a helipad aft of the flybridge, complete with a separate 3500-litre tank dedicated to aviation fuel.
The M70’s 300,000-litre fuel tank is good for 9000nm at 12 knots, 6000nm at 19 knots, and 3000nm at 28 knots from its twin 7800hp 20-cylinder MTU 1163 engines.
Top speed, despite a 825,000kg light displacement, is still rated at 30 knots.
‘These vessels are not delicate playthings,” Metal Shark said. “They are industrial grade.
“It’s more like taking command of your own sovereign country than owning a yacht.
“With ultra-long range capabilities, survivalist-level onboard power generation and management, extreme seakeeping, industrial-grade construction, and military-derived technology, these wave-crushing, ocean-conquering brutes allow owners to go off-grid like never before, and to stay as long as they like.”
Metal Shark said it agonised over labelling its new recreational boating range as “yachts”, considering them more as high-end city apartments that happen to float rather than associating with more common vessels.
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