Montebello 12.5M Power Catamaran

A new player in the ever expanding world of multihulls, Montebello Yachts opened its Gold Coast yard last year. But it didn't leave its new power and sailing catamaran designs to chance. Instead, it went straight to the source, across the Tasman no less, to the design offices of Roger Hill. Surely you have heard of him?

As the company blurb says, Hill has been drawing boats for just over 32 years. He began his working life as an architectural draughtsman before joining the offices of esteemed Bruce Farr in Auckland. Next, he moved to Farr's Annapolis base in the USA. After three years there, he jumped ship to work for another esteemed designer, Rob Humphreys, in the UK. Then he returned to NZ to settle down with the family.

This latter move led to an interesting variety of projects, including designing monohulls and catamarans, power and sail boats, craft fashioned from steel, alloy, wood, and composites. But he has made the biggest impression with his catamarans — Hill has something of a following on the Queensland coast — a fact not lost on Montebello Yachts, which engaged the Kiwi to draw its new range of boats.

The design brief was for a range of contemporary power catamarans that was fuel efficient, stable, fast, light but strong, and user-friendly. The boats needed to be multifunctional, too — able to be setup for serious fishing, family fun, cruising in comfort and style, and being things to all people in the case they are put in charter.

As luck would have it, Hill knew of some pre-existing moulds for a boat that fitted Montebello's brief to a tee. After a complete revamp of the decks and some expert craftsmanship, Montebello's new 12.5M Power Catamaran hit the water. Kai Lana (as it was named), the harbinger for a future range of power and sail cats from 11.5 to 14.4m, attracted strong interest at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show. Five boats (two sail, three power) were sold, we're told. Now the new yard is running flat chat when others are twiddling thumbs.

Big enough to cruise the coast, but small enough for a couple or individual to berth, the 12.5M is, as Goldie Locks might say, just right. What's more, its 4.44m beam means the cat can be slotted into the usual 12 x 5m marina berth or 9 x 5m private pen. No longer are you confined to the outer arm and a long walk to the shower block or bistro.
 

I didn't have any preconceived ideas about the Montebello 12.5M, but within the space of a few short runs I was drawn to this boat. For starters, she runs in fine fettle, in perfect trim, her bows slicing the water only when they need to, while tracking high and dry on her aft sections most of the time. As a tribute to the design, the boat hasn't got trim tabs, as it simply doesn't need them.

Next, I was taken by the modern cabin lines, the fair mouldings with nigh a ripple and, on closer inspection, what I consider an excellent production-boat finish. Everything from the in-house stainless steel deck fittings to the silicon wipers and the interior trim (joinery finish could be improved) was a cut above many more established marques. Incidentally, Montebello's staff include a production manager ex-Sunseeker, shipwrights ex-Riviera and CEO, Gary Zamparutti, a qualified skipper and engineer with a lifetime of boating experience.

Then there was the user-friendly side of the brief. Although the 12.5M came from a Kiwi-drawing board, she has terrific local appeal, ticking plenty of boxes on my checklist as I moved from the transom to bow. You get a deep swim platform, built-in amenities centre with barbecue, big cockpit, foredeck lounging area and seating, extended flying bridge with tender and crane, and an indoor/outdoor saloon that increases the boat's living area. The layout is probably best described as a collaborative effort, with the best of both Antipodeans' worlds.
 
ENGINEERING FIRST
Full marks to Hill for his full-planing hull and Montebello for the construction. The entire hull is handlaid and vacuum-bagged with 25mm Divinycell foam coring below the waterline and 20mm above it. The deck and flybridge are also infused, leading to a light displacement boat tipping the scales to just 10,500kg dry, 11,000kg in running mode, and 11,200kg cruise ready.

With the base 315hp Yanmar 6LPA-STP diesel engines with ZF electronic shifts and 2.86:1 vee drives, the lightweight Montebello 12.5M is good for 25kts. With optional twin 480hp Yanmar engines, as per the next boat, she is expected to hit 33kts. Several 12.5Ms will be coupled with Volvo Penta's IPS 400s, which Montebello says should hit 35kts, and it wouldn't surprise to see all 12.5M bundled with IPS or Zeus pod drives in future.

On the demonstrator, two big cockpit floor hatches lift to reveal terrific servicing room around the six-cylinder 4.163lt donks that, thanks to the vee-drives, are mounted well aft, thereby leaving more space for other things. The primary fuel filters, oil dipsticks and header tanks are all easy to access. And as you look down at the engines you can spot leaks at a glance.

I noticed labelled seacocks, twin pumps for the optional 32,000 BTUS of tropical strength air-conditioning, a 7.5kW Westerbeke generator with gas/water separator to reduce noise, and 3000W inverter for generator-free operation of the AV system and refrigeration. The watermaker was an option to sate the desire of the owners for long hot showers while cruising, although the 600lt water capacity is impressive.

The demo boat was also in 2C survey, hence the remote fuel and engineroom-vent shutoffs, the extra step in the ladder to the flying bridge, and the steel bucket. But seriously, Montebello intends to put this 12.5M and a similar length sailing cat in charter fleets in the Whitsundays. The boats would be ideal for it. Big enough to live aboard, but not too big to command.
 

The mid-transom amenities centre, within arm's reach, has a pop-up stainless steel oven-type barbecue, cutting board and sink. The underside of its lid was the only flow-coated area of fibreglass I recall seeing. Injection moulds are used in other areas for a fairer finish. The transom gas locker carries two 4kg bottles for the barbie and gas galley stove preferred by the owner, but electric cooktops are an option.

A couple of small steps lead to the sidedecks which, in survey mode, are especially safe thanks to an extended bowrail with intermediate wire, handy grabrails, and non-skid deck. With the 2.9m Swift tender and 9.9hp four-stroke outboard carried on the bridge overhang, dispatched with a 200kg Davco davit, the foredeck is clutter-free and doubles as a sunpad, with room for two couples.

Pulpit seats built into the bowrail are perfect for toasting the sunset or whale and dolphin watching. Anchoring gear is heavy-duty, with a Muir windlass, survey-standard 55m of 10mm short-link chain, and spare anchor. Fresh and saltwater washes are provided. Back in the cockpit, there are low-voltage LED lights. The boat had searchlights and docking lights, too.

Although this was the standard open flybridge model, with a hardtop and three-sided Strataglass clear curtains for weather protection, a 12.5M headed for Perth will have three-sided safety-glass panels. Either way, the helm seat is a centrally located and sturdy number made locally, surrounded by a wraparound lounge for six to eight guests, subject to waterways regulations.

The console was of sufficient size to harbour two multifunction Simrad 8in NX40 screens with GPS, long-range radar and sounder. There was also an autopilot with remote, Fusion stereo, VHF radio, and spread of analogue engine gauges and fuel gauge. The Simrad screens are linked to a cockpit docking camera. Since the helm is forward there is no natural view of the transom. But the sight lines were commanding as we headed out into the fray and crossed the Gold Coast Seaway bar and breakers.
 

Galley amenities include the aforesaid four-burner gas cooktop with wok burner and pot holders, big circular sink, 120lt 12V fridge and 90lt vertical freezer. Serious entertaining types will doubtless add a portable aftermarket icebox under the flybridge ladder.

Storage space isn't exactly abundant in the galley, either, but where there's a will there's a way. The control panel opposite has the usual 12/240V breakers, generator start, and gauges for the water and 150lt blackwater tanks. Air-con outlets keep things cool in summer, and there's a drop-down TV/CD/DVD that saves on space.

Headroom is a highpoint, opening portlights and escape hatches provide natural ventilation when the air-con isn't on, and there is adequate storage built into the cabins, however, hanging space existed only in the stateroom. That said, this is more your slippery coastal and inshore cruiser, with crew bedecked in summer attire, than a big-city entertainer for the blue blazer set.
 
SEA TRIALS
It was a function of a wet winter that the Gold Coast was awash for days prior to our sea trial. The normally limpid Broadwater was a miry channel. So we headed for the Seaway in search of something cleaner. Although the tide was running in, the water was still pouring out to sea on the surface, creating some cascades that, we reasoned, shouldn't trouble the 12.5M.

No stranger to such conditions, Zamparutti nosed the boat over the two-metre tight-packed and feathering two-metre swells, causing some freefalls whose impact was cushioned by bent legs in the flying bridge. Clear of the break, and side-on to the swells, the boat ran well.

Advance the aftermarket electronic ZF shifts on the twin 315hp Yanmars, and the Montebello is cunningly slippery, edging horizontally to planing speed, with no discernible transition. Above all, it's strangely dry for a cat, a sure-fire sign of efficiency if nothing else.

While 25kts is the top speed at 3600rpm, you can cruise at a comfortable 19.5kts at 3200rpm, using just 58lt in total for a useful range of 425nm. In other words, you can do Sydney to the Gold Coast on a tank and moreover, port hop around the country without being strapped to the bowser. Along the way, the engines, boat and crew are hardly working or stressed.

Fuel efficiency, space and utility endear this boat to the cruising set. In fact, tough times and high fuel prices are steering more business towards the builders of cruising cats. And with more than a lick of style and room to park in a standard berth, city folk should find reason to get aboard the Montebello 12.5M Power Catamaran.

WHAT WE LIKED
• Slippery Roger Hill hull travels in perfect trim, and is nice and dry
• Economical cruising at 19.5kts and just 58lt/h
• First-rate composite lay-up, fit and finish
• Big cockpit, decks and indoor/outdoor living areas
• Generous accommodation
 

Montebello 12.5M Power Catamaran

PRICE AS TESTED
Approx $836,000 (inc. GST) w/ twin Yanmar 315hp diesel engines, and options
 
OPTIONS FITTED
2C Survey, watermaker, air-con, long-range radar, twin Simrad GPS systems, tender and outboard, and loads more

PRICED FROM
$770,000 (inc. GST) w/ twin Yanmar 315hp diesel engines
 
GENERAL
Material: Handlaid vacuum-bagged composite foam-cored hull and deck and flying bridge
Type: Symmetrical full-planing catamaran
Length overall: 12.50m
Waterline length: 10.18m
Beam: 4.44m
Draft: 1.03m
Weight: 10,500kg dry w/ std motors
 
CAPACITIES
Berths: 6
Fuel: 1400lt
Water: 600lt
Holding tank: 150lt
 
ENGINE
Make/model: 2 x Yanmar 6LPA-STP diesel engines
Type: Six-cylinder turbo diesel w/ four valves per cylinder and after cooling
Displacement: 4.163lt
Rated HP: 2 x 315
Max. RPM: 3600
Gearbox (make/ratio/type): ZF 2.86:1 vee drive
Propellers: Four-blade
 
SUPPLIED BY
Montebello Yachts,
Meridien Marinas,
Horizon Shores,
Cabbage Tree Point Rd,
Woongoolba, QLD, 4207
Contact Gary Zamparutti, phone 0437 791 770 or (07) 5546 2170
Email: info@montebelloyachts.com
Web: www.montebelloyachts.com