First look at the new Catalyst GT now in build at Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders for a Caribbean owner
by Robert Daly/Lloyd Stevenson. Boatbuilders 17 Jun 00:17 UTC
3D render of the finished boat - B73 © Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders
Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders update on the new Catalyst GT build.
Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders update on the new Catalyst GT build. The owner requested a more refined gentlemen's speedboat style, so we have designed an entirely new superstructure. The new design is the Catalyst GT.
This high-speed, luxury guest transfer vessel and water sports tender has been commissioned for a private resort in the Caribbean.
The Catalyst GT is one of two currently in build at Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders.
As has been the case with all the Catalysts built to date, this is a completely custom build and entirely different from the second Catalyst, a follow-along superyacht tender. Building two completely different boats at the same time is a major undertaking but one our boat builders relish.
Designed as a chase boat for Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup team by Morelli & Melvin, these high-performance catamarans are powerful, lightweight, very capable sea boats with exceptional ride and handling. They have become a very familiar sight at the 2024 America's Cup venue as the favoured chase boat for the AC75s.
They also make excellent superyacht tenders, or as a private, high-performance recreational boats.
Of the 25 Catalysts built to date, no two are the same; everything can be customised to meet a client’s needs: cabin layout, level of finish, electronics, motors (4 x Mercury 500Rs are already in use on some boats and 4 x 600hp V12s are potentially a possibility).
Fold-down balcony topsides, bow beach landing/swim stairs, fuel and water bunkering and foils have all been fitted to some of the existing fleet. The options list is only limited by your imagination.
The Catalyst GT is a the perfect example of the Catalyst’s customisability. Born out of a response to the owner of a private resort island’s request for a high-speed luxury guest transfer, water sports and touring vessel.
However, this owner requested something special, something with a more of a refined aesthetic, so the Lloyd Stevenson design department reinterpreted the classic sports sedan style to create a brand new superstructure – the GT.
The GT will have seating for 30 guests and a reinforced bow, enabling the boat to nose onto sandy beaches, allowing where the bow beach-landing stairs are able to be deployed, giving direct access off the boat onto the shore.
The beach landing stairs and lower from the hull centre section; when stowed, they are neatly housed in a recessed compartment in the bow centre section, under two foredeck doors.
At 14m (45ft), the GT is fully equipped and finished to superyacht standards, with quad Yamaha 300hp motors, the Catalyst GT will be good for plus 50 knots.
Previously built by Salthouse Boats, Catalysts received a new home with Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders in 2020.
Constructed from strong and lightweight epoxy composite laminates with carbon reinforcing and completed to Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders’ usual high standards, the Catalyst hull has excelled at every task it has been asked to perform.
The first Catalyst GT is scheduled for launch later in 2024.