Chinese-American powercat specialist, Aquila, is back with the Aquila 50 Yacht, which takes the brand’s well regarded Yacht line in a subtly fresh direction
Designed to replace the outgoing Aquila 48 and assume its natural position beneath the flagship Aquila 54 as the second largest powercat in the Aquila fleet, we have yet to see any internal images but the implications of external form of the new Aquila 50 Yacht are clear.
The initial renders show a very pronounced elevation in the forward gunwale line and while Aquila suggests that this is all part of a bold new “explorer aesthetic”, the likelihood is that it has more to do with creating extra volume for the full-beam owner’s cabin than with increased bridge deck clearance or deeper side decks.
Happily, this same feature enables the use of much deeper hull windows than you see anywhere else in the Aquila fleet, and while that ought to translate into a big, brightly lit owner’s cabin of rare and special scale, the new Aquila 50 Yacht will come with options.
The standard layout provides three cabins, three heads compartments and a utility room but the alternative layout (which will presumably be favoured by the charter market) will increase that to four cabins, four bathrooms and optional captain’s quarters.
Up on the main deck, the beamy aft cockpit interacts very neatly with an L-shaped aft galley that projects out into the alfresco space by means of a bar. Ahead of that, there are three stairwells to access the lower deck – one to port, one to starboard and one to the bow space.
And in the apparent absence of a main deck helm, the entire forward part of the saloon is given over to a big port dinette opposite an inward-facing starboard settee with views of the broad foredeck sun loungers through the low-profile screen.
Interestingly, the flybridge can be reached either from the starboard side of the aft cockpit or via a screen-mounted staircase from the bow deck. It occupies a decent, if not vast, footprint and provides a really sociable central helm, plus a starboard wet bar and a port dinette and sun lounger.
It can also be specced with a hardtop that is tailor-made for the integration of a large solar array; and if you want to go further with the eco angle, it’s good to know that the new Aquila 50 is also being designed with hybrid propulsion in mind.
Aquila 50 Yacht specifications
LOA: 52ft 2in (15.90m)
BEAM: 25ft 6in (7.76m)
ENGINES: twin Volvo Penta D6 480s
TOP SPEED: 22 knots
PRICE: pending
CONTACT: aquilaboats.com
