34 aci catamaran

ACI Boats launches first hull

Wild Cat, a new 34-foot aluminum catamaran built by ACI Boats, launched July 9 at the Port Townsend Boat Haven. The boat is the first hull built on ACI's new production line. The business has 33 employees, and is looking to grow. Photo by Libby Wennstrom

Cory Armstrong, ACI Boats president, on board the newly launched Wild Cat, the first in a series of high-speed aluminum catamarans designed for the rigors of Southeast Alaska. Photo by Libby Wennstrom

Saturday's launch of the 34-foot aluminum catamaran Wild Cat marks the next chapter for ACI Boats' planned line of production aluminum powerboats being built at ACI's Port Townsend Boat Haven facility.

The first hull in the new Alegria series, Wild Cat is soon to be joined by 30- and 36-foot versions; two other standard lines are in the design stages.

ACI President Cory Armstrong sees a bright future in what he calls the "automotive" model of boatbuilding – designing a standard product line with customizable options, allowing buyers to get a vessel that meets their needs at a far lower cost than a custom-designed boat.

"We've narrowed down a niche market that's just not available," he said.

Ultimately, ACI intends to offer three lines of aluminum catamarans, each with several available variations in size and options, as well as two lines of monohulls with a similar range of versions, all available through standard retail outlets.

NEW KIDS AT PORT

ACI has been at its Port of Port Townsend location since January 2016. The busy shop fills three buildings and employs 33 people, with plans to grow further as the business expands. The facility houses both ACI's new boatbuilding operation as well as the full-service repair and refit operations of Gold Star Marine.

ACI continues to build custom boats; three are currently in production, with three others already launched in 2016. ACI plans to have 30- and 36-foot Alegria models ready in time for the January 2017 Seattle Boat Show.

Armstrong and business partner Jeremy Cornelson had nothing but praise for Peter Quinn, Team Jefferson executive director. "Without Peter Quinn, we wouldn't be here. Team Jefferson pulled all the pieces together to make the Port Townsend facility happen," Cornelson said.

Quinn noted that bringing a business to town has a lot of moving parts, quipping, "My role was to help 'tie the strings together.'"

One of the challenges was startup funding. While Armstrong had more than 30 years of aluminum boatbuilding experience, along with a top-notch design and production team, because ACI was a new venture, getting traditional bank funding was challenging. Team Jefferson helped ACI connect with Jefferson County investors, and helped negotiate a lease with the Port of Port Townsend for 20,000 square feet in the three buildings that had been vacated by Gold Star Marine in October 2015.

ACI hadn't originally planned to do repair/refit work, but the existing Gold Star facility offered an opportunity to expand its business model. It retained the Gold Star name for repair work. Diversifying has been a good choice; Cornelson said the refit projects help even out the financial highs and lows of building new boats. Gold Star has the only full-range hydraulics service at the Boat Haven, and is able to perform repair/refit work on vessels up to 54 feet in length.

FAST & COMFORTABLE

A 34-foot Alegria model, Wild Cat is a high-speed power catamaran, powered by twin 350-horsepower Yamaha outboards. Cruising at more than 30 knots, the boat has hit 42 knots in sea trials. Designed for the rigors of Southeast Alaska, Wild Cat is headed to its new home in Petersburg, Alaska, next week, ready for family adventures.

The twin hulls of a power catamaran offer both high speed and fuel efficiency, compared to traditional monohull designs for fishing and cruising boats, and the wide beam offers enormous accommodation space for the relative size. Cruising cats are noted for their stability and smooth ride, making such designs a good choice for notoriously rough Northwest waters.

Everyone at ACI emphasizes the teamwork approach Armstrong takes to building a business. David Franz, sales manager, was so impressed with the team that he's moving here, joking that Port Townsend is the southernmost city in Southeast Alaska.

"People have a 'let's make it work' attitude," said Franz. "There's a lot of synergy here. The skill-set [at the Boat Haven] is so varied, with all kinds of fit for what we're doing. Cory, as the leader, has a real ability for attracting quality people. Everyone – from the office to the shop floor – is a team player."

Armstrong emphasized that the business is always on the lookout for new people, and not just in the shop, stating, "We're building a team here."

Designer Antonio Salguero took Armstrong’s concept drawings and turned them into 3-D CAD plans ready for aluminum milling. Right now, Salguero is busy designing upcoming custom projects for ACI, including a 32-foot crabber, and a 38-foot semi-displacement catamaran bound for American Samoa.

"It's great to have aluminum boatbuilding right here – it adds to the incredible range of ability here in Port Townsend," Salguero said.

Sam Gibboney, the Port of Port Townsend's new executive director, couldn't agree more. "The port is thrilled with the new ACI splashdown," Gibboney said. "It's exciting to see a new boat launch, and even more exciting to see a new business take off."

Based on the smiles on everyone's faces as they returned from Wild Cat's first run around the bay, ACI's new venture is well on its way.

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Caymas 34 CT

• By Randy Vance
• Updated: April 25, 2023

The Caymas 34 CT is a new-school cat with dual-stepped, semi-asymmetric hulls. These semi-asymmetric sponsons are mirror images of each other, and an important key to this design is that the outside running surface of each is longer than the inside running surface of each. This allows the boat to comfortably lean into turns at high speed like a mono-hull (more on this later). A cat’s sponsons also need to give you a smooth ride, and Caymas’ Earl Bentz got this down pat when he and his team pulled together their engineers to design the 34 CT, the first multi-hull model from this brand.

Our test boat planed in around 4 seconds. It punched through to 30 in under 9 seconds, impressive for a boat weighing almost 14,000 pounds with twin Mercury V-10 400 hp outboards. We had 25- to 30-knot winds on test day, so we stayed in the Intracoastal Waterway, which was miles wide in our location. Waves rumpled to ­nearly 3 feet at times, but the 34 handled them like warm butter. Mega-yachts plied those waters, and we slid over their wakes without slowing or shaking the crew. At rest and idle, we turned our beam to the seas and the 34 CT straddled them with the grace of a hurdle jumper in slow motion. 

A quick spin of the helm and a heavy hand on the throttle dissolved any doubt about handling. At ­barely planing speeds, the 34 CT heeled a little outwardly in turns. But at speeds closer to cruise—about 4,000 rpm—the 34 CT tucked its inside shoulder, heeling ­into the turn safely, swiftly and comfortably, thanks to the semi-assymetric design of the sponsons. 

Then there’s the combination of Merc’s V-10 outboard power and the double-stepped hulls. At 4,000 rpm and 36.7 mph, this cat achieved 1.2 mpg in our test. That efficiency equates to a crusing range of more than 400 miles, even with 10 percent of its 436-gallon fuel capacity left in reserve. 

And when you fish, you do so in comfort. The deck was steady in beam seas, allowing us to traverse its ­nearly 11-foot width and 34-foot length without hanging on for dear life. With our toes tucked in the deck gutters and our thighs pressing the thick gunwale bolsters, we could focus on handling the rod or gaff, not staying on our feet. 

We had three livewells available: a center 70-gallon livewell flanked by an ­optional pair of 25-gallon wells. All of the wells are fed by heavy-­duty Hooker electric pumps in a Hooker sea chest. For the bait gluttons, there are also optional dual livewells under the deck. Otherwise, there are six fish boxes (three per side) with macerator pumps. 

Rod holders were strung like pearls, six in each gunwale, five shotguns, nine tuna- stick hangers under the gunwales, and nine more shared between the hardtop and leaning post. Tackle drawers in the front and back of the post and leader holders on each side keep all the rigging gear handy, and a cutting board slides out for chopping bait. 

Fishing-wise, it’s apparent Caymas put the right people on the design team. But the designers and upholsterers get their kudos on the comfort side as well. A pullout transom seat and dual forward pullout lounges offer comfortable seating to complement the dual chaise-style ­lounges on the console’s front side. Under those posh cushions is a ton of storage or another fish box, as you choose. Every deck compartment is insulated for multiuse.

The helm station is wide, as expected on a broad-beamed cat, but it left generous walkways to the foredeck. The ­dual seats are electrically actuated to slide fore and aft. We found the driving position comfortable with a footrest below and well-protected by a tempered glass windshield. To compete for coolness with the driving seats, a pillow-topped Frigid Rigid cooler electrically slides out from the back of the ­leaning post to form a pair of ­mezzanine seats. 

The electronics panel ­boasted two 16-inch Raymarine multifunction displays, but could likely hold a pair of 20-inch displays. In addition, the entire front of the helm station is hinged like a James Bond library door to lean aft, granting access to the entire wiring scheme of the boat. 

In fact, Caymas engineers did a fine job of making ownership easy with ample access to pumps below, batteries and switches in the leaning post, and ignition keys and circuit breakers in the helm head compartment. We nearly forgot to mention the organized storage drawers in there and the porcelain throne for crew convenience. 

With a windlass and polished stainless-steel anchor at the bow, and raw- and freshwater washdowns to clear a fish-bloodied deck, it’s pretty hard to imagine what else an angling family could need. 

Caymas Boats – caymasboats.com

• More: Boats , Caymas Boats , Center Consoles , fishing boats , June/July 2023

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Wherever I May Roam - 34 ACI Catamaran with Twin 400 Mercury’s

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ACI Boats launches warm weather recreational catamaran

Builder/Designer: ACI Boats

Length: 36’

Hull: aluminum catamaran

Vessel Name: Tuna Can

Homeport: San Diego, CA

Use: Offshore tuna fishing

Fuel Capacity: Twin 250 G aluminum tanks

Propulsion: Twin 350HP Suzuki outboards

Cruising Speed: 20 Knots Fuel Burn: .92 M/G

Top Speed: 35 Knots Fuel Burn: .7 M/G

Our 36’x13’ warm weather, welded aluminum symmetrical planing catamaran was designed primarily for comfort and fishability; to allow the client to go offshore for days at a time. A full-width cabin offers plenty of space to cruise and host comfortably, while our West Coast rails and wide gunnel optimize fishing, and maneuverability from anywhere on deck. The deck is designed with ACI’s signature self-bailing deck system, and is finished with a light grey non-skid to help reflect heat in warmer climates. Outfitted with 24 aluminum pipe rod holders on the rooftop, 4 SS shotgun rod turrets, a center transom fishing pod, and two fiberglass insulated 7’ fish storage lockers plumbed with an Ice Sea saltwater ice maker- you’ll have no problem storing your gear, as well as your catch. Custom aluminum fabricated, twin 75 gallon live bait tanks sit in the center of the aft deck, with a removable filet station top. The bow offers even more space to fish off. Anchor up with the E-Z Anchor Rebel 4, and relax in the open waters.

A tuna tower accessed by ladder on the aft deck, offers 360 degree eye level views at 18ft above the waterline. A Garmin plotter and Optimus steering allows for full control from the tower, and canvas bimini to keep shaded under the SouthernCalifornia sun. It was important for the tower to be easily, quickly, and safely accessible. We achieved this by fabricating a 24’’ wide ladder that is both sturdy and stowable against the back of the cabin.

The helm station is geared with an Optimus 360 joystick control, Garmin 16’’ GPSMAP 8616xsv MFD fed by a Garmin GMR Fantom 54, 50 watt open array radar, SS 1KW chirp low and high band transducers. The interior cabin is finished with Graystone Zolatone paint, white paneling, and sapele wood trim to keep it bright, airy, and comfortable throughout. A spacious cuddy can effortlessly sleep four adults, and has two Lewmar hatches above. A Bentley Patriot seat with an S4 suspension pedestal is at the helm, with two Bentley Patriot passenger seats facing the direct glazed glass windshield. The cabin also features a convertible horseshoe dinette, a galley, plenty of storage, and a roomy marine head compartment with teak flooring.

This boat is thebest of both worlds. An interior designed for leisure and comfort, while fully outfitted with a commercial grade fishing set up. The aluminum fabrication is built for a lifetime, yet the curved shearline compliments the swooped WestCoast rails for a standout aesthetic.

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You’ll be spending the majority of your fishing vacation aboard our boats, and we take great pride in our fleet. Our boats are clean, comfortable and spacious, and every boat is equipped with private restroom facilities. Each boat also features a spacious cabin that stays warm and dry regardless of the weather outside.

Our 8 top-notch fishing boats consisting of 4 catamarans and 4 single hull vessels are outfitted with top of the line fishing tackle and state of the art electronics which aid in locating the best fishing. All are equipped with outboard engines with cruising speeds over 20 knots, taking you to prime fishing waters in just 45 minutes or less!