The forecast turns at four in the morning and the trip is still on. That is the case for the Aquila 28 Molokai Cuddy: the same 30'9" offshore catamaran hull as the open 28 Molokai, with an enclosed forward cuddy and a glassed-in helm built on top of it.
Nothing below the rubrail changes. Beam is 9'9", hull length 28'2", draft 1'1" with the motors up and 2'6" with them down, and light displacement is 6,166 lb with twin 150s. Fuel is the same 150 gallons in two aluminum tanks. Across Aquila's own published data the two boats differ on exactly one line — fresh water, 16 gallons on the open boat against 10.6 on the Cuddy, where the tank is listed as an option.
So this is not a performance decision. It is a decision about weather, and about how many mornings a year you actually leave.
Who It's For
The Cuddy earns its keep for the owner whose season runs longer than the good weather does. Guides and dive operators who cannot cancel. Owners who leave before sunrise and come back after the sea breeze has filled in. Anyone running a shoulder season on water that turns cold and wet well before it turns rough.
It also suits the owner who carries people who are not fishing. A sheltered helm and a dry space forward change what a passenger's day feels like, and that is usually what decides whether they come a second time.
It is the wrong boat if the bow walkaround is what you came for. The cuddy occupies the forward deck and the split bow seating that the open 28 Molokai puts there. That is the whole trade, stated plainly.
Design and Layout: Shelter, Not a Cabin
The cuddy is a weather shelter and Aquila does not oversell it. A cushioned bunk runs across its forward end with storage beneath. The floor is hinged to make room for a porta-potti. There is an overhead light and a reset fuse panel. There is no enclosed head, no galley, and no berth anyone should call a stateroom.
The helm is what you are really buying. A laminated glass windshield sits under a fiberglass hardtop, with lightly tinted side windows that slide open when you want the air. It is a station you can stand at in spray for an hour without it costing you anything by the end of the day.
Aft of the cuddy the deck goes back to work. A drop-in door sits centrally in the transom. Two 94-gallon insulated fish boxes discharge overboard through diaphragm pumps. There is under-gunwale shelf storage down both sides, six stainless rod holders in the transom, and gunwales drilled to take four more per side.
Power and Capacity
Standard propulsion is twin Mercury 150s, with twin Mercury 225s offered. Aquila publishes no model designation for either engine, and no top speed, cruise speed or range for the boat on any rig. The figures circulating for this hull come from a 200 hp package Aquila does not list, so they describe a different boat. Ask for observed numbers in writing, on your rig and at your load, before you commit.
The hardtop and the cuddy structure do not move the published weight: Aquila prints the same 6,166 lb light displacement for the Cuddy as for the open boat. Certification is the same too, and it is the figure that should govern how you load it — CE Category B for 8 people offshore, Category C for 12 coastal, Category D for 14 inland.
Ownership: One More Structure, Same Short List
Maintenance is close to identical to the open boat. Two outboards, the fish-box pumps, a battery bank — and now a windshield, a hardtop and a set of sliding windows to keep sealed and clean. Salt in a window track is the new item on the list, and it is a rinse rather than a service.
Fresh water is 10.6 gallons and Aquila lists that tank as an option rather than standard equipment. If a dockside wash-down matters to you, specify it at order rather than assume it.
The 9'9" beam is the same planning constraint as on the open boat. Confirm slip width before you sign for a berth, and confirm your yard's lift and stands can take a catamaran of this beam.
Where to Start
Choosing between the two 28s is a layout decision, not a specification one. The open boat gives you the bow walkaround and the forward seating. The Cuddy gives you a dry helm and somewhere to put people and gear out of the weather. Both run the same hull, the same tanks and the same engines.
The honest way to decide is to count the mornings. If the number of trips you cancel, shorten or turn back from is more than a handful a year, the Cuddy is the version that gets used.
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