The Aquila 70 Luxury Is the Power Catamaran That Ends the Debate
Photo Credit: Aquila
There has always been a conversation in yachting about when a catamaran stops being a catamaran and starts being a yacht. The Aquila 70 Luxury ends that conversation. At nearly 70 feet with a 27-foot beam, twin 1,000-horsepower Volvo Penta D13 engines pushing her to 27 knots, and up to five staterooms plus crew quarters wrapped in Natuzzi Italia furnishings, this is not a catamaran that aspires to yacht status. It arrived there.
Built as the flagship of Aquila's lineup, the 70 Luxury was designed from the ground up as a luxury cruising platform. The interior by Manzoni & Tapinassi brings Italian design sensibility to a hull form optimized through extensive computational fluid dynamics analysis, and the result is a vessel that cruises comfortably at 21 knots while claiming over 3,000 nautical miles of range at displacement speeds.
Who It's For
The Aquila 70 Luxury is built for the owner who wants serious cruising capability - Bahamas seasons, Caribbean circuits, Great Loop passages - in a platform that two people can operate without crew, but that accommodates 10 guests in full comfort when the occasion calls for it. You want the stability and deck space that only a catamaran can provide, but you are finished compromising on interior quality to get it.
At approximately $4 million base price, the 70 Luxury competes not just with other power catamarans but with conventional motor yachts in the 70-80 foot range. The value equation tilts sharply in the catamaran's favor when you factor in the interior volume - that 27-foot beam creates living spaces that would require 90 feet on a monohull - and the fuel efficiency that comes from pushing two slender hulls through the water instead of one fat one. For the buyer who runs the numbers on cost-per-mile and livable square footage, the math is persuasive.
Design and Layout: The Beam Changes Everything
The 70 Luxury's architectural story begins and ends with the 26-foot, 11-inch beam. That width creates a main-deck salon that feels residential rather than nautical - floor-to-ceiling windows, an open-plan galley (available in galley-up or galley-down configurations), and a dining area that seats eight without anyone touching elbows.
The galley-up layout is particularly compelling for owner-operators. The chef - or the owner who enjoys cooking - works at a station that connects directly to the salon and the aft deck, making food preparation a social activity rather than an isolated task below decks. Top-shelf appliances, expansive counter space, and storage that anticipates extended cruising round out a kitchen that belongs in a waterfront apartment.
The flybridge is the command center and entertainment hub. Available in open or fully enclosed configurations, it offers three Garmin MFDs at the helm, Stidd captain's chairs with guest seating on both sides, an L-shaped dinette with hi-lo table, drop-down television, and surround sound. The Volvo joystick system - with stations on the flybridge, salon helm, and both gunwales - makes docking this 70-footer a one-person operation despite the beam.
Below decks, up to five staterooms plus dedicated crew quarters provide accommodation flexibility. The full-beam forward master suite in the standard layout offers the kind of volume and light that monohull owners in this size range simply do not have access to. Each hull carries generous cabins with en-suite heads, and the walk-down storage lockers in the forward sponsons provide over six feet of standing-room provisioning space - a practical detail that matters when you are loading up for a month in the islands.
The stern platform is an engineering highlight: a remote-controlled tender ramp that angles down to the waterline to launch the optional 14-foot Aquila catamaran RIB, then flattens out to become additional deck space. Recessed swim ladders on both hulls, removable stainless railings, and wash-down stations complete a water-access setup designed for daily use.
Performance: Distance and Speed in the Same Package
Twin 1,000-horsepower Volvo Penta D13 engines give the Aquila 70 a top speed of 27 knots and a cruising speed of 20-21 knots. At 24 knots, range is approximately 450 nautical miles - ideal for island-hopping or coastal runs. Drop to displacement speeds and the 70 Luxury reaches over 3,000 nautical miles, turning a weekend cruiser into a bluewater passage-maker.
The fuel capacity of 1,447 gallons feeds into day tanks through a fuel polishing system, with tanks positioned low under the floors to keep the center of gravity where it belongs. Twin 21 kW gensets monitor each other and cycle on and off based on electrical load - a smart energy management approach that reduces generator hours.
The joystick docking system deserves special mention. Aquila and Volvo collaborated on integrating engine controls, bow thrusters, and the advanced independently-controlled rudder system - which functions like IPS drives, allowing each rudder to point in different directions - into a seamless control package. The result is a 70-foot, 27-foot-beam vessel that an experienced owner can dock single-handed in a crosswind.
A Buyer's Story
Catherine and James had chartered catamarans in the Caribbean for six consecutive winters before they committed to ownership. They knew the lifestyle they wanted - three months in the Bahamas, provisioned for two-week stretches between marina stops, with enough space for their two adult children and their partners to visit for long weekends. What they had not found was a power catamaran that felt finished. Every charter boat they stepped aboard had the right floor plan but the wrong materials, the right deck space but the wrong helm ergonomics.
The Aquila 70 was the first platform where Catherine did not mentally redecorate every room. The Natuzzi furniture, the Italian stone countertops, the fit and finish of the cabinetry - it was the first catamaran that felt like their home rather than a boat trying to feel like their home. James ran the fuel numbers against a comparable 75-foot monohull and found the Aquila burned roughly 40 percent less fuel on a Miami-to-Exumas run. They ordered the enclosed flybridge version with galley-up and took delivery in Fort Lauderdale. Their first season, they covered 4,200 nautical miles without once wishing they were on something else.
The 70 Luxury Proposition
The Aquila 70 Luxury sits at the intersection of catamaran efficiency and yacht-grade refinement. At 70 feet with a 27-foot beam, it delivers the interior volume of a 90-foot monohull, the fuel efficiency of a platform designed by hydrodynamicists rather than stylists, and the kind of joystick-controlled maneuverability that makes an owner-operator lifestyle genuinely practical at this size. Five staterooms, 27-knot performance, 3,000-mile range, Italian design - and a price point that makes the competition rethink their brochures.
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