Start Fresh to Get the Boat You Want
Many different kinds of boats have been around for millennia, so it’s hard to imagine where improvements could be made. While some builders focus on adding more complex systems to their proven hulls, we took another approach and looked at the fundamentals. Change for the sake of change is not what we’re talking about. We discovered a better way.
Proa Hull Design
Setting out with the goal of building the most efficient boats we could, our founder Larry Graf and his designers sought to create earth-friendly cruisers that would inspire a new generation of boaters. And because Larry and his team played a hands-on role in developing some of the world’s best catamarans, they had an idea of what a boat could be in terms of comfort, stability, and fuel economy.
Knowing what we already knew about catamaran hull design and the many inherent benefits of multihulls, we began to explore a dual hull boat that would be different from a traditional catamaran.
What we found is the asymmetrical hull catamaran. This revolutionary hull design is called a proa and it exhibits certain benefits for power catamarans, aside from the obvious stability that is a key advantage of a catamaran over a monohull. The two hulls are identical in profile, but they are actually very different in shape—with one hull being 35 percent thinner.
The Multifunctional Result of Better Design
The patented Aspen proa design with its asymmetrical hulls provides many benefits to those who want to spend time on the water, it’s a natural fit for those looking for a Swiss Army knife of a boat, with many functions easily managed in the same package. It’s no wonder that many consider the proa to be the best combination fishing and cruising boat.
For the designers, the efficiency was the first noticeable aspect of the design, since the smaller of the two hulls has roughly half the drag of the large hull, thanks to fluid dynamics. Stability is another factor that can make or break a day chasing the fish, and our multihull design makes it easy to enjoy fishing in rough conditions with a consistent, predictable hull movement. Speed is a factor in everyone’s enjoyment of a boat, whether it’s the thrill of a fast run up the coast or a quick jaunt offshore.
Aspen Thinks About Engines Differently Than All Other Builders
Aspens run on a single diesel engine or two mismatched outboards, depending on the model chosen. Both configurations have their advantages, depending on the boating experience you’re after. A single diesel engine design saves dramatically on machinery weight, which in turn saves on the required structure component sizes, plus additional necessary fuel and the corresponding weight of that load. As outboards have continuously improved—and grown in popularity—we saw an opportunity to incorporate outboard power to create even more of an advantage for Aspen owners.
Spacious Decks Make a Big Difference
Whether you choose a cruising model with a full interior and accommodations or an open-deck, center-console-type catamaran with loads of seating and open space, Aspen designs make a lot of sense for boaters looking for a certain type of experience. Having the space to move around means that even a large group of friends won’t feel crowded. No matter what choice you make, we know you’ll find our designs make the best use of that broad, stable platform for a dayboating adventure or longer, overnight excursions.
