Choosing the PDQ MV34 Powercat

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jim
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Location: connecticut

Choosing the PDQ MV34 Powercat

Post by jim »

What were the main reasons you chose the PDQ? What other boats did you consider? What specific requests did you choose for your boat you were especially pleased you made. If you were to do it over, what would you have done differently? Let's hear your thoughts and experiences. Jim
mckdj12
ELIXIR
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choosing PDQ

Post by ELIXIR »

Reasons - fuel economy w/ reasonable speed; shallow draft; stability in cross seas and down wind; relatively moderate beam still allowing use of some slips; price; good sized common areas considering size of boat; twin engines.
Downsides are small berth compartments (berths themselves are ok); one head when cruising with others; somewhat limited fuel tank size but adequate for coastal cruising.
Looked at Duffys and Wilburs in the 34-38 foot range but less interior space and usually single engine with higher fuel burn. GB 36 main cabin small when 4 people aboard but berthing cabins and 2 berths better than PDQ. Albin quality was questionable. GB 42 was larger than wanted to deal with though main cabin good size. Fuel burn was excessive for a former sailor used to 1.5 gallon an hour burn.
Liked the people at PDQ when visiting. For production company willing to make reasonable changes additions to boat.
Sno' Dog
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Choosing the PDQ MV34 Powercat

Post by Sno' Dog »

For us, it was very much the same as for Jas above. I'm not aware of a single other 34-foot cruiser capable of cruising 15 knots while burning under 5 gal/hour. Also the 2'-4" draft is the shallowest of the lot, and the PDQ offers two separate queen bed cabins. What's not to like?

Just back from the Miami Boat show, I had a chance to look at some of the competition. Some non-cats I found appealing were the Camano 31 and the American Tug 34, but these offer much less living space, deeper draft and higher fuel consumption than the PDQ. As for power cats, most of the available models are much bigger and more expensive than the PDQ. Perhaps the closest competitor will be the new Fountaine Pajot Highland 35 coming out this spring, but for me the Euro-styling is a bit much! There's also the question of customer support -- which might be an issue with several of the imported cats. I met a number of PDQ owners at the show, and I heard nothing but heartwarming praise for factory support.

Another power cat we considered earlier was the Endeavour TrawlerCat 36 which is in the same price range as the PDQ. This boat has an appealing layout with a single helm station. But with its 125-hp engines it has a modest 12-kt cruise speed and it burns 8 gal/hr. (The larger 38, 40 and 44 Endeavours use 240-hp engines for a 15-16 kt cruise speed while burning about 13 gal/hr). Clearly not all powercats are created equal. I noticed that while the manufacturer claims a 13,000-pound displacement for the TrawlerCat 36, the actual weight of a recently-launched boat was about 18,000 pounds (based on an e-mail from the owner).

Personally I think the PDQ stands alone at the moment. The only thing better may be their new 40 Powercat -- but it will come at a price. I'd be interested to hear from other's on this topic.

Henry
(Future owner of Sno' Dog)
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