Just back from a week in Italy aboard a chartered houseboat (not a cat). What a great way to see the Venetian lagoon where EVERYTHING is done by boat including UPS delivery, taxi and even ambulance service! (I've posted some photos from our trip at: _http://www.geocities.com/hanoverhouse2007/Italy05-page1_ (http://www.geocities.com/hanoverhouse2007/Italy05-page1) . Getting back on topic, we too have been looking at cruising powercats in the 34 - 37' range over the past several years. The Endeavour 36 caught our eye early on as we followed the exploits of Don & Ruth Kalen aboard their Odyssey ( _http://www.kalendrl.com/_ (http://www.kalendrl.com/) ). We liked (and still do) the simple one-helm layout. But then we saw the big comfortable Trawlercat 44 and (particularly my wife) fell in love with the walk-around bed and all that SPACE! But reality (read $$$) began to set in and we realized we didn't really need (and couldn't afford) a 44-foot boat for just the two of us. Also, as an engineer, I started looking at the relative efficiency of various models. Powercats offer the potential of great fuel saving at above-displacement speeds. Many allow for relatively economical cruising at speeds in the 12 to 18 knot range. Compared to a monohull which must get up on a plane to reach these speeds, a well-designed powercat consumes about one-third as much fuel as a monohull. At today's fuel prices, that's a big deal! But to get this efficiency, they have to be lightweight and they have to have skinny hulls (L/B better than 10). Of the various designs I compared in this regard, the PDQ ranked #1, Foutaine Pajot #2, and Endeavour #3. As an owner recently commented, Endeavours are heavy. This may be good for ruggedness, but it somewhat undermines the potential for good economy at speed. The TrawlerCat 36 requires 125-hp to cruise at 12 knots, the larger models use twin 240-hp engines for cruising speeds of about 16 knots. It's interesting to note that the performance of a Mainship 40 (monohull) with exactly the same power (2 x 240-hp) is very similar to the Endeavour 38, 40 and 44 models. At displacement speeds (below 7.5 kts) the Mainship is actually a more efficient cruiser than the cats! So, if fuel economy at speed is a major concern, some designs are better than others. At present, the one model which shines in this regard is the PDQ. Because of its light weight and thin hulls, it achieves a cruising speed of 15 knots with 75-hp engines -- and a fuel consumption about 1/3 that of the larger Endeavour TrawlerCats. Certainly, it's a trade-off. The lighter weight may give these boats a quicker motion in a seaway, but for coastal cruising with speed, comfort, and excellent economy it's hard to beat the PDQ. Also, like Endeavour owners, PDQ owners appear to be a pretty contented lot -- although I suspect it may be hard to beat Endeavour for the truly owner-customized boat. PDQ has now geared up for volume production and may be a bit less user-friendly for serious customizers. It's also a fairly small boat for a liveaboard -- but they've certainly done a lot with the space available. (It was that new galley design that finally pushed us over the edge!) As older PCW readers know, we've recently decided to go with the PDQ, and our new boat "Sno' Dog" is now scheduled for completion in December. For anyone interested, we've got a website documenting our voyage to this point which can be found at: _http://www.geocities.com/snodoglog/_ (http://www.geocities.com/snodoglog/) . Ciao, Henry Clews