Aquila 28 Molokai

Test location: Clearwater, FL (USA)
Conditions: Slight chop, 20 knots of wind

Aquila may be one of the leaders in the powercat market, but the brand isn’t intending on resting on its laurels. After the imposing Aquila 70 Luxury yacht catamaran, the builder is expanding its range of small boats with the Aquila 28 Molokai. This catamaran inaugurates the new offshore range, which should soon include larger models.

Until now, the American/Chinese company had no involvement in the open catamaran fishing sector, a field dominated by brands like World Cat, Invincible and many others. But now it is, as the 28 Molokai is indeed a fishing boat and has all the required attributes.

As is typically the case, Aquila doesn’t do things the same way as everyone else... To design its new model, the shipyard sought inspiration from Hawaii, and more particularly from the architect Kirk Clark, a true figure of naval design in this Pacific Ocean archipelago. It is also from one of these tropical islands that the name of the boat is taken.

With that as the background, it’s time to discover this boat which, in many ways, stands out from the competition. The first thing that strikes you is the ver...