Fountaine Pajot 51'. With All Electric Propulsion is this the perfect liveaboard Catamaran?

This is a guided tour of the Fountaine Pajot Aura 51'. This boat has more than enough space, storage and comfort to be a liveaboard Catamaran. It also has been designed with sailing performance in mind. Now they are producing this Aura 51 with new all-electric propulsion and tons of solar for almost limitless silent running. The combination of all of these factors makes this a consideration for the perfect world-travelling liveaboard cat.
The tour is headed by:
James Tiernan
President of ACY Texas and a Yacht Consultant
Email: [e-mail]
Office: [phone]
James was full of knowledge and very helpful. My experience dealing with James was great and I would be happy to deal with him on any boat-related purchase questions.

[@Gman450a1]

FP 51 all electric for sure. Nice layout with the double masters and this looked huge. Thanks for the nice preview.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

I think I agree. All electric would get the techie in me excited too. 😁👍

[@khanthabuasiya7794]

Great video, thank you .

[@jameseisenhauer6631]

23:12 Loved the 4 cabin double master layout. Both masters had plenty of space, with plenty of storage. This is the 2nd FP 51 I have seen, and it showed the galley a bit better; at first I wasnt thrilled with how open the salon to the cockpit was as it seemed to take away galley prep area, but this video makes that concern go away to an extent. Engine rooms look like getting around in is fairly easy, wish this video would have shown the generator just to get an idea of space for maintenance. All in all, like these layouts from FP, seem very functional.

[@MartialLONGANGUE]

I'll go for Xquisite 5 Plus, for finish quality and resell value. And therefore all these boats are greats ! 👍👌

[@Bowmans-Woods]

The Xquisite boats have the quality and after sales service that I would really trust and is worth a lot for peace of mind. BUT, the master cabin is tight in comparison to the other boats and only has access to the bed from the foot, which is almost a deal breaker for Janice. I wish Xquisite lifted the bed higher and then made it an athwartship bed with 3 sided access like the FP and even the Balance catamarans, which is a performance oriented cat and is focussed on keeping the weight down and the hulls slim but still managed to make the beds wide and accessible. Somehow Balance still has tons of storage too. Almost magic how they can make a performance cat that still feels big and comfortable inside. If Xquisite was to change their bed situation with athwartship beds, I think it would be at the top of the list for all of its good features but, I don't see them changing the hulls layouts any time soon. So I think it comes down to FP if you want a Cat you can live really comfortably in with lots of outdoor seating or the Balance if you want decent interior size and comfort and very good performance.

[@MartialLONGANGUE]

@@Bowmans-Woods With all these options (AC, watermaker, compressor...) included, it definitely Xquisite !

[@slidecatch]

I love the FP, whether electric or no, for the lovely interior layout and spaciousness.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

It was a really good layout. Like you said, I could live with a diesel version. Just the techie in me would love the all electric version. Fun to try to harness that sun and hydrogenation (when sailing) to get free propulsion. I could make a game out of maxing that out. I'd smile every time another cat owner says how much they just spent to fill up their massive fuel tanks and I would only have to fill a much smaller tank for the backup generator from time to time. $$$$ saving would probably pay for the upgrade over a few years. Plus electric motors have almost no maintenance to do so you'd save money and many hours not constantly servicing your diesel motors.

[@TheCossak]

It's impressive how much bigger the 51 looks compared to the 47. It's like a spacious 4 bedroom apartment.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

It is very large. Bigger than the "51" would indicate

[@JK-zi1rg]

The extra living space seems like a really worthwhile trade off to a little bit of performance. Especially if living on it full time, and taking extra crew for long passage....

[@Bowmans-Woods]

I agree

[@MichaelrennieG]

really appreciate giving out prices, hate looking when things are out of price range...

[@Bowmans-Woods]

James was really good about being honest about the real price of boats once you kit them out for live aboard.

[@GregoryStrauss-tk7pe]

Professional salesman 🎉

[@Bowmans-Woods]

James was good and a true straight shooter. He was honest when saying the price you get quoted at a show is not the real price because you would need a lot more for a true live-aboard boat.

[@johnfairweather3178]

Nice

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Very nice

[@tylerwalz1]

I think you're missing the upside of the starboard aft cabin accessed from outside. This cabin would be a grea work room (and wet room with that shower) without the need to take wet gear or dirty equipment in need of repair through the salon. You have four other cabins and could still use this as overflow sleeping in a pinch.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Ya. Good additional points for external entrances.

[@maldwindrummond6158]

Beyond the differences in performance, there is probably a qualitative difference between the production boats and the Balance/ Exquisite boats, which would be amplified as the boats age.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

I would agree that would be a concern in the back of my mind. It's hard to know if the FP (or any mass production builder like a Lagoon or Leopard) would have any quality issues that would show up years down the road that you may not have on a more custom boat builder that generally put a lot more man hours into each boat. If we only had a crystal ball. :-)

[@sanksot_art]

Love ur video man, can i ask u quation, Is there any boat from royal cape this year?

[@Bowmans-Woods]

There was one at the show but they have not changed much at all from all the years we filmed them so we didn't bother this year.

[@sanksot_art]

@@Bowmans-Woods ow, ok, thanks man

[@darrenykema979]

I looked through one of these at the Gold Coast show here in Australia Incredibly disappointed in the finish Panels with gaps, timber misalignment etc Hope they step up the quality significantly Also missing is a dedicated forward nav station for when on passage

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Really. I didn't see any finish issues but I didn't get into the nooks and crannies on this tour. I'd definitely go deeper if I was sure this was the boat I could afford. It is up there in price so it may be out of our budget anyway.

[@michaelsasylum]

Definitely feels like a big leap for FP cats.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

I recall looking at FPs 5 years ago and not being that impressed. They have really stepped up their interiors. Now if the new ones like this 51 also perform well, then they have a winner.

[@BRADH-xw8sw]

Hi Craig! This looks more like the previous model FP-51. It just doesn't look like the Aura 51. We would take an Xquisite X5 Plus over this cat - its cheaper and fully sail away loaded. The new Xquisite 60 Solar Power what we dream about too and one day Tamas will get our call.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

I agree that the X5 Plus is a great boat. But master bedroom and Bed in particular is wall to wall and feels tight and Janice is not a fan of that. You think the X5+ is cheaper? I dont think so. I think if you compared apples to apples and got the coming Hybrid then I would bet that the X5+ fully loaded is near $2M. I haven't had a chance to see the 60' Solar. It may be really cool but if I struggle to think I can afford a 50', I certainly can not afford a 60'. No point in falling in love with a boat you can never afford. :-)

[@BRADH-xw8sw]

@@Bowmans-Woods Yeah I am probably upside down on that, we have only been on the original X5. Still, we can dream - but an interesting calc for liveaboards is the fuel vs sails & rigging cost after 5years.

[@waltervanderboor]

I would really like 100% electric to work, but my calculations on various systems show that it actually never works out more efficient. you spend easily 300,000 extra to go eg 48 volt and for that money alone you could sail at least 20 years. The zero maintenance on the electric motors is tempting but we all know that there is a lifespan to batteries. if we pretend the lithium can do 20 years.. Then you are looking at a huge future investment again of approximately 200-250,000 usd. which is more than you'd ever spend on maintenance for a diesel. Besides that you are likely going to spend a similar diesel amount on the genset even with 5000 KW solar if you need to run ac 24 /7 like we do. Hence we are definitely not there yet. As for this boat, the doors a rather small, and do not properly open in the smaller cabins. Me looking at 65+ ft this is a very small boat, but if Id be buying this boat they need to up their game in comparison with balance xquisite etc, because after extras this is not a cheap boat.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

You may be right on the extra upfront expense taking away most of the benefit. But if you are not constantly moving around the world and spend 90% of your time at anchor, like most boats do, then being electric with a ton of solar panels may be more than enough to sustain your daily usage. It’s the motoring that will suck up a lot of battery power. And yes, you can’t run the AC everywhere all the time as that is a luxury you should save for just your sleeping cabin only at night when there is no breeze. I like that most boats now have independent controls for AC in each room. So you only AC the essential area. Not the entire boat.

[@scottblair6845]

One question no one answers. Love utilizing energy. Efficiency etc. But and a huge But. Surrounding myself in a boat with all the electricity. Batteries. Bringing my wife, kids, grandchildren, relatives and friends aboard EMF Radiation. And the Health consequences related to it. When I ask this question I get the deer in the headlights stare. To me. This is the 1st thought that enters my mind when dealing with this technology. It's as if no one has tested this concern. Or they have tested it and didn't like the results. But I love the idea. But that's the concern I would need to remedy before considering this type of boat.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Not sure what to say to this

[@scottblair6845]

That's the problem. 1. People don't know what Electo Magnetic Frequencies are. 2. Haven't read the many studies it has on Health. Let alone the cost effectiveness. How many years would it take to break even for the investment. That is why I ask the question. Others may not question the obvious health question. But I do. While we are in a rush to go green. Many winners on the corporate side. There's a price tag. And it is very costly.

[@mush7444]

​@@scottblair6845 Its DC not AC

[@l8knight845]

Lol, when I'm trying to outrun a storm how do indo that in the dark with deaf batteries? The diesel engines in a sailboat are already the backups.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

That is what the Diesel generator is for (Range and higher speeds). If you need to go far or fast you just turn on the gen set and go as fast as the electric motors will go. The Solar and Hydrogenation is a cool cost saving benefit only when you are not in a rush. Something to consider that wasn't mentioned is that the brushless electric motors need practically no maintenance unlike having 2 diesel engines that constantly need checking and servicing. The more you use the Diesel motors the more things you have to do to service them (oil changes, belts, impellers, etc etc) . If you are using the electric motors there is no "engine hours" and servicing needs so if reselling the engine hours and servicing concerns will not come up from the new potential buyer. Only thing that needs oil changes and servicing is the Generator and if that ever starts to give you issues you could just easily pull it out and replace it. Unlike if an engine starts to die on you, pulling that out (along with the sail drive) means pulling your boat out of the water and is a very big and expensive job. So, Much less servicing issues is a big point in the favor of electric motors.

[@MD11Fr8Dog]

Depending on the sea state, running the diesel generator may not be an option. We tried to run our generator (in our Aura 51, Absolutely - hull #28) during rough weather (edges of TS Cindy) on our trans Atlantic crossing in June. We got surging due to the seawater intake coming out of the water and inducing air in to the system while in the rougher seas, so we had to shut it down to prevent it from overheating. She’s a wonderful boat, quite comfortable and makes good time under sail - faster than we expected. I can almost single hand her from the helm. We have the charter version, and she is quite popular in her charter fleet in the BVI with all of the current sailing season booked up through Aug, and starting to fill the 24/25 calendar.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

@@MD11Fr8Dog Very cool. I did not know you owned an Aura 51 already. Good info from someone that knows the potential issues. I wonder if there’s an option for them to create a electric water pump that would suck seawater into a Reservoir and the Reservoir would be what cools the GENERATOR. That way even in bouncy seas, you should still have a constant flow of water. Then you should be able to run your generator, no matter what the conditions. I think if you’re using your generator as your range extender, you definitely need to have something like that built into the boat for safety.

[@MD11Fr8Dog]

@@Bowmans-Woods we have 2000watts of solar, but cloudy conditions can hurt. In those conditions, we ran an engine. 40 hrs in edges of TS Cindy was not fun, especially on one of my 3-6a watches, in rain (no Bimini - but has hardtop now), heavy seas and 30-35kt winds - 3rd reef, Genoa furled in about 25-30%. Naturally the wind dropped to 20-25 at the end of my watch. 😉 I know of another Aura 51 (we took delivery in May at the same time as they) without a generator. They have about 4K watts of solar, but they never see more that 1000w from the coach top integrated solar. They have a 2000w solar arch that performs much better. I believe they also have high output alternators on their engines. We went with the solar arch and no coach top integrated solar - I’ve seen 1.6-1.8K watts with the sun overhead. And if we stay with Absolutely post charter, we will probably go with more solar and the high output alternators and huge bank of lithium batteries, and maybe ditch the generator - make room for more toys 😉. We have 3 to 4 yrs before we have to make any decisions and the technology hopefully keeps improving by then. BTW - we met the owners of the first Aura 51 sold with all electric - hull #30 or 31. They are an Aussie couple and are taking her to Australia. He is a boat explosion, burn survivor which explains their wanting no gas of any kind on board. Nice folks. The owner of the first boat James sold , hull #7,, already has his boat up for sale. He and I communicated often, including during our Atlantic passage (thank you Elon 😎👍🏻), and he was a huge help and great source of info for us. Finally, I know almost all the folks milling about in the salon in your video and most were involved with my purchase in some capacity. 😉👍🏻 Here’s Absolutely’s website with a mix of stock FP pictures and some of our own. I will update soon with more of our own pics and get rid of the FP promo pics in the next couple of months. Probably get my daughter, an NYU film student, to put together some videos from our crossing too. She’s better at that stuff than I. 😎👍🏻 SailAbsolutely.com

[@mikemendes7598]

@@Bowmans-Woods Great point, and one that I think gets lost in the WHOLE ICE vs electric conversation. Internal combustion engines are surprisingly reliable given their incredible complexity. There is SO much to go wrong, while an electric motor is stupidly simple. You also aren't carrying inherently dangerous fuels with you and can "re-fuel" electrric for free. (Solar or re-gen) Obviously batteries can be dangerous, and there are too many stories of them blowing up or catching fire. Hopefully as the technology gets better and more prolific they will figure out ways to make them safer. It's an exciting time for the industry!

[@russcattell955i]

Call me a bit luddite, but if you break a carbon fiber boat in a far flung corner of the world can you get it fixed? Fiberglass is everywhere, though I'm sure wooden boat owners said the same back in the old days.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Carbon fiber is quite strong but you are right that carbon fiber would be harder to fix.

[@akllera]

I don't think I could do pure electric. I believe a Hybrid will be more popular in the future.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Hybrid is good too. Just feel like a Diesel Generator has all the benefits of having a diesel engine without the need for all the transmission and other things that come along with Diesel motors. Plus you can run the diesel generator without worrying that the engine hours used is going to bring down the resale value of the boat. If the Generator starts crapping out, you just yank it out and get a new one. Not a big problem. New engines? Big problem, because you are probably going to replace both if you are replacing one. You don't want one brand new engine and have the other engine be old dissimilar, perhaps even a different model than the new one, as things change in the industry by the time you replace the first one. Buying 2 brand new engines along with all the man hours to have them replaced would be a huge expense. Electric motors aren't judged on engine hours. If it ever stopped working, it would be easy to replace. My 2 cents.

[@escapeseeker]

All Electric w super owner's cabin. All boats become smaller after a week on the water.

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Ya. I doubt too many people complain that their boat has too much space, once they live on it full time.

[@Krzysztof-yh9jy]

What is the price for?

[@Bowmans-Woods]

Huh? Price is mentioned in the video.

[@carloko08]

It always surprises me how "engineers" don't use windmills and propellers in water to generate electricity, what is this, doesn't it occur to them or do they have no brains? Having a diesel engine to generate electricity or hydrogen to generate electricity is a pointless approach, WINDMILLS, PROPELLERS IN WATER, the boat moves forward with sails AND ELECTRICITY IS GENERATED, if there is no wind the batteries are in charge of providing electricity, IT MOVES FORWARD WITH THE ENGINES AND THE MILLS AND THE PROPELLERS GENERATE ELECTRICITY, please, at this point and all of yours are still wondering how to solve something so simple, I REMIND TO ALL OF YOURS THAT SINCE THE 1920'S BICYCLES HAD SMALL DYNAMOS THAT GENERATED ENOUGH ELECTRICITY FOR THE LIGHTS OF THE BICYCLE, the dynamo was connected by a mechanical means to one of the wheels of the bicycle, it rotated and WOW, ELECTRICITY, in the sea it is no different, put windmills and propellers in water and you will have plenty of electricity

[@Bowmans-Woods]

There is hydrogeneration and wind turbines for boats.