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HH Catamarans – a new range of performance cruisers from China

• Elaine Bunting
• January 15, 2016

A range of fast-paced, sleek and modern-looking boats from Hudson Yacht & Marine based in south-west China will include cats from 55ft to 115ft, reports Elaine Bunting

HH Catamarans is a name you may not have heard of (yet), but behind this new brand is one of the largest-scale investments and boldest thinking in some years. The plans are ambitious, with a range of big, fast, luxurious catamarans up to superyacht scale.

The company is Hudson Yacht & Marine, based in south-west China, which sees its main market in Europe and the US, hence its appearance in Annapolis.

At the new facility in Xiamen, an island city lying between Hong Kong and Shanghai, the first is being built of what is to be a range of catamarans from 55ft to 115ft: the HH55, HH66, HH77, HH88 and HH115.

Rendering of the HH88

Four HH66s have been sold and are already in production. The first is due to launch in February for an Asian owner, and tooling for the HH55 is underway.

If the appearance of these resembles the Gunboat range more than the average production cruising cat, that is hardly surprising: the designs are the work of Morrelli & Melvin, the design team responsible for 18 Gunboats, and whose expertise in performance multihulls over the years spans A Class and Nacra catamarans to the late Steve Fossett’s PlayStation and, more recently, BMW Oracle Racing.

All will be fast-paced, sleek and modern-looking boats aimed at fast passagemaking and comfortable open plan ‘indoor/outdoor’ living. The HH55 and HH66 are styled as ‘a light and strong raceboat in disguise’. The HH66 is in composite construction, primarily aimed at cruising but, according to Morrelli & Melvin, “able to kick it up a notch”. So it is ultra light, and has C-shape daggerboards and T-foil rudders.

The HH55 is available in two configurations: forward cockpit and centre steering or dual aft steering and either in full-on performance-mode carbon composite construction or a less costly epoxy/E-Glass alternative. It, too, features C-shape daggerboards and T-foil rudders.

NZ builder brought in

Besides commissioning Morrelli & Melvin for the designs, owner Hudson Wang brought in New Zealand boatbuilder Paul Hakes four years ago. Hakes, a well known racing boat builder very experienced in building in pre-preg carbon, admits that he was “quite taken aback” by the scale of the company’s commitment to building boats – to date it has spent US$50m on building a boatyard. In that time Hakes has built several of the Judel Vrojlik-designed HH42, the best known example of which is Richard Matthews’s Oystercatcher XXX .

Hudson sees yacht manufacture as part of a serial manufacturing operation. The company’s products are wide-ranging. It produces around 20 per cent of baseball bats bought in the US, makes aircraft escape slides, barbecues and coolers, and employs some 4,000 people, of which 400 are in the boatyard. Its history in boats goes back to building J/80s and RIBs.

Tooling for the HH55 is also well underway. Paul Hakes tells us that the yard has finished a new fit-out hall and now has capability to have four or five HH66s and five to six HH55s in build at a time.

Preliminary drawings for the HH88 have been done and sufficient structural detail to allow price estimates. Designer Gino Morrelli says that the company is in talks with two potential owners.

Morrelli emphasises that the range could also go beyond the 115-footer currently planned. “We think the yard has capability to go to 150ft and they’ve built their new building to get that out the door, as that is where we think we will be in five to six years.”

Each of these boats can be highly customised, and renderings show very modern interiors. The zingy hull colours illustrated emphasise the message that Hudson is aiming to appeal to owners not hidebound by tradition, and perhaps migrating from motorboats.

The fact that the business has put its weight so strongly behind multihull production is yet another indication of growing interest in this area of sailing. “As far as the sailing market is concerned, the share of multihulls is growing, and bigger boats are coming out [of the downturn] faster than smaller boats,” says Morrelli.

www.hhcatamarans.com and www.morrellimelvin.com

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Multimillion-dollar sailing cats are a small but fiercely contested niche, mostly dominated by European brands. So it’s worth paying attention when an eight-year-old builder from China is considered a legitimate challenger to pedigreed French names such as Privilege and Lagoon .

HH Catamarans , with a line ranging from fast, wave-jumping 50-foot cruisers to 88-foot ocean yachts, has gained a loyal following in the US and Europe, in part because COO Paul Hakes—he’s one of the H’s in “HH”—is obsessed with mating upscale interiors to featherweight racing hulls.

Hakes assembled what he calls a “mini-UN” of expat experts at HH’s production headquarters in Xiamen, China. Naval architecture is done by the California-based firm Morelli & Melvin . The yachts are built by local labor: With an average of 40,000 man-hours per cat, the labor savings add up significantly, allowing HH to focus on superior performance through exotic materials and expensive carbon-fiber weaves. “We’re determined to make HH the Ferrari of sailing cats,” Hakes says.

HH Catamarans

Befitting that famed Italian marque, the HH55 and HH66 are sleek, nimble and beautiful vessels, though the HH88, with its exponentially larger interior and oceangoing hull, is more
 like a Mercedes-AMG G-Wagen. But to stick to automotive analogies, it’s worth mentioning that HH’s upstart nature makes it more like Lamborghini , founded to challenge Enzo Ferrari’s already successful brand—and we all know how that turned out.

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About HH Catamarans

HH Catamarans build state of the art, carbon fibre, high performance yachts for a discerning clientele who seek an exceptional ownership experience. HH Catamarans was formed in early 2012 and set about developing a new brand, something extraordinary. In the years since "HH" has come to represent a commitment to the quality and success of every boat built.

HH Catamarans are designed to exacting specifications and built to reflect each owner’s unique needs, using the most advanced methods in the industry. We deliver luxury yachts that are elegant performance machines, and offer them at unmatched value.

HH 56 Catamaran

The all new HH56 is an evolution of our award-winning HH55. It represents years of design and product development refinement as well as the ...

HH Catamarans are soon to release details on their all new HH52 catamaran, inspired by the success and innovations released on the recent HH44 (30 ...

HH50-OC (Ocean Cruiser) Catamaran

Exceptional design, intuitive systems, envy inducing aesthetics, spacious and comfortable living spaces and safe, responsive sailing characteristics ...

HH 55 Catamaran

An exquisite balance of luxury, performance and manageability. The award-winning HH55 is an all-carbon blue water capable, fast sailing catamaran ...

HH44-OC (Ocean Cruiser) Catamaran

This is sailing in its purest form. Stylish and fast with luxurious comfort. Take control of the OC44’s swing helm and experience the excitement and...

HH50-SC (Sports Cruising) Catamaran

The HH50 is a bluewater capable, performance cruiser with intelligent yet simple-to-use systems, carbon construction, spacious interiors and luxurious...

HH44-SC (Sports Cruising) Catamaran

The HH44 is a disruptive new market entrant designed for those seeking the perfect balance of style, performance, safety and innovation. The carbon ...

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About HH Catamarans…

HH Catamarans was formed in 2012 and quickly set out to build something extraordinary. In the years since, “HH” has come to represent a commitment to the quality and success of every boat built.

HH Catamarans offers an unmatched combination of strengths: a dedicated team of in-house designers and engineers, and partnerships with renowned naval architects around the world; two wholly owned, state-of-the-art production facilities; a master boatbuilding team led by industry veterans; and an intricate network of the industry’s best sales and service professionals.

Through concept and design, manufacturing, sales and service, the Hudson Yacht Group delivers boats of the highest quality to a discerning, international clientele.

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The HH name comes from the 2 main drivers behind the company: Hudson Wang, who is the owner of Hudson Yacht and Marine and Paul Hakes, an experienced boat builder from New Zealand. The design team is headed by James Hakes, Warren Muir and James Juan who work closely with Morrelli and Melvin Design .

The philosophy at HH is quality with no compromise which will give you an idea of how they position their catamarans in the market in terms of price. To achieve this, they work with partners such as Morrelli and Melvin, Southern Spars, Harken, North Sails and Cay Electronics.

After Sales

To provide that they have set up a SWAT team (the Service Worldwide Anytime Team) to help fix those boat problems that we all experience from time to time.

So far, we’ve heard good feedback on this front, from Seabattical for example, one of their OC50 owners.

The Fast Cat Connection

Hudson Marine were involved in the manufacture of the Gunboat 60, designed by Nigel Irens. The companies eventually went their separate ways and HH Catamarans was born.

HH focused on developing their own line of performance cats designed by Morrelli and Melvin and the rest is history.

HH Catamarans – Models

The first fast cat to come off the production line was the HH66. You can read our full HH66 review here. They really laid down the gauntlet with this first design and it has become one of those aspirational cats and their flagship model.

HH66 Nemo has been pretty successful on the racing circuit.

Following the 66 footer came the HH55, shorter than the original boat, but still highly tuned for speed with a luxurious finish. This was a move to appeal to couples setting off on long distance cruises- now a key target market for this brand.

Read our HH55 Review here .

Prospective buyers were requesting a size that was even more manageable for a couple sailing around the world, so the HH50 was developed.

Read our HH50 Owner’s Review from SV Lickety.

Examples HH50-01: Tribute HH50-02: Off-Piste HH50-04: Lickety

HH44 SC and OC

HH announced the launch of the HH44 in August 2021. Available as a fully carbon fibre yacht or e-glass and carbon with innovative features such as the swinging dual aft helms and a closed transom. They have developed this as an ECO boat with an option for electric propulsion (parallel hybrid).

The first hull was shown in Cannes in 2023. This boat is being heavily featured in the Gone with the Wynns YouTube channel.

The parallel hybrid system operates in different modes:

1. Standard mode – diesel engines with the hybrid system disengaged.

2. Engine mode – operate the diesel engines with all extra horsepower  used to charge the large battery bank.

3. Generator mode – Disengage the clutch in the prop shaft and use the two diesel engines as two 6kW DC generators.

4. Silent mode – Disengage the electric motors from the diesel engines and run on the electric motors which provide 10kW of silent propulsion power per shaft (20kW total)

5. Hydro-Regen mode – while sailing, disengage the electric motors from the diesel engines, open the folding props and allow it to free-spin, generating electricity for free!

Designed with disabled sailors in mind, the HH44 Open was designed by HH Catamarans with the Disabled Sailors Association (DSA) of the UK. The design enables sailors to easily get on and off the boat, down into the hulls with full chair turning room, and up onto the side decks and foredeck.

HH52 SC and OC

Announced in 2022, the HH52 will be available in all carbon (SC) or e-glass (OC). The OC version of this yacht is built using a mixture of e-glass and carbon fibre while the SC version is 100% carbon fibre.

Includes the parallel hybrid EcoDrive option, this yacht is offered in both forward helm and dual aft helm versions.

For those seeking more speed, the HH60, with its powerful rig plan, bigger cockpit and deep daggerboards slots into the range between the 55 and 66. The example above has the single raised bimini like HH55-05, giving an even sleeker profile

The HH77 is a Supercat concept with the option to completely customise the layout. She can be powered with a Parallel Hybrid “Eco Drive”.

HH announced the development of an 80 foot supercatamaran at the 2023 Cannes Yachting Festival. The HH80 will accommodate eight guests and three crew, and will come with an option for the parallel hybrid Eco-drive while powering house systems with solar and hydro regeneration.

HH have also launched an 88 foot superyacht called Sketch to Sea. In fact, HH will custom build yachts of this type from 77 feet. The first cat has a flybridge (this is optional) with an all-carbon construction plus carbon mast and rigging,

OCEAN SERIES (HH OC Series)

Note, these have been rebranded the HH OCs. We have kept them separate as there are a few differences (single raised helm, keels).

Although they specialise in light, luxurious performance cats, HH have branched out into the Ocean Series with the launch of the OC50 now known as the HH50 OC. The design closely follows that of the HH50 SC, but she is constructed in e-glass and has fixed keels with winglets rather than dagger-boards.

The whole range is targeting long distance cruising couples who are looking for an easier boat to handle, but that remains a high performance machine.

Read our OC50 review here .

In development is a flybridge version called the OC56.

The sister ship to the HH44 SC, the HH44 OC is closely related, but designed as more of a cruising boat for those on a sharper budget. With high-performance fixed skegs instead of daggerboards and a gel-coat finish instead of paint.

She comes a single swing-helm and twin diesel propulsion, with an option to upgrade to twin swing-helms and the EcoDrive power system.

Other Brands

If you enjoyed this history of HH Catamarans, take a look at our other catamaran brand features:

Balance Catana Dazcat Fountaine Pajot Gunboat Kinetic Lagoon Leopard Marsaudon Nautitech Outremer Prout Sunreef

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