First 32’ Doug Wright “Pleasure Boat” Ready for Testing in Two to Three Weeks

While high-performance catamaran designer Doug Wright has built his reputation creating successful offshore race boats, his first dedicated-from-inception pleasure cat—a five-seat 32-footer set up for poker runs—is two to three weeks away from on-water testing. That’s according to Wright and John Caparell, the San Diego-based dealer for a new venture called Doug Wright West.

More than a year ago, Caparell received a bare hull with an open-cockpit deck, complete with a recess for a wraparound windshield, from the Florida-based Wright. For all intents and purposes, Caparell has served as the project manager for the 32-footer, including using noted West Coast interior builder Eddie Martinez to handle the cat’s five-seat cockpit. The interior includes expansive stowage lockers on each side.

“You could put a 6’3” man in each of those stowage bins,” said Caparell.

Visual Imagination in Missouri handled the graphics for the cat. Caparell used another vender to rig the catamaran with twin 300-hp Mercury OptiMax outboard engines. With its 62-inch-wide tunnel, the boat rides on modified version of Wright’s racing hulls used in the X-Cat class overseas and Stock class in the United States.

Caparell said he expects the 32-footer, which currently is waiting for its windshield to be installed as the step in completion, to run 105 mph “all day long” an would be “happy” if it tops 110 mph.

“This is going to be the finest outboard pleasure boat on the planet,” said Caparell. “It’s completely fresh. Blower motor cats have become stale. Outboards are the future.

“The process has been painfully slow, but this boat is beyond words,” he concluded. “Doug sent me a bare hull and deck, and I took it from there. I had a vision of what I wanted.”

Added Wright “He spent a lot of time making sure everything was done correctly. He has a lot of patience, that’s for sure.”