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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
PDQ 34 Power Cat
The published record on this model and what owners report, with the
questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page covers the model.
Every boat still needs its own homework.
Economical, well-liked twin-Yanmar power cat; strengths are range and burn, watch points are tight engine access and bridgedeck slap in a seaway.
The PDQ 34 Power Cat (marketed as the MV/34 "Passagemaker") is a twin-diesel power catamaran built roughly 2003–2008. It's a distinct boat from the earlier PDQ 34 SAILING catamaran (1988–1991). Verify any listing actually refers to the power cat, not the sailboat, since brokerage aggregators frequently conflate the two. Its documented strengths are outstanding fuel economy and range at trawler speeds; its documented tradeoffs are tight engine access under the aft berths and bridgedeck slap/snap-roll that rewards weather routing. Most defining variables (air draft, exact engine rating) are unit-specific because masts were commonly modified or removed.
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How to read the tags on this page.
CLAIMstated by one source, not yet confirmed
QUESTIONopen, and settled by looking at the boat itself
CONTEXTbackground on how this model is built or used
Sources are linked where published.
Propulsion
CLAIM
Conventional shaft drives, not saildrives
Evidence points to conventional shaft drives on the power cat. A Rhumb Line listing references the twin diesels' drive-line spacing. No evidence was found that the power cat used saildrives, so Yanmar saildrive 'cone clutch' discussions (which concern sailboats) do not apply here.
src:
Rhumb Line brokerage listing
Fuel & range
CONTEXT
Excellent fuel economy at trawler speeds is a genuine strength
Real-world figures are consistent and good: an owner reported ~13 knots at 4.5 gph on twin 75s; broker and owner accounts cite roughly 1.5 gph at 7 knots and under 3.5 gph at 12–15 knots. A documented owner log (Cinghiale, 100 hp) recorded 1,582 nm on 633 gallons (about 3.83 gph and 2.50 NM/gal). This economy is what makes the boat well-suited to long cruising.
src:
Trawler Forum; Rhumb Line owner log; Power Catamaran World
CLAIM
Roughly 184-gallon fuel capacity per broker specs
A Rhumb Line spec sheet lists about 184 gallons of fuel. Combined with ~2.5 NM/gal at cruise, usable range at displacement speeds is ample for extended cruising. Confirm actual tankage on the specific hull, as capacities and any added tankage can vary.
src:
Rhumb Line brokerage listing
Air draft
CONTEXT
Masts commonly removed or made lowerable, so measure this hull
Air draft is highly unit-specific on this model. Some boats had the original mast removed with radar/antennas relocated to the flybridge hardtop (Edwards Yacht Sales, 2005); others retain a radar mast and bimini that one person can drop for low structures (Bluewater Yacht Sales, 2004). No reliable manufacturer air-draft figure was found, and configurations vary widely.
src:
Edwards Yacht Sales; Bluewater Yacht Sales
QUESTION
On this specific hull, what is the measured air draft and what can be lowered?
Because masts, radar arches, and antennas were commonly modified or removed on this model, the as-built figure is meaningless and only the specific boat matters. A lowerable mast/bimini is a real advantage for low-clearance sections.
src:
Trawler Forum
Your move: Measure the actual air draft of this hull to the highest fixed point, and get in writing which items (mast, radar, antennas, bimini) can be lowered and to what height.
Handling & seakeeping
CONTEXT
Bridgedeck slap and snap-roll are the main ride tradeoff
The most important real-world tradeoff: the bridgedeck can slam ('like the crack of a bullwhip') in head seas, and owners report slapping in 3-foot-plus chop and a snap-roll in beam seas. The 34 has relatively high bridgedeck clearance for its size, but once the sea state exceeds it, pounding occurs. The practical answer owners give is to pick your weather, which is reasonable for Loop and coastal use.
src:
Passagemaker trip report; PDQ Owners Forum; Trawler Forum
Hull & construction
CLAIM
Cored construction: survey for moisture at hardware
Reviews describe extensive cored materials in deck, bulkhead, and overhead structures (foam core above the waterline, balsa in some bulkheads per an owner). As with any cored boat, water intrusion around deck hardware is the thing to survey for; no systemic delamination pattern specific to the power cat was found.
src:
Passagemaker review; YBW Forum
QUESTION
Are the bow spray rails intact and the coring dry around deck hardware?
A PDQ Owners Forum poster noted PDQs can have trouble keeping the small bow spray rails intact. Combined with the cored construction, penetrations at stanchions, cleats, and hardware are the areas where moisture and delamination would show.
src:
PDQ Owners Forum; Listings Port
Your move: Have the surveyor moisture-map the decks around stanchions, cleats, and hardware, and inspect the bow spray rails for damage or prior repair.
Reading the boat
QUESTION
Is this listing actually the MV/34 power cat, not the earlier PDQ 34 sailing cat?
Two very different boats share the '34' name: the sailing PDQ 34 (1988–1991, later stretched to the PDQ 36) and the MV/34 power cat (~2003–2008). Brokerage aggregators and spec sites frequently mix the two, describing outboard wells, centerboards, and rigs that belong to the sailboat.
src:
Listings Port; sailboatdata
Your move: Confirm with the broker that the hull is the MV/34 Passagemaker power cat and cross-check the hull ID/year against power-cat, not sailboat, specifications.
Engines
The engines research is part of the full profile inside the
product. It covers factory options, tested performance and the engine-specific
questions in our members' dossiers, and it travels with every dossier and survey brief
built on this model.
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