You mentioned that you were aboard a Power Cat, but which one, what length? These boats represent a wide spectrum of value, accommodation and sea-worthiness. I think the best value on the market are the used PDQ 34's. If you're not big and stiff like me, they have the bulk of what cruisers want. Economy, near 20 knot capability with the newer 4 blade props, storage, separate shower, dual stateroom, good visibility, a center axis lower helm, great quality and reliable power systems. They are great for jaunts to the Bahamas and coastal. The PDQ 41 is just as efficient and even more of the same theme, but handles blue water pretty darned good.
Endeavour 36, 40, 44 and 48 boats are cavernous condos on keels, especially the 40 and 48 Skylounge boats. They are less efficient but even the 36 has three staterooms. Heads are famously huge, always with separate showers, "even the 30 sailcat". You can't beat them for the feeling of a residence upon the water, and service access is pretty well thought out. The older 36 and 44 models appeal to the sailboat type and are low profile pilothouse boats that are not famous for good looks, but are practical, if not a bit noisy. The 36 suffers a bit from a low bridge-deck clearance, making it sneeze more often. Expect 15 or more knots top speed.
The Lagoon 43 and 44 Power-cats are fat and wide (21') and feature this huge master stateroom that is more impressive in photos than in reality. It spans the hulls aft, so a king bed is easy, but is hardly full height. You can walk from one hull to the other, but in an uncomfortable stoop. There's a wet-head (combo shower and head) on each side of the stateroom, but usually owners dedicate one or the other for the shower-only side, and the other side for the head. The guest stateroom is small but livable in the owners version. Charter versions have the master split in half, which in my opinion, is a better use of space. They are pretty sexy looking for a cat, and efficiency is only so-so, but they also have a reputation for "slamming", indicating that the bridge deck is too low for the design. Any cat can slam, but for that kind of money, no thanks. Upper teens in speed.
Fontaine Pajot offers some decent used deals with their 35 and 37' models, but in design and value, I'd much prefer the 37 "Maryland". Good economy at trawler speeds, decent turn of speed in mid to upper teens, and adequate layout with a galley up and a stateroom and head in each hull. For a couple, you can turn one stateroom into storage and live in the other cuz storage is not the shining point of this design. Access to service is tight but what would one expect in a narrow hull. The later 40, 44 and 46 models are built for charter in mind but have owners versions that are very nice. The Charter possibilities for these boats seem to keep the design leaning that way instead of being mindful of live-aboard potential, and they are a lot of $$$.
Leopard 37, 38 and 47 boats were (not sure if they still are) coming over on their own bottoms, and that says something about the confidence in those boats. These are darned efficient hulls and the only production cats to challenge the PDQ's in my opinion. Assuming you're not looking for new, some of the original 37 Charter boats are coming off lease and will likely show up on Yachtworld, but the later 38 is worth waiting for...nice boat. Same basic layout as the Fontaine Pajot 37 Maryland in the owners version, but the Charter version will likely have three staterooms. More convenient height and interior access than the 37. The 47 is a monster of a boat and unless you plan on entertaining, it might not be worth the extra cash to the average cruiser. The huge beam will eliminate a lot of marina possibilities.
Another mention might be the Africat 42. It's efficient, broad and nice quality. Service access is decent and must make a pretty good live-aboard cruiser. Again, an eye toward eventual charter possibilities influenced the boat, but the owners version is really nice, also fairly comfortable with jaunts off-shore (although ocean crossing is not it's forte). It's a rich looking/feeling boat.
One more of interest may be the Manta. Big and luxurious, but the layout is surprisingly conventional, high quality and fairly efficient. Very nice pilothouse, and of course, like all the above, acres of deck space. Typically big bucks on the used market.
My advice to you is if you really want to consider a Power-Cat, head on down to the Islands and rent one for a week or so from any of the Charter companies like Mooring's in Tortola, for example. You'll find the occasional semi-custom cat for sale on Yachtworld that found it's way to the US via Charter service in the Islands. They are interesting to view but might have a lot of hours on them. Like always, it's buyer beware. Have fun looking.
