Iconic Marine introduced its first catamaran in the Donzi Marine line.
When Donzi Marine unwrapped its Icon 44 catamaran, it turned more than a few heads in the high-performance industry. Donzi Marine built its legacy on turning out timeless V-bottom boats and now has its sights set on the high-end catama-ran segment with its first catamaran.
“We’re trying to be innovative with the brand with something new and exciting and the (latest) technology,” said Billy Moore, director of performance boat sales and dealer development for Iconic Marine which includes the Donzi, Fountain and Baja brands. “We’re putting the fun back in performance boating for everybody, not just the guy that’s actually running the boat.”
Iconic Marine’s late COO Joe Curran was one of the driving forces behind the catamaran. Curran, 55, died unexpectedly shortly after the Icon 44 made its debut at the Miami International Boat Show. (Learn more about Joe Curran’s passing in Fast Facts.)
Checking in at 44-feet long with a 12-foot beam, the Icon 44 makes a splash with six individual bucket seats and two lounges, enough room for a small army of friends. The wraparound windscreen and the way the seats are situated keeps the driver and all passengers shielded from the wind.
“If you look at a lot of these pictures or videos of people riding in the backseat of these catamarans, they’re getting blasted at 100 mph,” Moore said. “We’re going for the goal if the wife or the people that weren’t really into boating wanted to go, they’re sitting in the backseats and they’re actually enjoying it because they’re not getting windblown.”
The cockpit can be configured to a buyer’s preference with the coveted seats up front. The driver’s spot is to port with the throttles in the center console allowing for solo or two-person operation. Each spot has its own 12-inch Garmin multifunction screen and stacked in the center of the dash are Mercury VesselView displays to check on the four Mercury Racing 400R outboards. The displays, trim controls and LED push button switches are set in beautiful carbon-fiber panels.
To design and build Donzi’s Icon 44, Iconic Marine worked with Wilson Custom Composites. The Fort Pierce, Florida, company laid up hull number one and took great care so the carbon-fiber layup could be featured in the paint design. The catamaran was built with a new honeycomb-pattern foam coring, which is reportedly lighter and stronger than traditional cores. The Icon 44 report-edly weighs 8,300 pounds.
“Basically, you have the raw boat that is under clear,” Moore said. “It’s something that a lot of people have seen and they’re just like, ‘Wow that’s pretty unreal.’ When you explain to them that is the hull and deck lamination, they’re just blown away that it is that straight.”
The black and white paint for the Icon 44 is reminiscent of the paintwork on its classic V-bottoms, something Moore said was by design.
“That was definitely a goal of ours to keep it kind of classy, classic look where it does have a few stripes but it’s a bold look and with the carbon-fiber that is shown,” he said.
The catamaran was purpose-designed for outboard power, giving designers a large canvas to work with in the cockpit. Between the port and starboard lounges, designers provided a walk-through with steps for easy access to the water. The steps, along with the entire cockpit sole, was covered with silver-gray SeaDeck flooring. The SeaDeck is great on bare feet and durable too.
Power for the debut Icon 44 was quad Mercury Racing 400R outboards and buyers could opt for different power plants. There is a lot to like with 1,600 horsepower from Mercury Racing sitting on the transom. The catamaran, which retails for $825,000, is expected to have a top speed of over 120 mph when its dialed in. Cruising speed is around 100 mph.
The company took great care to showcase the carbon-fiber layup including the cockpit when it set the eight marine speakers.
Moore said the Icon 44 is more than a go-fast lake boat, comparing the cockpit spaciousness to a deck boat.
“We were going for that big massive platform,” Moore said. “It’s a boat that you take to a sandbar and just kind of hang out and lounge, get in and out of the water with the steps that go down to the water off the back of the boat but have enough room where you can bring six people and have enough room where you’re not just sitting all over the deck.”
Fenders, towels and other items can be stowed below deck. Two hatches on the deck provide access to the lockers.
Even though the Icon 44 is a speedster, Moore sees the catamaran as family friendly, especially for the owner who previously owned a center-console boat.
“This project is basically a powerboat but something that’s still family oriented, gentleman like, nothing that is what I would consider really eccentric as far as speed and noise,” Moore said. “With the outboards it’s a lot quieter inside the cockpit, you can actually hold a conversation and enjoy the day out on the boat instead of listening to loud engines.”
