Oz Aksan-President Of Aksano Catamarans

If enthusiasm could be measured in dollars and cents, Oz Aksan would be a millionaire many times over. I am ashamed to admit that I was not familiar with Aksano Catamarans until I saw and ad in the January issue of Boating Magazine. The boat in the picture jumped out at me. It was unlike anything I had seen before. I was hooked and went straight to the company's web-site to find out everything I could about this radical looking boat and those responsible for creating my desire to own one.  I was fortunate enough to speak with Oz Aksan, President and CEO.  After just a few minutes it became obvious that it would be difficult if not impossible to find  anyone more passionate about building boats than Mr. Aksan. Read on and see for yourself!!

"It was a testosterone thing". Oz was referring to his 1,700 mile crossing of the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean at an age when most guys are thinking about getting their first car. Leaving his birthplace of Istanbul, Turkey, he arrived with a partner in the Turkish city of Antalya less than a week later. This wasn't done in a safe and forgiving sport cruiser that would have been better suited to battle heavy seas, poor weather and freighter traffic. The boat was merely an 18 foot RIB with a 100hp Mercury strapped on the transom! Not your typical rite of passage. < Fast Forward > In keeping with that spirit, Mr. Aksan is now the President of Aksano Catamarans. Their creation, a 13 foot cat that easily hits 45mph with a small outboard motor of only 50 hp. A catamaran in that size? Certainly not your typical runabout.

     The more we talked it became apparent that there is nothing typical about Oz. After finishing high school, his dreams of earning a living in offshore racing were quickly squashed by his father. " My father sent me off to North Carolina to go to college. It ended up being the right thing to do". While attending school he racked up degrees in math, physics and management. In between semesters in his first year, naturally he took the opportunity to return to Turkey to visit with family and friends. Somehow he also managed to build his first catamaran. He dubbed this 21 footer the Cyclotron. I asked how he ended up in Monroe, Washington where the company is located. "I did my thesis on the effect of stepped hull design on conventional hull designs. Then my girlfriend and I decided to travel out west. "As we were driving through Washington, we passed the factory for Glacier Bay Catamarans. (Glacier Bay Catamarans are considered to be among the best built power catamarans in the world). I walked in to check it out and I was hired on the spot".

     During his eight years with the company he was instrumental in the development of eight different models, the last being the 2685. During his tenure he worked closely with Mr. Shaun Magruder. Sharing the same passion for boats and cats in particular, the pair found themselves tinkering with designs of their own for a small trailerable catamaran. For two years the pair worked during the day at Glacier Bay Catamarans and then worked through the night on their pet project. According to Oz, "The first year was spent mostly on the design and the second year on creating jigs and molds". The pair then left Glacier Bay and devoted themselves full time to Aksano Catamarans.

      A great deal of thought went into the design. As an example Oz pointed out their search for the best design of the center console. "We went with a center console because it gives you a lot more room especially if your fishing. We actually went through three totally different designs of the console itself. We had to find a way to fit the battery, the fuel tank, and steering components and have it be easy to use and good looking as well". When you look at some of the photos you can see the result was worth the effort.

     So why the obsession with catamarans. What's the big deal? So I put the question to Mr. Aksan. "Safer, better stability and faster than anything else in it's size using less horsepower". Larger power catamarans sometimes have a unique handling trait when banking in turns. The boat will tend to lean to the outside which Oz described as "negative banking" Traditional V-hulls, which most power boaters are more familiar with bank into the turn. I was curious as to how these tracked, if they shared the same characteristics. "Not at all" said Oz. He went on to explain " We took a lot of time to design the hull so it will either bank flat or bank into the turn. We didn't want people that were moving over to our boats from V-hulls to feel uncomfortable driving the boat" But the big question? Handling overall? "You can drive it right through a turn without any skipping or sliding. It handles like a Mazda Miata on the water and there is no bow rise when getting up on plane".

     But is it safe? Sometimes zippy little boats can be very unforgiving. Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to drive one of these little cats yet. That's the key word-yet. However after my conversation with Mr. Aksan, his extensive background building catamarans and the fact that he is the father of two you children that get to go boating with dad, I have no doubt that they behave as claimed.

     As you can see from the thumbnails below, this boat looks like its going fast even while standing still. The yellow and red gel coat colors certainly add to the effect. So who buys these boats? According to Oz they appeal to a fairly wide demographic which surprised me. "We sell to dads whose 12-14 year old kids think that the boat is cool. A lot go to singles in the 25-35 year old group. One of our biggest customer base is for older folks looking to use them as yacht tenders instead of the typical dingy". As sales increase so is the dealer base. Right now most of the dealers are based on the West Coast and Florida. Tapping the overseas market they have dealers in Japan, Spain, Kuwait and of course Oz's home port of Istanbul, Turkey.

     Now with the proven success of their 13 footer the company has a good foundation that will allow them to add more models to the line up. Let's face it. As powerboaters go, when it's time to move up, quite often we stay loyal to the builder of our current boat. Oz and his team have been designing several new models to fill that need for their current customers. "We are designing a 17 footer and a 19 footer based on the same hull design. We're looking at different engine options. An inboard for the 17 footer, outboards, jet drives, and a rotary engine" He hinted at some sort of surface piercing proprietary drive system.

     So if you are in the market for a new boat or just plain curious, treat yourself to some eye candy and visit their web-site at www.aksano.com. You just might find yourself getting hooked like I did!!

We have to put in the legal stuff.               

Disclaimer: This site is intended for entertainment purposes only. Views expressed here are of personal opinion. Links to third party sites are intended to provide convenient access to sites that we believe may be of interest. The Powerboating Tribune assumes no responsibility for the content, services or products offered at these sites. Entering any site is done so at your own risk. You can't use any of this stuff without permission. So there.