The Ocean Express 42 Center Console That Redefined the Open Water

When you talk about the best pleasure catamaran built for open water, the conversation starts and ends with the Ocean Express 42 Center Console. At 42 feet of length overall with a full 12-foot beam, this is a true no-pod catamaran hull designed and built by Ross Focht and the Ocean Express team in Algonac, Michigan. It is not a stretched family bowrider or a renamed fishing boat — it is a purpose-built offshore catamaran that carries the DNA of a race program into a platform you can enjoy with family and friends. For the owner who wants one boat that does everything well — poker runs, day cruising, offshore fishing, diving, and entertaining — the 42 is the only answer that makes sense.

The hull is where the 42 separates itself from everything else on the water. Ocean Express builds it on a race-proven, multi-step composite catamaran hull featuring 24-step sponsons laid up with double-bias unidirectional materials, special-blend resin, and balsa-and-foam core construction. This is the same offshore discipline that made the brand famous, translated into a center console that is strong, lightweight, and remarkably efficient for its size. The twin-sponson tunnel design slices through chop, tracks straight in following seas, and delivers the smooth, stable ride that only a true catamaran can offer. Several of Ocean Express's 40-foot cats have been running at 100+ mph for over 35 years — a testament to how these hulls are built to last.

Performance is nothing short of breathtaking. The below photos TCB is Powered by twin Seven Marine 557 outboards — intercooled, high-horsepower engines chosen by Focht himself — the 42 is expected to top out near 80 mph. That is open-water speed that very few production pleasure boats of this size can match, and it comes with the catamaran's signature efficiency: less drag, better fuel economy, and a ride that stays composed when the water turns rough. Whether you are running 40 miles offshore to the fishing grounds or making a long coastal cruise to a favorite waterfront destination, the 42 gets you there fast, dry, and comfortable.

The deck layout turns that performance into a true pleasure-boat experience. The 42 Center Console offers expansive bow seating and a large, open rear deck, giving passengers room to lounge, socialize, and move around with ease. There is comfortable lounge seating, a molded console base, polished stainless hardware, integrated storage, and thoughtful touches throughout — from cup holders and grab rails to marine audio and weather-protected cubbies. For the angler, Ocean Express includes rod and tackle storage, live wells, and fish boxes, so the same boat that cruises in luxury is ready for serious fishing the moment you want it. It is a do-everything platform built without compromise.

None of this happens by accident. Every Ocean Express is the work of Ross Focht of Focht Marine Design — a two-time APBA World Champion and the man who designed and built the world's first composite offshore catamaran with his industry-leading step-bottom design. In the 1982 Powerboat Championship in Key West, Focht's team blitzed the competition, won the World Championship running the fastest race ever in the Sport Class, and set the World Kilo Speed record at 114 mph. For more than 40 years he has pioneered the composite catamaran, building firsts that include the first composite Kevlar offshore cat, the first 100% balsa-and-foam-core catamaran, and the first 42

-foot offshore composite Poker Run catamaran. He built the fastest boats of his era, and he is still building them today.

That matters for the 42 owner in a very real way. When you buy an Ocean Express, you are not buying a mass-produced boat assembled on an assembly line by people who have never raced. You are buying a vessel conceived, designed, and hand-built by a world-champion designer whose entire career has been devoted to making catamarans faster, stronger, and more seaworthy. Focht has described his shop as his "hobby shop" — he still loves building boats, and that passion shows in every hull that leaves the factory. His standards have set the benchmark for composite catamaran design throughout the world, and the 42 is the living proof of those standards on the water today.

For those who want to carry even more passengers at higher speeds, the Ocean Express lineup also includes the legendary 42-foot catamaran known as TCB — "Taking Care of Business." As the first 42-foot offshore composite Poker Run catamaran. TCB twin Seven Marine 557 outboards — intercooled and stunning design with exceptional performance, offering the space and power to carry a large group of passengers at higher speeds in comfort and style. Like the 42, it carries Focht's championship engineering and the unmistakable look of a boat built to dominate open water while turning heads at every dock.

The Ocean Express 42 is, quite simply, one of the best open-water pleasure boats built today — a championship-bred catamaran that delivers world-class speed, a smooth and stable ride, luxurious seating, and serious fishing capability in one hand-built package. Backed by the legacy of a two-time world champion who is still building some of the best boats on the water, it is a boat that honors the past while pointing straight at the future of offshore pleasure boating. If you want to experience open water the way it was meant to be ridden — fast, confident, and uncompromised — the 42 is waiting for you. www.OceanExpressBoats.com