Open Water, Open Access
The Horizon PC68A turns a change of circumstance into freedom afloat.
By Jessica Graves
At the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the Horizon PC68A sat at Dock F among the usual lineup of new models and custom builds, its clean lines and generous beam reading, at first, like any other refined Horizon power catamaran.
The volume, the light, and the connection between interior and exterior all felt very Horizon. What became clear only after stepping aboard was how deliberately the yacht had been shaped around one couple’s next chapter.
A Design Pivot
Just two years earlier they had been researching boats the way many owners do: looking at layouts, performance, and how they wanted to spend their time on the water. Then the wife unexpectedly became wheelchair-bound. Rather than set the search aside, the couple worked with The Powercat Company’s Richard Ford and Horizon’s Vision Shipyard President Austin Lin to create a yacht that would still let them live the way they intended.
“Our starting point was how these owners wanted to live aboard and what we needed to do to make that possible,” Ford says. “Accessibility informed every stage of the design.” The PC68A was designed, engineered, and built in 16 months. “Seeing them tour the finished yacht for the first time was both emotional and rewarding for everyone involved.”
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“Designing for accessibility isn’t about adding features,” says Ford. “It’s about removing obstacles before they’re ever encountered. We wanted to create a yacht that allows owners to move naturally throughout every space while preserving everything people love about the Horizon PC68.”
The couple saw their finished boat in person for the first time at the show.
A Yacht Designed Around Accessibility
Accessibility begins at the dock. Five boarding options give choices depending on the dock arrangement. They include a hydraulic hi-lo platform, a retractable ramp, widened port and starboard side boarding doors, and extended fixed swim platforms. A 36-inch access cut into the aft-deck settee, fitted with a stainless Horizon logo gate, opens a direct path to the hi-lo platform. Additional stern railings run along the swim platforms and the hi-lo itself. A relocated tender crane supports independent transfers between yacht, dock, and tender.
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Once aboard, electric doors (including the main-deck glass door, flybridge door, and master head door), level flooring, and generous passageways create an uninterrupted flow across the main deck. A custom-designed slope eases wheelchair access across the salon and flybridge doors. The four-stateroom layout places the master suite forward in the starboard hull. The remaining guest cabins and crew space retain the volume and arrangement of the PC68 platform, while the main-deck salon, flybridge, and Portuguese Deck serve as shared living areas for dining, lounging, and enjoying the view.
Moving Freely Between Decks
At the center of the design is a custom one-off hydraulic elevator. Steel H-beams, chains, and a cylinder lift system with safety lock and dual AC/DC power supply carry the elevator between three levels: the master cabin, the salon, and the flybridge. Frameless glass doors preserve the open interior; an integrated electric turning plate with stainless safety rails rotates the wheelchair for comfortable entry and exit in either direction. Structure and weight distribution were modified to accommodate the installation.
Custom Comfort in the Master Suite
In the master suite the bed was turned 90 degrees and the entrance adjusted so the chair can maneuver and turn. A custom hydraulic floor lift (transfer platform) raises the wheelchair to bed height, up to 26 inches. The master head floor was raised to the same level as the cabin floor, eliminating the usual step, and the head itself was custom-finished with stainless rails and necessary plumbing and millwork for wheelchair use. Larger side-hull glass and a vanity complete the suite.
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A Galley Designed for Accessibility
The galley island was custom-designed with chamfered edges and a reveal under the sink so a wheelchair can roll directly to the work surface. A single-door refrigerator, speed oven, and repositioned cabinetry and appliances keep storage and cooking within comfortable reach. During the design process a wheelchair was used on site in the shipyard to test clearances, rotation, and reach. Austin Lin has noted that without a wheelchair in the factory, the team could not have properly resolved those details.
Luxury Cruising Without Compromise
The yacht keeps the cruising capability of the PC68 platform. Twin MAN i6 850 hp engines deliver a quoted cruising speed around 20 knots and a top speed near 25 knots. Horizon’s Silent Living package, with Victron power management and lithium battery storage paired with Termodinamica air conditioning, supports up to 20 hours of generator-free comfort. The owners plan to cruise the Bahamas after the show, with snorkeling among the activities they look forward to most.
What remains after walking the boat is the sense that the work was done so the yacht could disappear into ordinary living. The light, the volume, and the connection to the water are the things that stay once the barriers have been removed.
Horizon PC68A Specifications
LOA: 68′
Beam: 24’6″
Draft: 5’4″
Engines: Twin MAN i6 850 hp
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