Boat Test: 2025 Intrepid 41 Panacea

Overview

If, like me, you dozed through Ancient Greek Mythology class, Panacea was the goddess of all cures and ­solutions. And that is the perfect name for the new Intrepid 41. This big center-console will satisfy every one of your boating wishes and desires.  

Engines

If speed is at the top of your boating checklist, get a tie-down for your hat. This new Intrepid easily nailed 61-plus mph, and that was in a not-so-friendly Gulf Stream. Our test boat boasted a trio of the standard Mercury V-10 400s clamped to the transom.

You can check the option box for twin Mercury V-12s, punching out 600 hp each, but warn your guests to bring extra sunglasses to replace the ones that will blow off their faces.  

Interior and Accessories

You can bring a whole bunch of those friends too because the 41 ­Panacea is a party animal. An outdoor galley behind the helm seats features a grill to torture steaks, an Isotherm fridge to keep beverages chilled, a sink, and a pull-out cooler in case the fridge floweth over.

If you want to spend the night aboard with your significant other ­after blasting across to Bimini, Catalina or Nantucket, the spacious cabin sports 6 feet, 3 inches of headroom, a comfortably sized V-berth with convertible table, and a human-size enclosed head with shower and ­electric toilet. There’s even a mini galley (microwave/sink/fridge), so you can have your morning coffee and croissants without leaving the cabin.  

But will the 41 Panacea fish? Oh, yeah! The twin lighted livewells in aft corners of the cockpit have side windows so that you can check the health of your pilchards or pogies, macerators for sending off those baits that didn’t make it to the hook, five rod holders across the transom (more along the rails), and a hardtop braced for outriggers. Foldout seating is shaded by the pullout awning hidden in that hardtop and fish boxes that reside below the cockpit sole.

You say you’re a diver? The oversize hull door to port (an Intrepid invention) is large enough to easily handle chubby divers and a big fish. A boarding ladder flips out from a hatch in the cockpit floor adjacent to the door.   

The styling is the highly ­recognizable straight and rising Intrepid sheer that looks like it’s going fast at anchor. The rakish hardtop, with full-height windshield and ­recessed ­speakers and lighting, adds to the ­swept-forward look. 

Intrepid has perfected its high-speed, ­high-efficiency single-step hull, which aerates the running surface, allowing you to run faster, longer and farther. This is balanced by a trio of strakes on each side to fine-tune tracking and lift, plus hard chines that throw aside spray and stabilize the boat at trolling speed. Add to that the optional Seakeeper 3 gyrostabilizer, and the 41 is fire, as the kids say.   

As you’d expect in a go-fast boat, the ­skipper is awarded every desire. We applauded the comfortable seat with great lumbar support, as well as identical companion seats on either side. The no-distortion windshield ends at the stylish dash with twin 22-inch Garmin monitors and rows of Bocatech push-button switches for the various systems. Besides the Mercury Joystick Piloting for Outboards, the Vetus bow ­thruster aids in easy docking.  

But this is only half the 41 Panacea, which also aspires to be a luxurious bowrider forward of the helm. Wide walkways lead to twin sun pads with hinged backrests atop the cabin, and the seating wraps around a high/low table that retracts electrically flush with the floor. Pop-up cleats and an underhatch Maxwell horizontal windlass keep the foredeck clear, and anchoring can be controlled both at the windlass and from the helm. A thoughtful touch: a washdown pump in the anchor locker to get rid of muck. 

Speaking of uncluttered, the transom ­platform is a delight. Most outboard boats have a tangle of wires and hoses to trip anyone who ventures onto the platform, but all this maze is hidden below the Intrepid platform. You can step aboard from a dock, stroll safely across the platform in front of the Mercurys, and enter the cockpit through the starboard-side ­transom door.

Read Next: Intrepid 51 Panacea 

When it comes to service, an oversize hatch allows you easy access to the undercockpit Paguro 8.5 kW genset, as well as the optional Seakeeper 3 gyrostabilizer.

Shopping around? Check out the ­Cigarette 41 Nighthawk ($1,279,000), with similar ­bad-boy looks, quad Mercury 500s and a more Spartan interior. A more conservative-­looking boat that’s a bit longer is the Tiara 43LS ($1,560,425 base price), which hits 56 mph with twin 600 hp Mercury Verado outboards.

Underway, I loved the 41 Panacea, upgraded using customer comments about the now-retired 40 Panacea with a new and wider hull. Even Aunt Edna is going to grin when you grab the Brodie knob on the fat 14-inch stainless-steel wheel that begs you to spin doughnuts. Put the hammers down, and the Panacea pops onto plane in just 5.3 seconds. Launch off a Gulf Stream graybeard, and the Panacea lands softly, begging for more.

The Panacea, as Greek gods know, is truly a boat for all reasons. 

How We Tested

• Engines: Triple Mercury 400 hp V-10 Verados
• Drive/Prop: Outboard/16.8″ x 19″ Revolution X 4-blade stainless steel
• Gear Ratio: 2.09:1 Fuel Load: 275 gal. Crew Weight: 650 lb.

High Points

• I love the hidden hand grip that makes boarding through the hullside door safe and easy. Thoughtful, functional and executed with élan, it’s the type of thing upon which Intrepid has built its reputation. 
• Electric backrests installed in the forward lounges allow guests to sit up or recline without requiring the captain to stow or retrieve a removable backrest. 
• Gutters in the deck hatches are deep enough to handle Biblical quantities of rain or energetic use of the washdown hose, and keep gear protected from moisture and corrosion. 

Low Point

• The white dash reflects into the windshield, creating distracting “ghosts” and glare. I’d prefer a dark helm top for this reason.

Pricing and Specs

Speed, Efficiency, Operation