The Beast: Michael Hill's giant catamaran about to launch

A giant 40m catamaran, appropriately named The Beast, will be launched in Foxton on Thursday.

The monster boat was built for New Zealand jeweller, entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Hill and is 39.5m long and 12m wide.

It was built by Profab Engineering in Palmerston North and can sleep up to 22 people.

Profab owner Carl Ferguson said it took 22 months to build the boat prior to shipping it from Palmerston North.

The boat also made the news earlier this year when it stopped traffic around the Manawatū as it made its way from the city to the boat ramp in Foxton.

"We then shipped it in three bits ... and over the last three weeks we have put it back together; the interior has been done inside – the wiring, hydraulics, water and services," Ferguson said.

All up, when the gigantic vessel is full, it holds 76,000 litres of fuel, 14,000 litres of water and 14,000 litres of sewage.

"It is a bit of a cruiser so the top speed is 14 knots, so it will cruise all day at 12.5-13 knots, and has a range of about 5000 nautical miles," Ferguson said.

"It can go pretty much anywhere in the world but Antarctica."

Ferguson said there had been a lot of people visiting Foxton to see the boat.

"It is a big thing for Foxton - with the number of people it has drawn in just to have a look.

"As you can imagine it is not the normal thing to come to a small country town and see a 39.5m boat sitting on the grass by the water. It creates a lot of interest," he said.

The Beast will be launched at the Manawatu Boating Club around midday tomorrow.

Ferguson said the vessel will then be tied up for a couple of weeks while sea trials are carried out.

"Two weeks we will be tied to here, and then we will head off down to Wellington and tie up in the harbour there for a month for the rest of the sea trials - before we hand over to the owner," he said.