fastest 40 ft catamaran

Better Sailing

10 Best Catamarans Under 40 Feet

One of the best ways to unwind and relax is cruising on the sea and enjoying nature’s beauty on a boat. And when it comes to your relaxation and enjoyment, why not go for a boat that is guaranteed to deliver you maximum comfort like the catamaran?

For new yacht/boat enthusiasts, the term catamaran might seem foreign to you. A catamaran is a multi-hulled vessel with two hulls that are both of equal size. It is a geometrically balanced vessel, getting its stability from its wide beam, unlike a monohull with a ballasted keel. Now you might seriously be wondering, why take a cat instead of a monohull? Well, there are quite a few reasons but let us focus on the important ones.

Benefits Of A Great Catamaran Under 40 Feet

Sailing comfort.

Something very glaring about sailing a cat is the absence of heeling, which a monohull has. Even when powered, a cat will hardly heel more than 5-10 degrees before its time to reef. This makes it far more relaxing and comfortable under sail.  

Speed 

A bluewater cruising catamaran is faster than a cruising monohull of the same length. They usually reach near racing monohull speeds while still maintaining the comforts that a cat provides.

Nevertheless, note that cats are sensitive to load; a loaded cat will have its performance affected.

Living Spaces and Liveaboard Comfort

The one thing a modern cat does not lack is space. A typical cat has the space equivalent to a monohull 10+ feet larger. When you factor in the cockpit space, a flybridge, and the deck space, it becomes a whole new ball game. Not only do you get a tremendous amount of space, but most of that space is also luxurious and comfortable, whether at anchor or underway.

Here Are Some Of The Best Catamarans Under 40 Feet

Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40

Price: From 350k to 450k For Sale On The Used Market

The Fountaine Pajot released the new Lucia 40 to the Miami show in February 2016, and boat enthusiasts received it with a lot of enthusiasm.

The new Lucia 40 was designed by Oliver Racoupeau, and it is a promising take on the future of modern designs. The hulls are moderately narrow but wide enough for the double berths in both cabins to fit in. The topsides are high and have big rectangular windows that allow natural light into the hulls and give a marvelous view from the cabins.  

The boat has a lot of space for a 40-footer which has been put to good use to provide a lot of options for a comfortable lifestyle on board. A displacement of 19,500 pounds and an Alpi wood finishing puts the cat on the lighter end of the cruising spectrum. 

All in all, the Lucia 40 is a very wonderful cruiser catamaran that is not lacking in looks, motor efficiency, or living space. She will never disappoint in giving you that enjoyable cruise that you deserve.

>>Also Read: 10 Best Catamaran Brands

Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40 Specs

Overall length: 38.4 ft Waterline length: 37.9 ft Beam: 21.7 ft Draft: 3.9 ft Air draft: 63.3 ft Overall height: 14 ft Light displacement:21,000 pounds Load displacement: 27,000 pounds Material: Polyester Fiberglass

Price: From 350k to 600k For Sale On The Used Market

The Lagoon 40 has come to replace her previous 39 and 400 models. Designed by VPLP, the new cat adopted the style of her larger predecessors, including the angular transoms, lengthier rectangular hull ports to let natural light stream in below. The design also includes a coach roof that shapes into an upward angled composite hard drop, giving her a more “aggressive” look. Special attention was placed into keeping the weight low.

The interior has not gone through any overly dramatic change, but the tweaks have been given an extra feel of luxury. The symbolic white fiberglass or gray cabinetry of the 39 has been discarded for richer shades of dark brown Alpi wood and plenty of leather accents. The lagoon 40 has 3-4 cabins readily available for use.

The Lagoon 40 is truly a beauty among beauties, a modern marvel that does not go for less when it comes to luxury.

>>Also Read: 10 Best Catamarans Under 200k

Lagoon 40 Specs

Length overall: 38.5ft Beam: 22.2ft Draft: 4.5ft Mast clearance: 60.5ft Light displacement (EEC): 10,885t Sail area: 875 sq ft Square top mainsail: 511 sq ft Self-tacking jib: 364 sq ft

Price: From 250k to 400k For Sale On The Used Market

Renowned naval architects Marc van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prevost of VPLP design have gone above and beyond with this modern marvel. While the defining features of the previous lagoon remained, very significant changes were made to the rigs and hulls to boost sailing performance. Most importantly, the mast and the center of buoyancy of the hulls are farther apart.

The boat has infusion molding, which serves for increased weight saving (a factor very important for a catamaran), an optimal structure, and better protection for the environment and shipbuilders.

The woodwork for the interior of the 39 was done with Alpi reconstructed wood, coupled with vertical glazing for protection against the sun.

Lagoon 39 Specs

Length Overall: 38.3ft Beam: 22.3ft Draft Minimum: 4.0ft Water Capacity: 66.0 imperial gallons Fuel Capacity: 88.0 imperial gallons Cabins: 4 Berths: 8/10 Day maximum passengers: 10 Bathrooms: 2 WC: 2 Number of engines: 2 Power: 40 hp

Price: From 150k to 450k For Sale On The Used Market

The Lagoon 380 is the most sought-after cat in the world, and it is not hard to see why. Line her up against her follow cats like the lagoon 46 or 42, and she still tops them.

She is a certified ocean crosser; quite sturdy, safe, and economical. She also has an acceptable level of performance and is pretty spacious for a cat of her size. What more could you ask for? She definitely one of the best catamarans under 40 feet and a dreamboat for an enjoyable cruise.

The 380 is not the lightest boat for her size. Her hulls are made from solid fiberglass below the waterline and cored with a mix of foam and balsa above the waterline.

The design used for the interior is top-notch, and it makes use of the available space. The boat also possesses vertical windows that help to efficiently maximize space and minimize the heat from the sun. In addition, there are dual sliding doors that open up the saloon into the cockpit. The Lagoon 380 is truly a modern masterpiece.

Lagoon 380 Specs

Length Overall: 37.7 ft Beam: 21.3ft Draft Minimum: 3.8ft Water Capacity: 88 – 132 imperial gallons Fuel Capacity: 44 imperial gallons Cabins: 4 Berths: 8/10 Day maximum passengers: 10 Power: 30 hp

Nautitech 40

Price: From 250k to 600k For Sale On The Used Market

Looking for a spectacular sailing sensation? Are you planning on spending a wonderful and relaxing trip with family and friends on the sea? If yes, then look no further; the Nautitech 40 is the perfect cat for you.

The open design gives you huge living space for a forty-foot cat, the most in her class. She is pretty light for a production cruising cat and accelerates very quickly compared to other brands. The Nautitech is the perfect combination of speed and comfort.

Different density foam cores are used, depending on the location and loading in different parts of the boat. The biggest difference between the Nautitech 40 and much of the competition is the use of foam composite in contrast to the balsa cores of the competition. This allows a significant amount of weight to be saved.

Nautitech 40 Specs

Length Overall: 39.4ft Beam: 22.7ft Draft Minimum: 4.43ft Water Capacity: 105.6ft Fuel Capacity: 94.6ft Cabins: 4 Berths: 8/10 Day maximum passengers: 10 Bathrooms: 2 WC: 2 Number of engines: 2 Power: 30 hp

If you are not an ardent yacht lover yet, then the Bali 4.0 should easily change your mind. This modern marvel towers above all others in the cat crowd, boasting a state-of-the-art design and revolutionary features. Her oversized and wholly open spaces, plus its competitive price, makes it a superb choice for you. 

The interior design of the boat stems from the famous Italian composite material, Alpi, which has a mixture of thin African woods laminated with a gorgeous outer surface. The addition of other complimentary fabrics sums up a tasteful modern décor.

You cannot be faulted for calling her a floating apartment, so if you’re looking for something large but lightweight with a feel of “home” offshore, the Bali 4.0 has it all.

Bali 4.0 Specs

Length Overall: 39.1ft  Beam: 22.0ft Draft Minimum: 3.7ft Water Capacity: 176 imperial gallons Fuel Capacity: 88.0 imperial gallons Cabins: 4  Berths: 8/10 Day maximum passengers: 10 Number of engines: 2 Power: 20 hp

Seawind 1190

Price: From 400k to 550k For Sale On The Used Market

Seawind built upon the global success garnered from the 1160 to create a swifter model with enhanced performance. With the addition of retractable rudders, carbon fiber throughout, and a wardrobe of performance sails, she is truly a top-class cat.

The 1190 is intended to be a sportier version of its comfortably cruising sibling. It has various performance-enhancing features like the carbon-reinforced beam for reduced weight and the carbon bowsprit for stiffer/lighter construction.

Similar to her sister, the 1190 has trifold doors opening the saloon to the cockpit with the forward opening Saloon window, which allows the cat to have maximum airflow.

Seawind 1190 Specs

Length Overall: 38.1ft Beam: 21.3ft Draft Minimum: 3.6ft Water Capacity: 154 imperial gallons Fuel Capacity: 79.2 imperial gallons Cabins: 3 Berths: 8/10 Day maximum passengers: 10 Bathrooms: 1

Beneteau Excess 12

Price: New From 350k (Sailaway)

Excess is a new multihull line designed by Groupe Beneteau. It was designed to be an open cat that connects the crew more directly with their sailing experience.

The French naval architect focused on streamlining the interior wood structure and, in doing so, got rid of a lot of cabinetry hardware. The result was a smoother and lighter interior that still satisfies all your needs.

Beneteau Excess 12 Specs

Length Overall: 38.5ft Beam: 22.0ft Draft Minimum: 4.43ft Water Capacity: 66 imperial gallons Fuel Capacity: 96.8 imperial gallons Cabins: 4 Berths: 8 Day maximum passengers: 8 Number of engines: 2 Power: 45 hp

Prout Escale 39 – Best Budget Option

Price: Around 150k For Sale On The Used Market

The Prout Escale 39 was built in Essex, United Kingdom, in 1991. This cruising beauty was created by two brothers, Francis and Roland Prout. 

The Escale, compared to previous builds, has a considerably larger beam; this, in turn, resulted in her having a very spacious interior. If you prioritize comfort over speed, then the Escale 39 is the perfect boat for you. She has ideal accommodations below deck, the kind of space you will not find in a monohull. Some parts of her interior are dated, and this reflects on her second-hand prices.

Prout Escale 39 Specs

Overall length: 39″0″ Waterline length: 35″0″ Beam: 18″3″ Hull beam (max.): 4″3″ Draft: 3″3″ Max. headroom: 6″10″ Mainsail: 243 sq. ft. Genoa: 475 sq. ft Staysail: 125 sq. ft. Displacement: 15,679 lbs. Freshwater tank: 154 gals. Fuel: 35 gals.

Gemini Legacy 35

Price: From 200k to 300k For Sale On The Used Market

The Gemini cat has always been one of the silent achievers in American boatbuilding. Once again, they have delivered greatness with the Legacy 35.

She still has roughly the same looks as her predecessors with the familiar hardtop pilothouse and elongated upswept side ports. Her cockpit, however, has been rebranded to include an optional aft bench for stowage.

The interior layout has seen changes, but this has improved the comfort she provides in a lot of ways. The saloon has been designed to take a U-shape on the centerline in the raised pilothouse.

Gemini Legacy 35 Specs

Length Overall: 34.51 Fuel Capacity: 35.93 US gallons.  Cabins: 2 Berths: 4/6 Day maximum passengers: 6 Bathrooms: 2 Number of engines: 2 Power: 15 hp

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, while all the boats mentioned above may vary and appeal to different tastes and preferences, it is guaranteed that renting or buying any of the above catamarans is sure to offer a great amount of onboard luxury and satisfy any need and aesthetic taste. 

Peter is the editor of Better Sailing. He has sailed for countless hours and has maintained his own boats and sailboats for years. After years of trial and error, he decided to start this website to share the knowledge.

Related Posts

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Fishing Line for Trolling

Lagoon Catamaran Review: Are Lagoon Catamarans Good?

Best Inboard Boat Engine Brands

Are O’Day Sailboats Good? A Closer Look at a Classic Brand

• Buyer's Guide
• Destinations
• Maintenance
• Sailing Info

Hit enter to search or ESC to close.

Compare The Most Popular 40ft Production Catamarans

Stephen and I are always exploring new catamaran models so we can share our insights with you. The information below continues to be valid, but we have a new 40ft catamaran comparison of later models for you to peruse.

We created a chart of each catamaran with a standard spec, ex-factory to compare the specifications and price of each boat. These catamarans compare very similarly on base price but there are a few differences.

The Bali 4.0 has a unique single cockpit / saloon area, entirely flush and unencumbered by bulkheads, accessible by a folding glass door on electric rams (kind of like a tilting garage door). This opens up the area and make it look like a much bigger boat. This catamaran combines some of the most innovative new characteristics in catamaran design which makes it a very desirable. It is quite a peppy sailboat and easy to maneuver.

Fountaine Pajot 40

The Fountaine Pajot 40 is replacing the Lipari 41 and is basically a smaller version of the successful Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 . It has a lot more volume than the Lipari, has a super stylish interior with island berths for the owner cabins (a much requested feature). It is lightweight but is smaller in volume than most of the the other models. However, because the living space was moved forward in the bows, there is still lots of room. We have not seen a boat yet, so the jury is out on how the boat will perform with these new changes. This model will be unveiled at the Paris boat show in December [2015].

The Leopard 40 ( video ) is heavier than the other models. The bridgedeck clearance is lower than those seen on French or Canadian cruising catamarans. Their philosophy is that a lower bridgedeck reduces the boat’s center of gravity with a wider stern to provide more buoyancy aft. However, a higher bridgedeck clearance translates into less slamming. We have owned cats with lower and higher clearances and a higher bridgedeck clearance definitely has less slamming. Read this article about bridgedeck clearance to make your own informed decision.

Lagoon 400S2

The Lagoon 400S2 has been on the market for a couple of years and is extremely popular. The S2 has decent performance with a lot of interior volume as can be seen here in the specifications. It has the biggest volume of the five 40ft catamaran models. This volume is said (by the competition) to translate into less performance but judging from rallies held around the world, it seems that the Lagoon really holds it’s own. Judging by the feedback from delivery skippers and owners on performance, the 400S2 makes a good performing cruising yacht. The interior is luxurious, accommodations are spacious and the cockpit is a nice size, easy to sail and good for a live aboard couple.

All of these catamarans are very acceptable cruising catamarans for a couple with lots of interior and exterior living space. These cats will do well as live-aboard and well as charter boats. Much of your choice will depend on personal preference. Do you prefer a “luxurious” interior, lots of interior volume and reasonable sailing performance, a more innovative design and optimal performance. Is chartering or cruising your ultimate goal or do you prefer a bit of both? All of these things should be weighed before you make a final choice.

40-Ft Catamaran Comparison Table

*Please note that these prices are subject to change by manufacturers at any time. Specifications provided by the manufacturers.

*Options are available in engines, sails, cabin/head configurations and other options like generators, watermakers, etc.

RelATED Articles

• Four Most Popular Production Catamarans: How Do They Compare?
• How Do The Most Popular 50ft Production Sailing Catamarans Compare
• How Do The Most Popular 45ft Production Sailing Catamarans Compare

Charter Programs & Tax Programs

The catamarans discussed here are available for both private ownership and charter management. Because catamarans have become so popular in the last ten years, the demand far outweighs the supply. That makes new catamarans more expensive. We are therefor constantly trying to find ways to reduce the cost of ownership for our clients. Learn about our Yacht Charter Management and Yacht As A Business Program .

Catamaran Brokerage

We can also help you find a pre-owned / brokerage catamaran that will suit your needs. Go to our Catamaran Quick Search for a global search of all brands of pre-owned catamarans.

Contact us to help you figure out what will best work for you

Estelle Cockcroft

Join our community.

Get the latest on catamaran news, sailing events, buying and selling tips, community happenings, webinars & seminars, and much more!

3 thoughts on “Compare The Most Popular 40ft Production Catamarans”

Helpful info. Lucky me I found your website unintentionally, and I am surprised why this twist of fate didn’t happened earlier! I bookmarked it.

That is great!

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Recent Posts

Annapolis Open House 2024

Join us at Pier 7 Marina located at 48 S River Rd South, Edgewater,

Paramount Business Jets Partners with Charter Agency!

The collaboration of Myst Yacht Charters and Paramount Business Jets offer you the most luxurious yachts

Texas Open House

Join us April 13 – 14 for our open house at our Texas office during the

First-Annual Virgin Islands Boating Exhibition (VIBE)

VIBE – It’s a Destination Boat Show! Join us May 10 – 12 at

For more than 30 years, we have been a part of the catamaran community and created Catamaran Guru™ to encourage and educate all the aspiring sailing out there. We understand the dream of traveling the world by catamaran and created a one-stop-shop to make that dream a reality for you.

• Stephen & Estelle
• Testimonials

Get Started

• Yacht Sales
• Used Yachts
• Charter Management
• Boat as Business Programs
• Seminars & Events

• Go to content
• Go to footer

• Rental operators
• Service centers
• Pre-owned Lagoon catamarans
• The Lagoon Premium Program
• Finance your Lagoon
• Club Lagoon

choose your language

A MINI-MAXI CATAMARAN

Length overall

Upwind sail area

Number of berths

Receive your brochure

The British Yachting Awards 2021 - Winner of the Multihull of the Year Award

Oceanway China Yacht Award 2021 - Best Sailing Catamaran

A DESIGN TO ESCAPE THE EVERYDAY

Boasting a new signature look, the 40 reveals her striking personality at first glance.  The perfect marriage of interior comfort and optimized cruising, she represents a new generation of Lagoon.  

CRUISING WITH EASE

A VPLP hull, an augmented sail plan, and centralized deck hardware for greater ease:  these are among the many qualities conferring reliability and appeal to this catamaran.  The large foretriangle allows for a broader selection of downwind sails, for an enhanced cruising experience.

AN INTERIOR BATHED IN LIGHT

Wherever you are, stay connected with your natural environment.  Large windows in the hull create a bright atmosphere on board and afford exceptional panoramic views.

A COMFORTABLE, INVITING COCKPIT

The cockpit opens onto the sea, with aft seating, creating a perfect spot for relaxation.  Twin aft transoms facilitate comfortable, safe access to the water while at anchor.

VIRTUAL VISIT OF THE LAGOON 40

Offering a bright, comfortable interior and easy, enjoyable cruising, the Lagoon 40 is the first catamaran in the line, yet with all the features of a larger model.

Interested in this catamaran?

Specifications

• Length overall 11,74 m / 38'6''
• Beam overall 6,76 m / 22'2''
• Water draft 1,35 m / 4'5''
• Air draft 18,42 m / 60'5''
• Light displacement (EEC) 10,89 t / 24,001 Lbs
• Sails area upwind 80 m² / 861 sq.ft
• Square top mainsail (optional.) 48 m² / 516 sq.ft
• Self-tacking jib 32 m² / 344 sq.ft
• Code 0 (opt.) 63 m² / 678 sq.ft
• Motorisation - standard 2 x 45 CV / 2 x 45 HP
• Water tank capacity 300 l / 79 US gal
• Fuel tank capacity 400 l / 106 US gal
• No. of berths From 4 to 12
• CE approval A : 10 ; B : 12 ; C : 16 ; D : 20

Press releases

• € 0.00 0 items

Nautitech 40 Open

Description

Test one out yourself – charter a Nautitech 40 Open – browse our available yachts in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. We previously owned one of these boats, and we are trying to make this the most comprehensive owner’s review on the Internet.

The Franco-German Axis Nautitech is now owned by Germany’s Capital Management Partners who also own Bavaria, but their boats continue to be built in Rochefort, France. These catamarans are constructed with a resin-infused technique that results in a light, strong finish. The decks include a closed-cell foam core. The joinery is high quality on these cruising cats – especially considering their price point.

This review is from personal experience- we’ll try and keep it objective! You can also read our Owner’s review that we compiled for a prospective buyer that will give you another angle as we were answering specific questions. We wrote this up following the boat delivery from La Rochelle to Barcelona.

1 Minute Summary

– For her length, the Nautitech 40 Open is one of the lightest catamarans in her class (Cruising Catamarans) – As long as you don’t overload her, she gets going quickly and is fast – The reefing system is traditional – it is done from the mast. – There is lots of living space up top thanks to the Open concept and twin aft helms – The saloon is smaller than many of her competitors. However, the aft cockpit area is big. – There is less space down below. That is your trade off for slender hulls and faster performance – The boom is low. She is a seaworthy boat in a blow thank to a low centre of effort on the mainsail. – It is also very easy to get to the boom and mainsail. – Nautitech build their boats using foam composite rather than the balsa wood used by many of the competition. – The after sales service can be slow and frustrating. This isn’t a problem that is peculiar to this brand, but it would be an easy one to fix for happier customers. Come on Nautitech!

• Marc Lombard’s Open design gives you a big living space for a forty foot catamaran, the most in her class with the exception of maybe the Bali 4.1. Once you slide those doors open, she has plenty of space under way and at anchor.
• She’s light for a production cruising cat and accelerates quickly compared to other brands. The Nautitech 40 Open is a good compromise between speed and comfort. She’s nippy!
• She points well upwind for a fixed keel cat. You won’t match a dagger-board cat upwind, but the performance upwind isn’t bad, she’ll certainly get you off a lee shore. I can only really think of Seawind as a match for Lombard’s hull design. She’s comfortable at 50-55° TWA with not much leeway. In lighter winds, 60° TWA probably give you the best VMG especially with a Code 0.
• For a 12m boat, she is very seaworthy in heavy conditions. In a real blow, the 3rd reef takes you down to a small centralised mainsail (with no jib) and she handles waves well. With the 2nd reef in and 60% solent you are good up to 35 knots apparent.
• The boom tucks in low over the coachroof which gives her a low centre of effort and means it is easy to access the mainsail and reefing lines. That is one of the reasons why she feels so seaworthy in a blow.
• That helm position is easy for docking if you reverse her in. The person at the helm can throw the lines if he or she wants to and you can keep an eye on everyone if you are under way (important with kids). You are in constant contact with the cockpit from here. I tend to sit facing aft on the steps by the helm and back in.
• At the same time, Nautitech have done a great job of making you feel safe aft under way with those aft helms. There’s a bench that runs along the aft beam and the helm seats are substantial- when you are tucked into one, it feels very secure and there are decent clip on points under the helm seats.
• The flip-side to those aft helms is visibility to the opposite bow. If you can afford it, go for the option of throttles on both helms so that you can easily switch sides. I generally just nip up to the deck every now and then.
• The aft helms can get wet in a blow or in bad weather. If you are offshore, this just means heading inside to helm from the nav station (great visibility here), but you might have to get your wet weather gear on if there is rain coming into the marina. For sailing feel, however, you can’t beat them.
• All the reefing is done at the mast. OK, it’s not far to hop up there, but I would have preferred a similar set up to the bigger 44 where all the lines run aft to the helm. Although the longer I have the boat, the more I like the simplicity of the system, there’s less friction on the reefing lines, less to go wrong. It’s interesting to note that the Marsaudon 57 has the same set-up (bigger sail though!)
• With narrower hulls designed to slip through the water faster, the cabins are not as big as a Lagoon or Fountaine Pajot. That’s your compromise. Personally speaking, I find the cabins very comfortable- they’re big enough for me. I went for speed over fatter hulls, Lombard is a master shaper.
• With so much space given over to the aft cockpit, the saloon is smaller than many other 40 footers. That works well in warmer climes, but if it is colder I would recommend the clear enclosure. Once these are down, it’s cosy.
• I sometimes find it difficult to gauge the position of the mainsheet traveller on the bimini. There is a window in the roof, but t can be difficult to judge without popping up a step from the helm. I have just marked off the centre… not really a big deal.
• The Nautitech after sales service isn’t what I would call efficient. They take a pretty hands off approach – everything is done through the dealers, so it is important to choose your dealer well. The better their relationship, the better the response. I had a faulty heating system which took me a year to fix. This included the Coronavirus lock down period, but still, I expected a faster resolution. Nautitech are not alone in this regard though, I just wish they’d up their game on this front, it would be an easy fix. Keep your your existing customers happy and they might buy another Nautitech in the future.

Charter a Nautitech 40 Open

Are you looking for a Nautitech Catamaran to charter? Browse our extensive selection of Nautitech yachts for rent below ⇓

Find Nautitech Catamarans for charter including the Open 40, Open 44 and Open 46.

This is a cruising cat, but with an eye on performance compared to other boats like the Lagoon 380 and the “Open” concept has proved hugely popular.

She’s Light Nautitech have kept an eye on the weight of the boat (she’s only 8.5 tonnes light) and as long as you don’t go crazy on the gear, she accelerates quickly.

19 Knot Surf Our top speed on our boat so far is 19 knots (OK we were surfing, but even so). In decent conditions, you should hit the early teens. In light winds, we’ll go 6 kts on 10kts of wind just with the mainsail and self tacking solent.

Order the Bowsprit The Nautitech 40 Open comes in all sorts of configurations- it’s worth ordering the bowsprit as this opens up all sorts of options for head sails to complement the efficient square-top mainsail.

We run the 70 sq.m gennaker off there and there is also an option for a 55 sq.m code 0 if you want to point higher. We have heard from other owners that the Code 0 comes out of the bag frequently. We also have a parasailor on our wish list for when we make it to the Trade Winds.

There are also two winches and clutches on the aft beam to help with the traveler and raising the tender.

The main halyard also comes aft to the starboard side and you can order an electric winch as an option to help you raise the mainsail. Or you can use the winch at the mast, a handy back up.

You Reef from the Mast All the reefing lines and the topping lift are managed from the mast which means getting out on deck to shorten sail. I am thinking of reorganising the running rigging on our boat and lead all of the lines back into the cockpit like the bigger boat, the 44.

Or that’s what I thought when I first bought her. I have to admit, the longer I have the boat, the more I am warming to the simplicity of this system. There’s less friction, shorter lines and it’s easier to get tension on the halyard once the reef is strapped in. You need to be organised though to minimise the time you spend at the mast.

There’s a handy winch on the mast for your reefing lines and gennaker halyard and another clutch for the main halyard so that you can manage this from the mast if you like (can be handy if you are sailing single handed). I have added some frictionless rings below the mast winch for the reefing lines to improve the angle that they come onto the winch as I was have problems stripping lines on the clutches.

One thing I have noticed is that there are plenty of places to clip on, and a nice sturdy rail on the coachroof aft. There’s a deep well after that to grab onto as you move forward towards the mast- she feels safe in that respect.

The boom is low and very easy to access from the bimini top. There are some open steps by the mast to climb up.

Helm with the Wind in Your Hair Not everyone is a fan of the Nautitech Open helm position- she sports twin aft helms (read our Excess 11 review for another boat with a similar configuration) and there is an option for helm biminis for improved protection. Personally we love this configuration- it’s similar to a Catana (with more substantial helm seats) and gives you a real sailing feel when you are under way. Because the fibreglass sides are high by the helms, you feel secure tucked in here. There’s a point to clip onto under the seat if it gets rough.

Easy to Trim your Sails It’s easy to keep an eye on the tell-tales on the head sail- just as you would on a Hobie 16. If the weather turns nasty, you either helm with the autopilot in the saloon or tuck in under the bimini close to the helm. Make sure you order the electric winch at the Starboard Helm. Raising the mainsail with that is easy, although I always raise the sail manually to be begin with until the first couple of battens are clear of the lazy jacks.

There is an option for having throttles on both helms. The standard configuration just has them on the starboard side (this is what we went for: the budget ran out.)

She Accelerates Quickly Because she’s relatively light, she gets going quickly and Lombard has shaped those hulls so that they slip through the water nicely below the waterline. Don’t load her up too much though. Narrower hulls means less living space down below, so she’s not as spacious as a Lagoon in the cabins (there’s your compromise). In the cockpit, it’s a different story with that Open concept and the twin helms aft.

Docking the boat is a breeze as well, although, to repeat myself, try and go for the option of having those throttles on both helms if you can afford it. Because you are so close to the transom, one person can theoretically helm and throw the ropes. It’s easier with 2 of course.

She Goes Through the Wind Well She tacks easily and as you come off the wind, she’s fast ! There’s a Youtube clip showing a 40 doing 20 knots doing the rounds (we saw over 19 knots surfing on our delivery trip).

And when you hit those numbers in that helm position, you’ll have a smile plastered all over your face.

A Nippy Boat On average, you’ll see 7-9 knots. The nice thing about her is that she gets moving nice and quickly in light winds and this is where that gennaker option comes in handy. If the wind hits 7 knots, you should be sailing. In a freshening breeze, you should see low and even mid teens on a reach.

Sailing Close to the Wind Upwind, she points well for a fixed keel catamaran- a Seawind is probably the only boat that can match her. She’ll point happily at 50 to true but you are probably better off pointing at 55 (more speed, less leeway). The sweet spot seems to be around 40 to 45 degrees AWA.

In lighter winds the performance drops off, unless you have a Code 0 in your sail locker of course. If your budget ran out on the gennaker, just stick the leeward engine on at low revs to point higher and you will get where you need to go. That would be about 30 degrees apparent, 45 true.

At the end of the day, if you are going to be close hauled all day, every day on a multihull you are best off with dagger-boards, but the 40 Open is no slouch close to the wind, especially if there is a decent breeze. In lighter air, the performance does drop off when compared to a dagger-board cat like an Outremer but that is the case for any fixed keel catamaran.

The Nautitech 40 Open comes with 30 HP engines as standard, but I would recommend the upgrade to the 50s (used to be 40s). One engine will push you along at around 6 knots at 2200 RPM in calm conditions. With both engines going, she’ll move comfortably at 7 depending on the sea state.

If the waves are building, it’s often advisable to power up both engines to help you punch through the waves for a more comfortable ride if you are heading upwind.

Living Space

A Big Interconnected Space The design of the Open 40 is all about giving you more space in the cockpit and less in the saloon, so this boat is particularly suited to warmer climes like the Med. Below decks, the configuration is either three cabins (Owner’s) or four Cabins (charter version).

Slender Hulls with a Chime The hulls aren’t as spacious as a Lagoon (there’s your speed/space trade off), but they are very comfortable and there´s still far more space than you would get on a monohull, although Lombard has sculpted chimes into the hulls (they flare at the top) like the Catana 53 which gives a good performance/comfort balance.

All the cabins have huge windows through which you can watch the world go by.

Option for Night Watch Bed There is an option for a telescopic table in the saloon (port side) which we have gone for. This gives you a night watch berth if you need it.

Why No Double Sink? The galley is to starboard and is nicely designed with everything to hand. We would have liked to have seen a double sink, or a sink and a half. There’s room. The other thing that we find annoying is that the galley tap is very short which means you get a lot of splash back against the doors. We are going to fit a tap with a longer arm.

When you are cooking at the burners, you are facing aft connected to that large outdoor cockpit area. The doors can be thrown wide open to connect the two spaces into one joined up area: hence the name, the Open. The position of the cupboard behind the burners is not great. You have to watch yourself here is you are cooking and leaning over the hob to get stuff out of the cupboard.

There is an option to go for an additional fridge in the aft cockpit and a freezer in the starboard hull, both of which we would recommend.

Construction

The big difference between Nautitech and some of the competition is the use of foam composite , versus balsa core. The hull, deck and roof are built with a fibreglass and polyester sandwich infusion. This allows for significant weight savings.

The process used is: VacuTec a vacuum infusion technology. This helps to keep the boat light, reducing the weight by 20% and emissions from the work processes by up to 80%. You get lighter and stronger hulls, and protection against osmosis by isophthalic acid resin in external systems.

Nav Pack Options

Nav-Pack Cruise 2 x B&G Triton Displays (1 x per helm station) with Speed-, Depth-, Wind-Transducer 2 x B&G Zeus 9” chartplotter (stb & port helm stations) Chartplotter functionality on B&G Zeus 9″ at nav station B&G Autopilot, B&G Autopilot control unit (stbd helm station) B&G V90 VHF incl. Antenna (nav station) B&G AIS Transmitter/Receiver B&G H50 wireless VHF unit (stb helm station)

Nav-Pack Advanced includes Nav-Pack Cruise plus additional 1 x extra B&G Autopilot control unit (port helm station) NMEA Connector for PC at nav station B&G Forward scan

Other Options B&G 4G Radar antenna

Nautitech 40 Open Brochure

View the Nautitech 40 Open Brochure

Nautitech 40 Open Polar Diagram

Issues to Monitor on New Boats

All new boats have teething problems- that is not a problem that is unique to Nautitech. We logged the following issues on our own Nautitech 40 Open, or through the Nautitech Owner’s Facebook Group, so hopefully this will help you to isolate any problems at the handover stage and minimise the work later. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with any of these problems (but you would probably be the first boat owner that happened to 😉 ) The bottom line is, these are niggles, not serious problems. Some of them have been corrected on later models (eg sun damage on the grey roof. They switched to white)

• Batteries. Our boat was fitted with Genois batteries: 5x LPC12-75 for the service batteries and 2x LPC12-100 for the starter batteries. Within 18 months, they were dead 4 hours after fully charged, and that was with light use, due to Covid (mostly connected to shore power). Horizon Yachts have had similar issues with the batteries supplied by Nautitech, and we are still battling to claim the warranty. My advice would be to insist on another brand of battery. You can actually fit 6 service batteries in the trays in the port hulls. The standard upgrade take you to 5.
• Noisy steering – the steering became very noisy on our boat on our delivery passage sailing across the Bay of Biscay. I mean really noisy, like a cat screeching every minute. It was difficult to isolate, but it turns out that the rods that connect the helms under the aft cockpit run through plastic tubes. These weren´t secured properly, and the rods were playing the tubes like a violin. Played by a terrible violinist I might add. An easy fix, once we had isolated the problem, but check the workmanship around the steering.
• Stripped reefing lines. The teeth on the jammer at the front of the boom which secure the reefing lines were very sharp on our boat. If lines are flailing about in heavy weather, this can strip the reefing lines. Make sure you lead the lines through the block you should have been given before wrapping them around the winch. If you don’t do that, the angle will be such that you may strip the lines on the edge of the casing – also very sharp. Check closely around the front of the boom and file stuff down if you need to. We now run our reefing lines through frictionless rings below the mast winch which has solved the problem.
• B&G Autopilot disengaging. This seems to only happen in “Nav” mode when you are navigating to a waypoint. We never resolved that one. Faulty wiring somewhere? Software?
• If you ordered the heating system, check the air inlet and exhaust. There should be a bend in this to make sure that seawater does not get into the diesel burner. Ours wasn’t installed properly and failed in big seas crossing the Bay of Biscay. Nautitech fixed this on the guarantee, fair play.
• Sliding Door. Check this closely. We had a problem with the door jumping out of its tracks mid passage in waves – pretty dangerous! On closer inspection, Nautitech had only used one screw instead of two on the plastic wedge which the door comes to a rest on in the open position. Check the door doesn’t slide a little when it is locked- often this is just a case of small adjustments.
• Manual bilges – check the pump handles (at the back of the cockpit benches) work and are properly sealed. Fill up the bilge manually with a bucket of water and pump it out yourself to test the bilges.
• You can test the auto bilges at the same time. We had alarms going off with water running back and forth on our passage as the levels weren’t set correctly. Again, an easy fix, but do it on the handover.
• Owners have reported issues with the bilges running continuously. You should check the fresh water pump (Marco) first to make sure there are no leaks coming from there. Then check the hoses. If there is a loop at the outlet the pump won’t clear all the water  and some is left in the hose. Also if the non return value on the pump has failed it will run back out of the pump and the pump will start up again. Bottom line is, test all the bilge pumps extensively during the handover. When you take the boat speed paddle wheel out to clean, you will get a bit of sea-water in the port bilge. Pump it out manually to make sure the bilge is dry.
• Sun damage on the coachroof (grey strip) on older models. Many owner’s have reported UV damage on the grey strip running around the coachroof. Our boat was no exception: after only 18 months the finish is faded and mottled with the sun. Nautitech are sending out a wrapping to sort this issue. You can also polish them back, but I think the problem will reoccur. Newer boats come with a white coachroof, solving the problem.

In Conclusion

Any boat is a compromise, and we think the Nautitech 40 Open is a great sailing boat at a reasonable price, but they could do with improving their after sales service. Lombard has done a great job of designing a boat with so much living space (the Open concept) that is this quick. The hulls are narrower than other boats in her class, but there is plenty of room upstairs thanks to that big joined up space.

View the Nautitech 40 Open Brochure .

What are good options to go for? We’d recommend upgraded engines (now 50HP) if you can manage it in your budget, plus folding props (giving you an extra knot), electric winch on starboard helm, bowsprit with gennaker, radar, the fridge in the cockpit, freezer in starboard hull, additional service batteries (insist on another brand rather than “Genois”), solar, inverter, Fusion audio system and the salon dining table (lowerable).

What are the “nice to have” options” If you can afford it, go for the throttles on both helms, the anchor windlass control at the helm, freezer in starboard hull, heating system. The Explorer version is the pack to go for if you can afford it. The full aft cockpit enclosure is great too, they have extended it right back to the bench on the transom in the newer boats. The teak looks nice but adds weight. Same with the outside teak table.

What’s the Main Difference Between the Nautitech 40 Open and the 44 Open. Well, the length obviously, but these 2 designs are very similar. In the larger model, all of the lines come aft to the helms which is a plus. The aft cockpits are a similar length (the 44 is beamier), but the saloon in the 44 feels much bigger – it’s probably around twice the size. You can configure the 44 with an overlapping genoa instead of the self-tacking solent. You cannot do this on the smaller boat.

How High Does a Nautitech 40 Open Point into the Wind? You are not going to point as high as a daggerboard cat in light winds, but for a fixed keel cat, the Open 40 points very well into the wind, especially with the weight off and with clean hulls. In a decent breeze (13kts and over), she will point as close to 30 degrees apparent but your speed will drop and you will be losing about 10 degrees on leeway. To maximise your VMG, drop off another 5 or 10 degrees (so 40-45 degrees AWA or around 55-60 TWA and your speed will come up and the leeway will drop off a bit. Sheet in tight and put some twist in the main with the mast track car to windward.

What is the Top Speed you Have Hit on the Open 40? We hit 19.2 knots off the coast of Portugal (surfing). You should hit low teens on a beam reach in the right conditions with the gennaker up.

What size tender can you fit on the Nautitech 40 Open? We have a 3.10 Gala with an 8HP Yamaha Engine (in hindsight I should have gone 9.9 HP). This is about as big as you want to go, although I know another owner has fitted a Brig 330 which is 320 long, but it was tight.

How much does a Nautitech 40 Open cost? What is the price of this catamaran? At the time of writing, the base price was just over €310,000, slightly more for the owner´s version. But then you have to add on all of the options (eg Comfort or Explorer version). Once you add extras like a water maker, heating, engine upgrade, navigation system and so on you can easily add on a extra €100k – 150k or more.

Technical Specification

You may also like…

Nautitech 40 Open – For Charter

Related catamarans.

Nautitech 46 Open

Browse, search and find your perfect catamaran!

Privacy Overview

• Custom Cats
• Performance Cats
• Cruising Cats
• Luxury Cats
• Owner Reviews
• YT Channels

My Cruiser Life Magazine

Fastest Catamarans for Cruising in 2023

Catamarans appeal to sailors and would-be sailors for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons is the need for speed—cats have a reputation for being faster. There are dozens of brands and tons of great boat designs that capitalize on this, and designers are constantly pushing the bounds and asking, “Really, how fast can a catamaran go?”

Performance sailing catamarans may look like your run-of-the-mill Leopard or Lagoon from a distance. But these boats are full of little tricks to boost their speeds—narrow hull designs, retractable daggerboards instead of keels, and extensive use of cutting-edge lightweight materials like carbon fiber. All of this adds up, so expect to pay double, triple, or maybe much more for a truly fast catamaran. And that means there are far fewer boats on the water, and owning one puts you in an exclusive club.

Table of Contents

Neel trimarans, what is a fast catamaran, how fast can a catamaran go, are fast catamarans the boat you’re looking for, fast catamarans faqs, top brands of fast catamarans.

Here’s a list of some of the best-known and trail-blazing fast catamaran makers. These companies are making luxury performance catamarans suited for owners who want to cruise fast. These aren’t barebones race boats built for nothing but speed. Instead, these are comfortable boats that will outperform most others in their class. 

Most performance boats will be 45 feet long or more. Small catamarans don’t fall into this category, and most production liveaboard catamarans are built too heavily in order to save money.

For more than two decades, Gunboat has been setting the bar on what a performance catamaran can be. They took state-of-the-art technologies from the racing world and applied them to family-friendly cruising catamarans. The company started in the US in 2002. One of the company’s stated missions is to create boats that sail faster than the wind in anything more than 6 knots of breeze.

Since 2016, Gunboat has built top-quality boats at their La Grande-Motte, France, facility. However, they are still a boutique builder making only a handful of boats yearly. Their current offerings include the 68, 72, and 80. All boats have narrow hulls, retractable boards, high-performance sail plans, carbon fiber construction, and luxurious living accommodations.

The first hull of the Gunboat 68, CONDOR, was launched in 2019 and set out on a trans-Atlantic crossing immediately after its sea trials. The crew wrote a detailed report of the experience and the boat’s performance. CONDOR exceeded 30 knots occasionally, but average speeds were between 14 and 17 knots. Their best 24 hours saw 328 nm (an average speed of 13.7 knots). 

The company motto says it all. “Life is too short to sail a slow boat.”

Outremer Catamarans is one of the original makers of French performance cats, in business since 1984. According to their website, the company has made over 300 boats since then. A large-scale production boat maker they are not. These are custom-built fast catamarans of the highest quality, made for safety, comfort, and speed. Outremer recently received much attention when popular YouTubers Sailing La Vagabonde sailed aboard an Outremer 45 for several years.

Currently, Outremer offers boats ranging from the 45 to the 5X (48 to 60 feet long). The X models (4X and 5X) are even more performance-oriented, with more extensive use of carbon fiber and a more race-inspired sail plan.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riley Whitelum (@riley.whitelum)

Catana is yet another French performance brand of luxury cruising catamaran. Today, Catana Group also makes Bali cruising catamarans, effectively marketing Catanas to the performance set and Bali’s to the cruising and charter set. https://www.catana.com

Presently, Catana is only making two models, the OC50 and the 53. Historically, however, Catana has made many beautiful boats. Notably, the 471 is a fast cruising catamaran that is a favorite among long-distance cruisers. On the smaller side, the 431 and even the 401 and 381 are quick and fun sailers that move better than their competition.

Catanas are easily recognizable by their daggerboards and narrow hulls with asymmetrical designs. In addition, they use a lightweight composite layup that results in a very stiff boat that weighs less than their competitors. Still, Catanas are not on the same level as an Outremer 5X or Gunboat–these are fiberglass boats that are built better than the competition and made to outperform many other boats. 

HH Catamarans is Gunboat’s first real competitor in the high-end performance cat market. They started in 2012 and are part of the Hudson Yacht Group. The boats are designed by Morrelli & Melvin, a highly-regarded multihull design firm, and are built in Xiamen, China, or Cebu, Philippines.

HH has boats in their model line from 44 to 88 feet long. The company focuses on providing what owners and sailors want and are looking for, so you’ll see lots of customizability within the lineup. They include features you won’t find from a lot of builders, including lots of planned real estate for solar panels (5kW or more!), hybrid drive systems, and ocean cruising OC (keels) or sport cruising SC (daggerboard) models to pick from.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by HH Catamarans (@hh.catamarans)

Balance started in South Africa in 2013. They focus on making semi-custom, comfortable performance yachts that are strong and safe and can be easily operated single-handedly or by a couple. They are live-aboard boats that strike a balance between comfort and performance. But, compared to the current offerings from Lagoon or Leopard, it’s clear that Balance cats skew far more toward performance than others do.

Models currently range from the 442 to the 750. They’re available with daggerboards or keels and made with extensive carbon fiber and all epoxy-resin composites. According to their website, the current record speed for a Balance 482 while surfing is 28 knots. She’ll cruise all day between 8 and 14 on a reach, though. They describe the 482 as a “trend-setting circumnavigator”—the perfect boat for your sail around the world route .

Kinetic Catamarans are designed by Simonis Voogd and built in Knysna, South Africa. Like others on the list, these are semi-custom, luxury, performance cruising cats with an emphasis on speed. They have all-carbon construction, carbon spars, laminated sails, and a forward sailing cockpit deck layout.

Since they are truly semi-custom, each boat is spec-ed out to each buyer’s vision. This includes standard or racing rigs, centerboards or daggerboards, and many furnishings, layouts, and outfitting options. Kinetic currently offers 54 and 62-foot versions.

What’s better than two hulls? Three, maybe. That is, three might be better if your goal is truly fast sailing. Neel Trimarans is a new French builder attempting to capitalize on this simple fact by merging the best of all worlds—the space and liveability of a cruising catamaran with the performance, sail efficiency, and stability of an offshore-capable tri.

The company presently offers models between 43 and 65 feet. They say cruising speeds are reliably over 10 knots, with 15 to 18 knots when the breeze freshens. Compared to cats, these boats’ rigid central hulls allow for stronger rigging and better upwind performance, and the central keel allows better tracking and rudder control.

Now you’ve looked at some fast cats, you might wonder what constitutes “fast.”

You will be wowed if you’re selling your 30-foot monohull and moving up to a 50-foot cat. But if you’re coming from the world of car and plane travel, sailboats of any ilk are anything but “fast.”

The first thing to accept is that all sailboats are slow . This shocks many people who think they’d like to travel and see the world by sailboat. The marketing of these “fast cats” is everywhere, and the idea that the faster boat is safer because you can “beat the weather” is especially pervasive. No sailboat at sea can outrun a front or storm cell moving at 30 or 40 knots. 

In truth, the fastest catamaran you can comfortably live aboard and cruise on will average out under 15 knots . In similar conditions, production catamarans might be doing 10 to 12. The monohull speeds of the same length might be 7 or 8 knots, and a bigger monohull with similar living space might be doing 10 or 12.

So don’t be lulled or wowed by these vessel’s maximum speed or “surfing” claims—they’re fun numbers to kick around with your dock neighbors, but what really matters is how many miles you can tick off in a day of travel.

To get more speed than this, you’ll either push the boat in ways that are not safe or comfortable at sea, or you will have to find bigger, more advanced, and even more expensive vessels. Most boats on this list are luxury liveaboard that is safe to travel the world. 

But are they fast? As the old sailor saying goes, “Nothing goes to weather like a 747.” Sailing is still sailing. And sailing is a slow, slow, slow way to see the world. 

Traditional monohull sailboats are displacement vessels that are limited by a few rules. As they push the water out of their way, they build up bow and stern waves. Push too much water, and the waves get bigger, pulling the vessel farther into the water. So no matter how you power it, it’s limited to hull speed. Hull speed is a factor of waterline length, width of the hull, and displacement. 

Modern designs favor flat bottoms like powerboats, with the idea that they can surf and plane to get more speed. Catamarans take this even further, and with some clever design tricks , it’s possible to get a catamaran well above displacement speeds for extended runs. Of course, a lot depends on the hull type, and other factors are also at play.

Catamarans are very sensitive to weight . Their speed comes from being a lightweight boat with the ability to fly across the water, contrary to how a heavy monohull plows through it. The heavier the boat, the lower it sits in the water.

Therefore, adding weight to any catamaran will slow it down. To this end, finding a performance-oriented liveaboard catamaran less than 47 feet long is difficult. Less than this, and the narrow hulls simply can’t hold the weight of you and your stuff. 

Finally, there’s the consideration of the environment you’re sailing in. The wind is obvious—they sail fastest on a broad reach. And, just like any other type of boat, they are slowest when close-hauled and on a run. 

Rough seas are another of the catamaran characteristics to consider in your need for speed. Often the boat is capable of more, but the ride is rough and uncomfortable.

So you shorten sail and slow down to find the sweet spot of comfortable sailing speed—enough power to maintain a good speed without pounding your brains out and causing undo fatigue on the crew. And, of course, the rougher the conditions, the slower the boat’s performance as she slows and in the troughs and speeds “downhill.”

While they are faster than other vessels, that’s certainly not the only thing catamarans have going for them. Fast is a relative term, and “fast” sailing is still awfully slow. So unless you already love sailing, sailing fast might not have as much appeal as you’d expect.

Catamarans are great vessels with a lot of pluses. And these fast modern catamarans are some of the best—luxurious living space aboard comfortable, top-quality vessels. 

What are the fastest catamarans?

Like those used in recent America’s Cup races, pure racing catamarans use foils to lift their hulls out of the water. Whether performance-oriented or not, regular catamarans for cruising are much slower, averaging between 10 and 15 knots. Still, they generally outperform monohull sailboats of similar lengths in most conditions, especially when sailing downwind.

How fast does a 50 foot catamaran sail?

There are many designs of catamarans, and they all sail differently. In some conditions, a pure racing catamaran may sail significantly faster than the wind speed. Most cruising catamarans, whether designated as “performance” or not, will max out around 12 to 15 knots. Momentary peak speeds may be significantly higher. 

What is the fastest point of sail catamaran?

As with all sailboats, the fastest point of sail will be near a beam reach, where the apparent wind is 90 degrees from the boat’s bow. Since cats travel faster over the water, this usually means that the true wind is off the quarter, with a true wind angle of about 120 degrees off the bow.

How fast is the Gunboat 68?

Gunboat 68, hull number 1 (68-01), was launched in 2019. Immediately after sea trials, CONDOR crossed the Atlantic . The crew reported the vessel’s max speed exceeded 30 knots occasionally, with averages between 14 and 17 knots. Their best day was 328 nm, making the average speed for those 24 hours 13.7 knots (15.8 mph).

Matt has been boating around Florida for over 25 years in everything from small powerboats to large cruising catamarans. He currently lives aboard a 38-foot Cabo Rico sailboat with his wife Lucy and adventure dog Chelsea. Together, they cruise between winters in The Bahamas and summers in the Chesapeake Bay.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• European Union
• South Africa
• Photos & Videos

Virtual Tour

Leopard 40 Powercat

Exhilaration at sea.  A reinvention in the Leopard Powercat series, the Leopard 40 Powercat presents a new generation of cruising possibilities. Bringing optimal reliability, speed, stability and fuel consumption, this vessel joins the successful Leopard 46 and Leopard 53 models as a world leader in the cruising power catamaran market. Built by Robertson & Caine and designed by naval architects Simonis Voogd, the Leopard 40 Powercat is masterfully engineered, maintaining an excellent weight and trim ratio rarely found in catamarans of this size. Research using computational fluid dynamics tools has enabled this feat and made the Leopard 40 PC a class leader. The Leopard 40 Powercat embodies all the distinct design characteristics of the Leopard series but with a new modernity. Superior craftsmanship and materials, including Leopard’s signature side glazing that runs the length of the planking, show off the vessel’s elegant lines. Its smart design also includes an interior steering position that provides maximum safety, with a perfect peripheral view of the sea while remaining sheltered from the elements. Enjoy outdoor living with large aft cockpit as well as the largest flybridge found in a 40-foot vessel.  Step aboard and experience exceptional living at sea. Each living space is intentionally designed with comfort and functionality in mind. Ample communal space is found throughout, including the aft cockpit, flybridge and aft decks. Unique to the Leopard line, sunbathing areas are accessible through the side decks or directly from the saloon by way of the front door. Whether for group gatherings or solitude reflection, there is always a space to manifest the next milestone in your journey. Venture further and discover accommodations that put you right at home. At the bow, the saloon brings everyone together to relish another day at sea. The fully equipped L-shaped galley is conducive to conversation and brings greater ease when preparing meals. The three cabins feature generous island beds and sea views in the hulls. Two heads are located in the passageway on the port side and forward on the starboard side and offer a spacious setting with a separate shower. Intentionally designed to avoid disturbances, the two technical areas are located at the rear and are isolated and accessible only from the outside. They are equipped with two engines of 250, 320, or 370 horsepower that satisfy the Leopard 40 Powercat’s high performance and reliability standards. With capabilities of reaching 17 knots at cruising speed and more than 20 knots at top speed, passengers will find agility and remarkable seaworthiness with the new Leopard 40 Powercat.

SPECIAL OFFER

• LOA: 40 ft 0 in / 12.19 m
• LWL: 39 ft 7 in / 12.07 m
• Beam: 21 ft 8 in / 6.61 m
• Draft: 3 ft 7 in / 1.1 m
• Bridgedeck Clearance: 2 ft 4 in / 0.7 m
• Max height above W.L. (excl. antenna stalks): 18 ft 5 in / 5.61 m
• Engine: 2x250hp
• Engine Upgrade: 320hp, 370hp
• Propeller Dimensions: 4-blade 23in x 22in (370 hp option)
• Maximum Speed (in light ship conditions): 23 Knots
• Cruising Speed (in light ship conditions): 15 Knots
• Engine Max Power: 250 HP
• Max Power RPM: 3800 rpm
• Engine No. Cylinders: 4
• Consumption Curves:  View Leopard 40 Powercat Performance Curves
• Fuel: 370 gal / 1400 L

EXTRA DETAILS

• Water: 169 gal / 640 L
• Displacement: 30488 lbs / 13829 kg
• Load Carrying Capacity: 12410 lbs / 5629 kg
• Holding Tank Capacity: 42 gal / 160 L

All Leopard Catamarans are NMMA and CE Certified.

Related Boat Reviews

Leopard catamarans feature - passagemaker, leopard 40 powercat - southern boating catamaran buyers guide, leopard 40 powercat review - southern boating.

Make an appointment for a boat show, a sea trial, or simply receive a phone call from our expert agents.

Other Leopard 40 Powercat Buying Options

Check for current availability of used Leopard Catamarans and new Leopard Catamarans in charter programs on our sister sites

Introducing the most exciting performance-focused catamaran to hit the sailing world, the Open Waters 40 is an all-electric catamaran that leverages the latest in yacht construction technologies designed to maximize the thrill of sailing yet still provide the creature comforts of a multihull.

Great handling and speed.

The ESC40 is a 40-ft catamaran designed to be two to three times faster than the typical cruising cat – using carbon fibre to reduce weight and provide increased hull strength.

The twin helm stations are covered by a solar cell-covered roof and come with a 59m2 main sail in addition to three headsails: Jib 26 m ² , FRO 65 m ² and Asail 121 m ² .

The hull is rated to handle boat speeds in excess of 20 knots. With curved retractable daggerboards providing better upwind handling and performance at speed.

The retractable rudders, together with the low draft of 2 ft, allow the boat to cruise in shallow waters and to be beached on the bow or stern.

Regenerative Energy

Thanks to the low weight, higher boat speed and the solar/hydro regeneration systems on-board. The boat is a 100% energy self-sufficient.

The twin electric drives and advanced battery technology allows for quiet, fossil fuel-free cruising.

Using 10 kW motors, the close-quarter power and handling is unrivalled. The folding propeller generates electricity while sailing together with the roof-mounted solar cells, recharging the battery while in operation.

The integrated drives, battery and battery management systems are intelligently inter-connected and provide real-time and predictive insights on power consumption, generation and operational range.

The boat comfortably accommodates four adults and two children, and is sure to bring you all modern comforts such as a 400L water reserve shower and an electric stove.

The hull interior boasts 6’4” of head room with the coach offering even more generous space with 6’8” of head room up to 7 at the aft dinette. The wet deck, spacious with 300 ft ² between hulls features the main stateroom.

Each hull features three deck hatches and six portlights for excellent ventilation while the trampoline across the beam is 305 ft ² of play, relaxation and dolphin viewing.

Our unique construction techniques allows us to manufacture the boat in Canada in a quarter of the time compared to traditional boat building.

We can also build and ship your boat in as early as four months, greatly surpassing the industry standard of 12+ months.

From order to build and delivery, our price compares very favourable to other fast cats.

Faster, cheaper delivery

The boat can be packed in a standard 40ft freight container and be shipped safely anywhere in the world at a much lower cost (up to $50,000 savings) and in a fraction of the time.

Boat owners can now also ship their boat one or both ways between North America, the South Pacific, Mediterranean or the Carribean for a one way cruise or an overwintering.

Vacuum Resin Infusion

Vacuum resin infusion is the process at the heart of our technology and is used for all parts.

The vacuum resin process removes all of the air between the fibres of a part prior to the introduction of the resin.

After the process, our parts are meticulously sanded with variable grit — allowing for maximum paint adhesion on surfaces and smooth, stylish edges.

Core Materials

Core materials are introduced into the part to increase stiffness without increasing weight.

The core is a structural-grade foam with a high shear strength characteristic: if the part is of a complex shape, we cut the foam into sections, thermoforming it to the required shape.

We use five different sizes and densities of foam on the boat, optimized for local strength requirements.

We purchase carbon fiber by the roll and over 35 rolls are used in each boat. We have engineered the laminate schedule to be most efficient in the various areas of the boat maximising strength and reducing weight.

Each meant to be the most efficient for their respective areas. The fabrics are stitched, instead of weaved.

Stitched fabrics do not need to bend over or under other fibre and lay flat, making a stronger part.

At Open Waters, it is our mission to make catamaran cruising more exciting and environmentally sustainable. We’ve set out to create a performance cruising catamaran that will be a joy to sail and that will raise the bar in environmental sustainability.

We have developed a unique  design and manufacturing process, selected high performance  materials that enable us to build a boat that uses less materials and is 50% lighter. As a result it is a lot faster and as a result it is able to generate and store the energy needed to propel it electrically for hours and provide enough energy for on board equipment.

We use high performance carbon fibre and a vacuum infusion process to maximize strength and reduce the use of resin and eliminate resin vapour emissions. We use 100% recycled PET foam core wherever possible and we see the opportunity for incremental use of bio-based epoxy and natural fibres in our future.

As we continue to develop our sustainability roadmap for our boats we will perform a full lifecycle analysis to identify other opportunities to minimize our carbon footprint. 

The unique processes and skills we have developed can be applied and licensed to other marine and recreational vehicles businesses.

Simon Angus

Simon Angus P.Eng is a professional mechanical engineer with a background in project management and a passion for sailing.

He spent his university summers travelling around Europe searching for the best combination of wind and waves in addition to teaching both sailing and windsurfing.

After moving to Canada in 2004, Simon bought a Catalina 27 in Kitimat BC and enjoyed sailing in the Douglas channel with his young family. A career move to Alberta paused his sailing career until he found the joys of chartering sailboats in the Caribbean.

After a 20 year career in industrial engineering and project management he decided to make a change and combined his passion and profession to launch Open Waters Design and Manufacturing in 2016.

He designed and manufactured an 18ft canoe and developed a plug and mold and his proprietary vacuum resin infusion process.  After the successful build of the canoe, Simon built a high performance 18ft A class foiling sailing catamaran out of  a Carbon fibre and refined the mold construction and vacuum resin infusion process.

After researching the various build steps, Simon started with CNC shaping of a plug, hand finishing and building the hull molds. He also built the mast, Z foils and the Tee foil rudders. After successful trials in Vancouver BC, Simon then set out on his next ambitious project, to design and build the boat he had dreamt about for years.

A boat that could be shipped anywhere in the world, sail on with his family and returned to Vancouver for summer cruising and would be electrically sustainable.

Simon was introduced to Hal Whitacre in 2019 which started a design relationship that has resulted in the creation of the Open Waters ESC40.

Hal Whitacre

Hal Whitacre, owner of Whitacre yacht design since 1984 and is responsible for some of the fastest and most luxurious boats ever built.

Hal is Open Waters Chief Naval Architect and has worked closely with Simon over the past 2 years to produce the detailed designs that make up the Open Waters ESC 40.

Hal has a distinguished career in Naval Architecture graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Naval architecture and Marine Engineering.

Throughout his career he has pushed the boundaries of naval architecture notably designing the Open Class 60 “Imagine”; breaking ground with the largest rig ever put on an Open 60.

Hal also owns and operates Bruce Roberts USA and in that capacity, he has designed over 100 steel and aluminium boat kits in addition to many fiberglass and  wood sail and power boats. Most recently, Hal was the chief Naval Architect for Gunboat Catamarans when they were built in the USA.

Since their move to Europe, Hal has completed 2 gunboat 55’s along with a conversation of a gunboat 55 to a powercat ferry which has recently conducted successful sea trials.

Hal and his wife Tammy split their time between Annapolis, Md and Sister Bay, Wi.  Hal continues to race Lasers during the winter and windsurfs/foilsurfs as much as possible.

We’re hiring!

Join us on our mission to make catamaran cruising more exciting and environmentally sustainable.

Marine Experience Marketeer

You are well versed and have experience in nearly everything digital marketing. You’ve either grown up boating, lived the life of a cruiser, traveler, racer or practice an other lifestyle action sport and know what makes people tick. You’re an avid content creator and storyteller and you can work your magic with the tools of the trade. Lights, camera, sounds, action. 

Join us for a seamless blend of work and play as we test and trial the boat, document BC cruising experiences and host prospective customers from around the world. While a lot of time is spent on the boat you’ll also be responsible for the creation, editing and delivery of all digital content via influencers, communities, social and traditional media and marketing channels. 

If this sounds like you, please email me at [email protected] tell me why you’d love to join us in BC this summer and include a few links to the amazing content you’ve created and shared. I look forward to our chat.

• 0 No item in your cart
• SUBSCRIPTION
• Classified Ads
• Technical Specifications
• Destinations
• Address book

• All the magazines

2023 Power Buyer’s Guide - 30 to 40 feet

Article published on 28/10/2022

By Emmanuel van Deth

published in n°SP19 dec. / jan.

This category of ‘multipowers’ incorporates a wide variety of models - from the Open designed for shoal draft waters to the comfortable Cruiser that can accommodate you for weeks on board, or even the catamaran designed just for big game fishing. The common theme: all these models easy to handle thanks to their dual engines and their still modest size.

Create a notification for "Buyer's guide"

We will keep you posted on new articles on this subject.

Dismantlable and transportable

A dismantlable powercat can be transported on a simple flatbed trailer... as long as it is of reasonable length and light in weight. Naval architect Richard Woods was able to test the validity of the concept with his own Skoota 28: the Aegean 30 is a development of the Skoota 28, still for building in plywood/epoxy and dismantlable. The objective was to increase the beam - now close to that of a sailing catamaran - and the headroom while offering two additional berths in the hulls. The outboard motors make beaching easier and safer - no rudders and engine legs. Two 40 to 60 HP engines guarantee a cruising speed of 10-12 knots (16-20 knots top speed).

Architect: Richard Woods Design  Material: Epoxy plywood Overall length: 30’2” (9.20m) Waterline length: 289’ (8.85 m) Beam: 16’5” (5.00 m) Draft: 14” (0.36 m) Headroom in nacelle: 6’3” (1.90 m) Light displacement: 5,500 lbs (2.5 t) Laden displacement: 7,000 lbs (3.2 t) Engines: 2 x 40 to 60 HP outboards  Cruising speed: 10/12 knots Max speed: 16/20 knots

L925 SEMI DISPLACEMENT POWER CAT

Amateur or professional construction in plywood/epoxy.

New Zealand-based naval architecture firm Dan Leech is offering a number of power multihulls from 25 to 60 feet (7.5 to 18 m) for amateur or professional construction. Among them, the L925 is the perfect choice for relaxed cruising for a couple. This model is built in ½” (12 mm) plywood - the panels can be digitally cut - with glass/epoxy reinforcements. Its limited beam will allow you access to a marina slip without any noticeable extra cost. On the other hand, the gain in habitability and stability is considerable compared to a single-hulled motorboat. This kind of construction is very accessible to an enlightened amateur (4,000 hours of work were counted for the first model) all the more so as having outboard motors for propulsion considerably simplifies the technical aspects. Despite its semi-displacement hulls, the L925 is capable of making more than 20 knots with two 90 hp engines.

Construction: Amateur or professional Architect: Dan Leech Naval Architect Length: 30’4” (9.25 m) Waterline length: 24’9” (7.55 m) Beam: 11’ (3.35 m) Draft: 19” (0.48 m) - engines up Recommended engines: 2 x 90 HP outboards Cruising speed: 17 knots Max speed: 22 knots Fuel: 79 US gal (300 l)

ARROWCAT 320

Compact but luxurious.

The ArrowCat 320 is a successful model - now in its third generation. The smallest of the Arrowcat range, it features a luxurious finish - rare in compact powercats - such as a wooden steering wheel, or modern, full instrumentation on a carbon-look dashboard. Inside, the manufacturer has paid particular attention to the owner’s cabin. The 320 is powered by two outboard motors. The limited beam of 10 feet (3.05 m) allows the boat to be transported by road in certain countries such as the United ...

Subscribe to Multihulls World and get exclusive benefits.

Tags : 

• 2023 power buyer's guide

Did you like this article ?

Share this article

Most-read articles in the same category.

Who's Who - Nigel Irens: A wonderful, self-taught naval architect

Learning To Sail Your Multihull - The shipyards are doing their bit!

International Multihull Show - The unmissable get-together for multihull fans

The photographer's eye - Rivergate Marina, Brisbane, Australia: Customs Clearance!

2023 Sail Buyer's Guide - Multihulls from 30 to 40 feet

2023 Sail Buyer's Guide - Multihulls from 20 to 30 feet

What readers think.

Post a comment

No comments to show.

Follow us on

Vous avez ajouté " " à vos favoris., vous avez supprimé " " de vos favoris., in order to add this article to your favorites, please sign in..

6 Best Performance Cruising Catamarans (Buyer’s Guide)

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We may also earn commissions if you purchase products from other retailers after clicking on a link from our site.

Performance cruising catamarans are impressive-looking vessels that focus on speed above comfort. These fast boats are ideal for racing and long cruising vacations. But with the numerous brands and models on the market, how do you know which is the best one?  

The best high-speed performance cruising catamarans are the Outremer 4x, McConaghy MC50, Nautitech 44, Gunboat 62, Balance 526, and Marsaudon Composites ORC50. All these boats deliver outstanding speeds and are light in weight, relatively comfortable, and incredibly safe.  

This article will explore the brands and models that I believe have the best combination of performance and comfort . We’ll look at their speeds and what makes them cruise so fast. We’ll also examine the factors to consider when shopping for a performance cruising cat.  

Table of Contents

How Fast Are Performance Cruising Catamarans? 

Cruising catamarans are generally faster than monohulls of similar lengths. This means most well-built and well-balanced cats will arrive at their destination much sooner, and the cruise is much more comfortable. Performance cruising cats like the Nautitech include deep daggerboards and rudders, narrow waterline beams, hull chines, and big sail plans that allow for faster sailing than a standard cruising cat.

Outremer 4X

Outremer Catamarans are well-known for their high speeds. These exciting cats sport brilliant designs, narrow bows, and large rigs. Built in Southern France, the vessels are strong and long-lasting since their structures feature materials such as carbon, glass, and vinyl ester. 

The Outremer 4x is a stable and comfortable high-speeding cruising catamaran that performs ocean crossings and confronts any weather with remarkable ease. Named the European Boat of the Year in 2017, this 48-foot (14.6 m) bluewater cruiser sails faster than wind speed and attains maximum cruising speeds of 20 knots.

The 4x is an upgrade of the extremely popular Outremer 45, thus retaining Outremer’s core values of speed, safety, and comfort. It’s built for maximum performance and enjoyment, with the lightweight, carbon fiber structure allowing for additional speed under sail . 

Featuring comfort typical of much larger vessels, the Outremer 4X features 4 double cabins, hot water showers, a full kitchen, spacious storage, and excellent ventilation. There’s also an expansive deck, an unobstructed cockpit, and large trampoline areas. Most importantly, your safety is assured through the cat’s unique features including a robust structure, offshore design, stability, and unrivaled speed potential.

The 4x’s cutting-edge design makes it ideal for competitive racing or blue water cruising, and it does both without compromising your comfort, safety, or onboard livability. However, to sail at maximum speed, the boat must remain lightweight, requiring your interior to be fitted out quite minimally. The other downside is the high price tag; the Outremer 4X commands a price between $912,322 and $1,202,945 .

McConaghy MC52

The McConaghy MC52 is a performance luxury cruising cat reflective of McConaghy’s 50 years of experience in building high-tech composite projects. The luxurious boat features a flybridge, retracting centerboards, optimized hulls, and an open space bridgedeck combining the salon with the cockpit. You can also customize the boat to your specifications.

This hi-tech cat comes with sizeable sliding salon windows and frameless doors that provide fantastic views. Its wave-piercing bows can cut through waves, thus helping to increase performance by minimizing pitch resistance, while still retaining a smooth ride. Also, the saloon offers spacious dining space for up to 8 people, and the galley area is more like a penthouse.

The manufacturer’s background in building high-end racing yachts has resulted in an incredibly strong and lightweight vessel capable of reaching 22 knots (40.7 km/h or 25.29 mph). The main downside to this boat is the boom placement on the mast, which is much higher than other high-performance cats. This makes accessing the mainsail somewhat challenging. It also increases the MC50’s center of gravity and center of effort.

You can get the MC52 for about $1.6 million.

Nautitech 44

The Nautitech 44 easily blends comfort and fun to deliver an impressive sailing performance, whether you take short trips or long ocean crossings. The boat offers a good balance under sail, and it features helming stations on each hull. Plus, there’s an integrated hardtop bimini complete with sunroof opening. Slim hulls translate to higher speeds, with the vessel reaching up to 17 knots (31.4 km/h or 19.51 mph).

The well-laid-out interior boasts a functional design, ample storage space, plus all the equipment you require for ocean cruising, such as a fridge, watermaker, and solar. 

Nautitech 44’s twin helms give you the real sailing experience with a fantastic view of the sails and great visibility when maneuvering into port. However, you might not appreciate being stuck in the aft helm position without protection in lousy weather or during hot days.

Nevertheless, the boat’s responsiveness makes sailing more pleasurable. Plus, it’s affordable; the price is between $236,000 and $334,000.

Marsaudon Composites ORC50

Marsaudon Composites vessels are ideal for both racing and cruising. The sporty-looking ORC 50 comes with large inverted bows, an angular coachroof, a high freeboard, and a sturdy rotating carbon mast. In addition, the vessel is light which allows it to accelerate quickly, while the angular coachroof offers lots of space and excellent visibility. 

The ORC50 can attain 23+ knots (42.5+ km/h or 26.41+ mph) and is among the fastest high-performance livable multihulls. It’s capable of doing more than 350 miles (563.27 km) per day.   

The downside to the ORC50 is it’s a bit technical to sail, thus requiring a skilled sailor. Furthermore, its immense power and speed can be intimidating to less experienced sailors. Solely designed for speed, the ORC50’s interior is simple, less roomy, and somewhat spartan; hence the boat might not be all that comfy. Still, it’ll get you where you want to go pretty fast, and it’s an excellent value for money at approximately $787,751.25.

Gunboat 62 

The Gunboat 62 is a true high-speed catamaran capable of sailing at 20 knots (37 km/h or 23 mph) over true wind speeds and known to notch up speeds of 36+ knots (66.7+ km/h or 41.45 mph) on a surf. The initial 3 Gunboat 62 boats featured epoxy, E-glass, and carbon fiber construction, but the fourth vessel was all carbon, sported a taller rig and a more expansive sail area. 

These structural features made the Gunboat 62s extremely light, and they formed the original luxury high-performance cruising cats.

This multihull sailboat boasts a carbon mast, round hull sections for a minimized wetted surface area, high-aspect rudders, and retractable daggerboards. The steering station offers 360-degree visibility and sports overhead hatches that you can use to monitor the mainsail trim. The boat also contains 3 private cabins with queen berths, 2 spacious heads with showers, an aft cockpit, galley, and lounge.

On the downside, Gunboats are pricey cats; hence they’re also expensive to maintain. The Gunboat 62 isn’t that spacious either as it’s more focused on speed, but it’s extremely comfortable, plus there’s plenty of space for hanging out. You can buy this catamaran starting from $2 million .

Balance 526

Built with a combination of carbon fiber, E-glass, epoxy, closed-cell foam, and composite bulkheads, this boat is strong, light, and can withstand terrible weather. The retractable daggerboards allow for good upwind performance. All high load areas contain carbon fiber, while furniture and cabinets feature cored sandwich construction, producing the lightest yet most robust catamaran. 

A Balance 526 will reach speeds of up to 20knots without stressing the rig too much.

The boat is available in various layouts and comfortably accommodates 6 people. The spacious aft cockpit and saloon provide panoramic visibility. And since Balance 526 can handle the extra weight, you get performance plus all the creature comforts you desire.

Still, Balance 526’s pricing is on the higher end, beginning at $1,440,000 . Also, the slender hulls result in less space down below. Nevertheless, the boat lives up to its name, achieving the perfect balance between superb performance and comfort.

What Makes Performance Cruising Catamarans So Fast? 

Performance Cruising Catamarans Have Narrow Hulls 

Performance catamarans contain two small narrow hulls, which cause them to have less water resistance. Smaller hulls mean the vessels have much smaller bow waves to fight, allowing them to move extremely fast. In addition, the less hull area is underwater, the faster the boat is capable of moving since there’s less drag.

Having said that, it’s important to note that a narrow hull is more prone to burying its bows in rough seas. The wider the hull, the more buoyancy it offers, but only up to a given point. After which, the excessive width becomes unmanageable and performance suffers. The key lies in finding the right balance.

Performance Cruising Catamarans Have Considerable Length

The longer a cruising cat is, the faster it’ll move. While each vessel bears a maximum hull speed, in most cases, the lengthier the boat, the higher the speed it can reach. The length of the hull (length on the waterline) also has a significant impact on the speed performance. Thus, the cat attains maximum speeds when the wavelength is equal to the length on the waterline (hull speed).

Therefore, the longer the length of the hull, the better the performance of a high-speed cruising cat. You can also compare two cruising cats’ speeds based on this measure. 

Performance Cruising Catamarans Have Quality Builds

Modern cat manufacturers continue designing more innovative high-performance cruising cats that deliver a new blend of performance and cruising features. They achieve this by using advanced construction materials, better daggerboard designs, and creative weight allocation. They also keep a keener focus on onboard amenities. For instance, asymmetrical daggerboards placed midships in each hull can help achieve proper balance and hull trim.

The overall goal is to design cruising cats that offer high speeds, outstanding performance, and enough offshore comfort. 

Here’s an article if you are wondering what daggerboards and centerboards are and why they impact performance so much.

Performance Cruising Catamarans Are Light-weight

The lighter a cruising catamaran, the greater its performance. And some of the most popular high-performance catamarans find an optimal balance between performance and comfort. As a result, modern performance-based cruising cats have embraced the use of carbon composite construction for hulls, daggerboards, and rigging, instead of the somewhat heavier glass fiber materials.

A weighed-down cat produces less speed, which means excess immersion of the hulls renders the boat sluggish . The hull submersion also reduces the bridge deck clearance, promoting uncomfortable hull slamming.

You won’t find much difference in top speed between performance catamarans bearing similar lengths because they all have displacement hulls and mostly sail to hull speed with occasional surfing. This means that under skilled hands, these cats should exhibit roughly the same performance. A cruising cat’s performance is also highly dependent on the state of the sea, wind direction, and speed, amongst many other factors.

What To Consider When Choosing a Performance Cruising Catamaran

Speed is the number one consideration when choosing a high-speed cruising cat. Yet there are other factors just as important since they contribute to the overall cruising performance, including:

•  What you’ll use the vessel for and where. Are you planning on doing coastal cruising or serious offshore cruising? Consider the number of people that you’ll be sailing with and the activities you’ll engage in. This also helps determine the size catamaran you’ll need.  
• Comfort. While some racing enthusiasts might prefer spartan accommodation plans, most enjoy relative comfort on the high seas. In any case, modern high-speed cruising cats are designed to provide a certain level of creature comforts. And since most performance cats are custom-made, new boat owners may decide precisely which features to include in their cats. 
• Quality. To produce light boats, builders employ the use of fine resins, carbon, epoxies, foam cores, and fiberglass. They build using a combination of vacuum-bagged techniques, foam cores, foam composite bulkheads, and make furniture and cabinetry with cored sandwich construction . 
• Livability. One cannot underrate the appeal of sailing in a vessel with no heeling, not to mention the high privacy attained from separate living and sleeping areas. Panoramic views and exceptional deck space for lounging and entertaining are also essential in ensuring maximum cruising comfort. Fortunately, most high-speed cruising cats offer all these features and more.
• Equipment. Sailing upwind is a challenge for cruising cats since they tend to make lots of leeway. To make things easier, high-speed cruising cats come equipped with bigger rigs and either daggerboards or centerboards. However, this also means skilled sailors are required to operate them. 
• Cost. Catamarans are generally expensive, but a cat built with longer, leaner hulls and less costly materials can still give an outstanding performance. Such materials include foam cores, epoxy bulkheads, and epoxy resins. Furthermore, it’s not necessary to use only carbon to build a lightweight boat. 

Final Thoughts

Performance cruising catamarans are built using exotic, high-tech, lightweight materials to deliver an electrifying sailing experience. And as we’ve seen from the above list, these boats deliver performance plus much more. They’re not only speed cruisers, but they also provide a smooth, comfortable, and enjoyable cruising experience. 

So, whichever option you go for – from the luxurious Gunboat 62 to the much more affordable Nautitech 44 – you’re sure to get a boat that suits your needs. 

• Wikipedia: Spinnaker
• Wikipedia: High-Performance Sailing  
• Yachting World: Fountaine Pajot Elba 45 Review
• Aeroyacht: Catamaran Speed
• Cruiser’s Forum: Nautitech 44…
• Nautitech Catamarans: Nautitech
• Katamarans: Marsaudon Composites ORC50 (TS5) Review
• Outremer USA: New Outremer 4x Performance Catamaran
• Dutoit Yacht Design: Balance 526 Review
• Go Downsize: How Fast Do Catamarans Go?
• Catamaran Guru: The Cruising Catamaran Performance Debate
• The Boat App: The Fastest Cruising Catamarans of 2020
• Sail Magazine: Performance Cruising Cats Set New Standards in Sailing Speed
• Cruisers Forum: Fast Cruising Catamarans – How Fast?
• Lagoon – Inside: The Secrets of a Catamaran’s Performance
• Sail Magazine: 10 Great Cruising Cats
• Cruising World: 40 Best Sailing Catamarans and Trimarans, Cruising Catamarans…

Owner of CatamaranFreedom.com. A minimalist that has lived in a caravan in Sweden, 35ft Monohull in the Bahamas, and right now in his self-built Van. He just started the next adventure, to circumnavigate the world on a Catamaran!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.

Recent Posts

Must-Have Boat Gear for Catamaran Sailors!

Sailing is probably the most gear-intensive activity I've ever done; there are so many decisions to be made about what gear to buy now, for tomorrow, and what to definitely never buy. The gear on...

6 Best Trailerable Trimarans For Bluewater and Coastal Sailing

Having a boat costs a lot of money, even when you are not using it, marina fees, etc. And once it is in the water most sailors never go very far from their "home marina" and sailing will be somewhat...

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Fast and furious Neo 400 is claimed to be the ‘fastest cruising 40-footer in the world’

• Toby Hodges
• February 20, 2015

Is the boast plausible? Toby Hodges takes a close look at this muscular racer-cruiser

A sign that brags ‘the fastest cruising 40-footer in the world’ is a sure-fire way to attract attention. My first impressions of the Neo 400 stern-to at the Genoa Boat Show made me question that statement, but the more I discovered about this quirky boat, the more the boast seemed plausible.

She’s a little like the tweaked road cars in the Fast and Furious film series – ie not an out-an-out racing design, but a muscular racer-cruiser with accommodation.

The Neo is built entirely in carbon (optionally pre-preg), so weighs a butterfly-light 4.8 tonnes, with exactly half of that in her torpedo-shaped keel. And like the nitro-fuelled Japanese cars in the blockbuster films, she is capable of exhilarating speeds – reportedly up to 24 knots downwind.

The prototype has clocked 10,000 miles since launching in February. Once Paolo Semeraro, the man behind her conception, had finished showing me round the boat, she departed for the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

America’s Cup designer Giovanni Ceccarelli drew the Neo for racing under ORCi and IRC ratings. Her hull is optimised for max waterline length at 20° heel and features a slightly reverse stem. The result is, says Semeraro: “She sails upwind like an Xp44 and downwind like a Class 40.”

Unusual options include a very deep keel and high aspect rudder, which can retract for accessing shallower waters. Both aft cabins include three single berths that can be canted to the optimum windward angle to suit racing crews. And forward of the mast a loft option is offered, which is left open to create a large saloon.

Neo 400 interior

Another notable feature is the double compression post in the centre of the interior, which looks like carbon scaffolding, but serves to absorb mast base and shroud base loads. Construction throughout looks rigid, including solid laminate ringframes, a Weldox steel keel fin and a lead bulb.

The Neo is built at Banks Sails in Bari, Italy. It produces two carbon sails per day on average so boasts plenty of laminating experience. It is no surprise then that a large sailplan has been developed for the boat to include a square-top main and a generous foretriangle for asymmetric sails flown off a fixed sprit.

A planned Neo 550 looks sleeker and more refined. With greater attention given to the accommodation and weighing just over ten tonnes, she could be one to watch. The 400 viewed was a working prototype, which was obvious from the standard of finish. And I suspect, however fast or furiously she sails, the price of construction may ensure she remains a niche boat.

Price ex VAT €355,000 (£282,000). www.neoyachts.com

LOA 12.15m/39ft 10in

LWL 11.50m/37ft 9in

Beam 3.99m/13ft 1in

Draught 2.60m-1.60m/ 8ft 6in-5ft 3in

Displacement 4,600kg/10,141lb

This is an extract from a feature in the November 2014 issue of Yachting World

• BOAT OF THE YEAR
• Newsletters
• Sailboat Reviews
• Boating Safety
• Sailing Totem
• Charter Resources
• Destinations
• Galley Recipes
• Living Aboard
• Sails and Rigging
• Maintenance

Best Cruising Catamarans

• By Cruising World Editors
• Updated: July 1, 2021

Cruising catamarans have been around for decades, but early models—often plywood and fiberglass vessels built by their owners from plans and kits, kept the boats on the fringes of mainstream sailing. That all changed, though, as big roomy cats were discovered by sailors who went off to charter in the Caribbean, where the multihulls proved their worth as comfortable liveaboard and party boats.

Today’s bluewater catamarans roam the globe, carrying families to exotic destinations across the Pacific and beyond. Just as with their monohull cousins, there is no best catamaran. Instead there is a wide variety of designs, ranging from small catamarans that offer the ease of maintenance a couple might enjoy to performance catamarans capable of easily knocking off 250-mile days. Today, the best catamaran brands offer a range of size models and layouts that can be optimized for an owner sailing with family and friends, or for the charter market, where there’s a demand for four, five and even six cabins worth of accommodations.

The most prolific catamaran manufacturers are in France and South Africa where yards include both large-run production builders and niche companies building fewer than 10 boats a year.

The best cruising catamarans offer good load-carrying ability and respectable performance. As with any sailboat , a modern catamaran’s design is a result of compromises. Daggerboards or keels? Galley up or galley down? Spacious owner’s cabin or extra bunks? There are lots of options to choose from—and that’s what makes looking at these sailboats fun!

Here, then is an eclectic A to Z list of some of the best catamarans that have helped shaped the evolution of how we live and sail on two hulls.

Antares 44i

Now built in Argentina as a full-fledged, bluewater catamaran and cruiser that can be safely operated by a shorthanded couple or family crew, the Antares 44i features a fully covered cockpit with a quartet of big, standard solar panels recessed within the hardtop, one example of a yacht capable of long-range passagemaking.

Atlantic 42

Almost 30 years ago, yacht designer Chris White revolutionized catamaran design with the first in his series of Atlantic cats, the primary feature of which was the innovative mid-ship sailing cockpit forward of the main cabin. The smallest in the Atlantic line, the 42 remains White’s most popular design ever.

Fountaine-Pajot has built so many outstanding cruising catamarans that it’s difficult to narrow down any single boat, but we’ve always been fans of the good-looking, well-thought-out Bahia 46. At 46 feet, the boat is large enough for offshore forays and has plenty of volume; with its simple but powerful sail plan, it’s also an excellent performer.

Beginning around 1996, the French builder Catana was one of the first companies to manufacture fully found cruising cats for private ownership, and this Christophe Barreau design, which enjoyed a nearly 10-year production run from 1997-2006, was emblematic of this first generation of safe, fun, long-legged offshore voyagers.

Click here to see more cats from Catana.

When it comes to speed, light boats are fast ones. And if you wish to save weight, that means exotic modern materials like carbon. Catana now infuses the laminates of their entire production line with carbon fiber, and for this list, we’ve chosen the Catana 50 Carbon, one of the zippiest cats now crossing oceans.

Click here to read about a couple’s charter aboard a Catana 50.

Gemini 105M

Pioneering catamaran sailor, builder and designer Tony Smith launched the first of his 33-foot Gemini 105M’s (10.5 meters = 33′) in 1993, and soon after found a ready and willing stream of sailors enamored of the boat’s compact size, affordable price tag, and such innovations as the nifty lifting rudder and transom steps.

Click here to read about the Gemini Legacy 35.

Built between 2000-2005, the Gunboat 62 firmly established the Gunboat brand: go-anywhere cats that applied race-boat technology to a world-cruising platform. Hull no. 1, Tribe, was built for company founder Peter Johnstone, who then spent a year-and-a-half cruising with his family, smiling all the way.

French builder Henri Wauquiez is best known for his long career building monohulls, but the Kronos 45 cat, which he launched in 1992, was ahead of her time. Classic lines, the aft “targa bar” over the cockpit, the louvered coach roof windows, even the distinctive stripes on her hull: the Kronos 45 remains timeless.

No roundup of cruising cats would be complete without several Lagoon entries, and the best of that impressive bunch might well be the Lagoon 380. Originally launched in 1999, and revered for its combination of quality, volume and performance, with over 740 boats built the 380 is still going strong.

Launched five years after the breakthrough 380, the Lagoon 440 was an evolutionary design that featured a raised flybridge helm station, a unique “gullwing” configuration below the bridge deck, expanded windows in the hull and much more. With 400 boats built in a 6-year production run, the 440 was an unqualified success.

How big can a production cat, still operable by a short-handed crew, really be? The builders at Lagoon discovered that 62-feet hit a sweet spot in the marketplace, and have sold over 70 boats since its introduction in 2010. The centerpiece of this design is the sensational steering station atop the flybridge, with expansive views of the sea and sky.

Click here to see more cats from Lagoon.

With an unmatched pedigree – designed by premier multihull naval architects Gino Morelli and Pete Melvin, built by the prestigious Robertson & Caine boatyard in South Africa, and commissioned by chartering giant The Moorings – the Leopard 40 was, perhaps unsurprisingly, Cruising World ’s Import Boat of the Year in 2005.

Louisiane 37

Based on the famous French racing cat Charente-Maritime, the Louisiane 37, designed by Joubert/Nivelt and launched by builder Fountaine-Pajot in 1983, was a light, fast liveaboard cruiser with full accommodations that represented a radical departure from the hefty British cats that preceded it.

Maine Cat 30

One of the more versatile and clever cats ever created, the central feature of the cool Maine Cat 30 is the open bridge deck/living room sandwiched between the hulls and canopied by a rigid, permanent hard top (the comfortable accommodations/ staterooms are stationed in the hulls). Ideal for a winter in the Bahamas but with the ability to sail offshore, it’s a boat for all seasons and reasons.

Built in Florida and beloved by the owners of the over 120 boats built during the company’s existence from 1993 to 2009, the Manta Catamarans range included 38-, 40- and 44-foot cats. For this exercise, however, we’re heralding the original Manta 42, which won the Best Value Overall prize in CW’s 2001 Boat of the Year contest.

Moorings 4800/Leopard 48

Another Leopard/Moorings collaboration built by the wizards at Robertson & Caine (though this boat was designed by fellow South African Alex Simonis), the Leopard 48 was another CW Boat of the Year winner with all the contemporary bells and whistles: forward cockpit, flybridge helm station and solid hardtop dodger, just to name a few.

Click here to read more about the Leopard 48, and click here to see more images.

Nautitech 441

The Best Multihull Under 45 Feet: So said the CW judging panel in the 2013 Boat of the Year competition, regarding the Nautitech 441. But what makes this versatile platform so intriguing are the different helm set-ups. The 441 employs a single wheel, to starboard, ideal for solo sailors, while the 442 has a pair of helm stations aft.

Click here to see more Nautitech Catamarans.

Outremer 5X

A state-of-the-art all-oceans cat that exemplifies how far multihull design has come, the 59-foot Outremer 5X was a winner on both sides of the Atlantic, taking top honors in the European Boat of the Year competition in 2013, and following up as the Best Full-Size Multihull in CW ’s contest a year later.

Click here to see more cats from Outremer.

St. Francis 50

The flagship of the proud St. Francis line – built in South Africa since 1990 to designs by local legends Lavranos Marine Design – the St. Francis 50 is another “luxury cat” that shares much in common with an earlier 48-foot sister-ship, but packs even more payload into its roomier lines.

Click here to read more about the St. Francis 50

Seawind 1000

Founded by Aussie surfer and sailor Richard Ward in 1982, the 33-foot Seawind 1000 is easily the most popular cruising cat ever built in Australia (the company has since moved its manufacturing and management operations to Vietnam). Roomy and airy, these cats dot the coastline of eastern Oz.

Seawind 1160

If the Seawind 1000 was a minimalist approach to cruising cats, the 38-foot Seawind 1160 is the flip side of the coin, a full-fledged long-range voyager. Among the reasons it was named CW ’s Most Innovative boat for 2007 is the unique “tri-folding” door that stashes overhead to open up the saloon and cockpit into a spacious living area.

Click here to read more about the Seawind 1160.

Sunsail 384

Every sailboat is a compromise, and in the case of the Sunsail 384 (also sold privately as the Leopard 38) that’s a good thing, because designers Morrelli & Melvin and builder Robertson and Caine got the balance just right with this relatively small catamaran. With four cabins, the 384 can carry the same size bareboat charter crowd as her larger siblings, but does so with a decided bounce in her step. Named CW’s Import Boat of the Year in 2010, you can gauge the success of the design by the grins on the crew as they barrel down Sir Francis Drake channel in the British Virgin Islands.

Victoria 67

The French design office of Berret Racoupeau drafted the lines of Fountaine-Pajot’s new flagship, introduced in 2013, a magnificent world-girdling voyaging catamaran. Like other giant cats launched in recent years, the boat features a sensational upper deck with all sail controls, helm and lounging stations.

Click here to see more images of the Victoria 67.

Wharram Tanaroa

No list of influential multihulls would be complete without the work of James Wharram, and while Tangaroa wasn’t a production cat by any means, it showcases the British designer’s respect for ancient Polynesian craft. Wharram sailed this 23-foot-6-inch “double-hulled canoe” across the Atlantic in the 1950s, and sold countless plans for similar boats for decades afterwards.

• More: Boat Gallery , catamaran , multihull , Sailboat Reviews , Sailboats
• More Sailboats

Thinking of a Shift to Power?

A gem in new england, tradewinds debuts 59-foot twe6 smart electric yacht, sailboat preview: dufour 44, good bread for good health, center of effort, the halfway point: sailing to bermuda.

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Email Newsletters
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

Our Catamarans

Explore our models in a different way thanks to the virtual marina

Efficiency through design

A feel for the sea: sailboats first and foremost

When volume transforms to real space

Innovation as a foundation

• Smart Electric
• Virtual marina

• Sailing catamarans range

Catamaran Isla 40

The first step towards blue-water sailing

Length overall

Beam overall

Standard Power

Mainsail area

This 12-metre catamaran comprises all the comforts you need to enjoy cruising with family or friends.

The ideal size for a cruising catamaran

You can easily distinguish the Isla 40 from other sailing catamarans

Yacht design is no easy task, but our teams are experts at it. Reversed bows, deck cladding, stylised hull portholes and a sleek silhouette… you almost forget that this multihull is a 40-footer. But it’s enough to give her the air of a tall ship , ready to set sail on new adventures. The entire Fountaine Pajot ethos is concentrated here in a combination of spaces and volumes offering a superb degree of liveability . Her hull and sail plan provide a real thrill , and the ergonomics of her helm are designed with utmost safety in mind.

Catamaran Isla 40 in video

Isla 40 : a sailing catamaran ideal for family cruising

The horizon begins expanding for you here

There’s nothing like an open-plan space to make you feel at ease. A retractable sliding door creates a seamless transition between the exterior cockpit area and interior saloon, making the galley the centre of onboard life. Simply closing the door transforms the interior into a cosy haven.

Features Catamaran Isla 40

Version Maestro

1 owner’s suite + 1 private bathroom / 2 double cabins + 2 bathrooms

387.5 sq ft

Displacement unloaded

Option Power

Fresh water tank

2 x 70 Gallons

Diesel tank

79.25 Gallons

Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design

One of the fundamental principles behind Fountaine Pajot yachts is that the skipper is not just the person behind the helm: they’re also a parent or the leader of a group of friends. The cockpit has been designed so they are always in visual contact and communication with the rest of the crew.

Indoor & outdoor areas

Unique design and incomparable spaces.

Whether you opt for the ‘maestro’ Owner version comprising an entire hull converted into a spacious master suite plus two guest cabins, or the 4–cabin ‘quartet’ format with 2 to 4 bathrooms, comfort is à la carte for everyone after a wonderful day at sea.

Virtual visit

As if you were there….

Welcome aboard this exceptional yacht for a 100% immersive visit. Explore her interior and exterior living spaces in minute detail!

• Construction & Design
• Smart Electric technology

Waiting times for a Fountaine Pajot catamaran may vary according to the stage of your project, the model you want or your sailing area. Some Fountaine Pajot dealers have new catamarans ready to sail! Contact your nearest dealer HERE to ask about the availability of the catamaran of your dreams!

Visit your nearest Fountaine Pajot boat dealer to buy a new catamaran from our range. You will benefit from personalised advice through the Fountaine Pajot dealer network. Discover our network HERE

The price of a Fountaine Pajot sailing catamaran varies according to the size of the model chosen and your sailing project. Our dealers are at your disposal to guide you in your choice of fittings, packages and options to best suit your boat purchase project . You can find out the starting price of the catamaran of your choice on this page HERE .

Innovative, high-tech composite materials constitute most of the structure of our sailing catamarans: hulls, flybridge, decks, bulkheads and more. Fountaine Pajot has perfected a resin injection and infusion technique, an advanced technology that gives our boats all their robustness. Thanks to this expertise, we can make our catamarans considerably lighter while maintaining consistent quality . Injection also makes it possible to meet the most stringent environmental requirements, in line with the commitments of the Fountaine Pajot Group.

Sailing catamarans from 40 to 50 feet are built at the Aigrefeuille headquarters, a few kilometres from La Rochelle. Catamaran yachts from 51 to 80 feet are built in La Rochelle, France, where they benefit from a slipway.

It is essential to define your sailing program: define the size of the crew on board, the level of sailing knowledge, the sailing project and the target sailing area. Every project is different. Whether you want to enjoy a large Owner’s suite, invite many friends and family on board, or telecommute during your voyage, the Fountaine Pajot cruising catamarans can be adapted to suit your needs. Benefit from reliable, seaworthy and spacious catamarans! Find out more about our Owners’ testimonials here

The ergonomics of Fountaine Pajot catamarans have been designed to facilitate manoeuvring at the helm, enabling a small crew (2 persons) to manoeuvre the boat easily, both in port and at sea. The unique design of the helm station allows good communication between the aft cockpit and the Fly relaxation areas. Of course, your level of navigation will determine your ability to sail with two or more persons!

Our electric catamarans now feature a large surface area of solar panels, up to 2000 WC, perfectly integrated into the design of the coachroof. Combined with equipment such as wind turbines or hydro-generators, they compensate for the energy consumption generated by on-board use during cruising. Discover the benefits of the Smart Electric solution with 4 real-life cruise scenarios

The Fountaine Pajot range of electric catamarans is expanding, and now includes 3 Smart Electric models. The Astréa 42, Elba 45 and Aura 51 are now available in this version.

With the help of over 70 engineers, Fountaine Pajot has developed an in-house solution, 100% adapted to the use of its catamarans equipped with hybrid electric motors . All on-board production and energy expenditure flows are managed from a single console designed by our teams to offer a simple, designer user experience. The system we have developed enables us to give priority to the use of renewable energies at all times. Find out more here

11-meter sailboat

Interested in this model?

Your local dealer will be happy to advise you and give you more details about this model!

Experiences

A life of dreams, adventures and emotions....

Immerse yourself in the Fountaine Pajot experience through stories of adventure, news, webcasts, podcasts, press reviews, photo and video reports... Discover a little more about the pleasures of cruising and sailing catamarans!

08 Mar 2024

Alégria 67 – The Flagship Catamaran Star at the International Multihull Show – La Grande-Motte

How does Smart Electric technology work? Answer on video…

Smart Electric: a complete overview of this technology, its origins, how it works and its everyday benefits... #Broadcast

16 Feb 2024

The Thíra 80 nominated in the “Multiyacht” of the Year category by Multihulls World magazine

2022 owners’ rendez-vous | bound for Croatia

Highlights in photo and video, of these 4 days of cruising in catamaran.

08 Feb 2024

Discover the tanna 47 at the upcoming boat shows

Photo Challenge 2023

25 Jan 2024

A brand-new experience… Welcome to the new Fountaine Pajot sites!

2023 magazine

08 Jan 2024

Let’s set sail together on course for an exceptional year…

Multihulls World Magazine – Astréa 42

20 Dec 2023

Fountaine pajot wishes you all the best for the 2024

Ep.3 | Set a course for Martinique and Guadeloupe with a fun race

Ceylan and Alfie

Subscribe to the newsletter

Follow the adventures of Fountaine Pajot Owners, discover the latest news and upcoming events, and take part in the development of the Boat of tomorrow!

Compare models

Catamaran Astréa 42

Hosting capacity

Motorisation

Technical information

User-friendly areas

Sunbathing Non

Kitchen Non

Sunbathing Oui

Discover the prices

Double rooms

Your contact details

One last step before reaching the next page & discovering the prices proposed & main options for this version! You'll then be able, to schedule a live chat with your local dealer to discuss all the options and configurations available for this model!

Your home port

Any questions?

No pack information currently available online for this Flagship model. We will get back to you directly. Thank you

Would you like to configure this model’s options or set up another model?

Make an appointment with your nearest dealer and choose the boat of your dreams.

What Are The Fastest Sailboats? (Complete List)

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

August 30, 2022

Whenever you are looking into buying a sailboat, they often tell you how fast it can go. So naturally, customers want to know, what are the fastest sailboats?

Depending on the model and brand of a sailboat, in addition to the right conditions out on the water, this answer can vary. But which sailboats are known to be the fastest?

Each style of sailboat has its advantages that make it fast. The V.O 60, X-Yachts X4.0, and Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 are great examples of fast monohull boats. For multihull boats, Rapido 60 (Trimaran), Dragonfly 40 (Trimaran), and ICE Cat 61 (Catamaran) are some of the fastest in that category.

The list can go on when you are talking about specialized performance boats, foiling boats, and even windsurfers. However, the most common sailboats that people can relate to are either monohulls or multihulls.

According to sailing experts, fast can mean 12 knots if you are only used to going about half that speed. But when you speak about the fastest sailboats, they usually top around 30 knots or more out on the water.

Table of contents

‍ What Makes a Sailboat Fast?

A lot of variables come into play to help a sailboat reach its maximum potential for going fast. While the person running the boat is the one responsible for making it go fast, the weather conditions and type of boat have to be good in order to reach top speeds.

If a boat is not designed to handle rougher conditions, you will struggle with performance in those situations. If you have a boat that is built for anything nature throws at it, you might have better stability but considerably less speed even in good conditions.

Weight and Power of Boat

If you were to have two objects with different weights and put the same amount of force on them, the lighter object moves faster. This is why lighter boats move quicker than heavier boats.

So if you were to put two boats at one end of a race head to head with the same conditions of wind and sailing area, the lighter boat wins. This is because the lighter boat is able to gain speed quickly due to the less weight it holds.

The weight of the hull is only one part of the equation, as the mast can hold a lot of weight too. If there is a way to reduce the weight on the boat, you will have a better chance at going faster.

This is why fast boats typically are made out of materials such as carbon fiber or fiberglass. If the boat is a multi-hull without a keel, this also cuts down on weight.

Friction and Wetted Surface

Water adds a ton of friction to the boat, so a fast boat needs to be able to cut through it efficiently. In addition, some boats have finely polished exteriors to help glide through the water and reduce drag.

Depending on the shape of the hull and how much wetter surface it has can greatly affect the amount of drag it has. For example, displacement hulls change as the boat heels in the water.

For multihulls, these lift the hull out of the water slightly to reduce drag. Hydrofoils are another example that lifts the entire boat out of the water to greatly reduce the wetted surface.

Sail Area and Wind

The bigger the sails are on a boat does not necessarily mean the boat will be the fastest. While the sailing area is critical for speed, it has to match the sailing area to displacement ratio.

The sail area needs to be more about the lift of the sails rather than the size of them. If the proper sails are there, then the boat should be able to reach its maximum potential if the wind conditions are right.

Fastest Sailboat Types

The type of sailboat makes a big difference in speed since it has different characteristics. These include HP monohulls, catamarans, and trimarans.

Each boat type will have a unique position in the water, making it potentially faster than another type. If you want to compare boats in perfect conditions, you can see how one stacks up to another.

HP Monohulls

HP monohulls gain a lot of their speed by being powered by a motor. While they have the capability to sail using the wind, they have the convenience of a motor to help push them along.

So the outboard motor needs to be able to handle the weight of the boat efficiently in order to help reach top speeds. A lot of larger boats need to be pushed along by multiple motors.

Monohulls in general are favored by many sailors since they have that traditional look to them. They also happen to be very common, but multi-hulls are making things competitive in the market.

Catamarans do not have a keel and it helps reduce the weight of the boat. They also displace less water compared to a monohull. However, not all catamarans go fast.

Depending on the catamaran and its capabilities, there is some that glide effortlessly on the water. These ideally work best in good conditions but will be a bumpy ride if the water is a little choppy.

They offer one of the safest rides on the water and are essentially unsinkable due to their design. They spread out their weight over a larger area on the water, making them more stable than a monohull.

In addition, the living space on a monohull is huge compared to a monohull. With about a 40-foot catamaran, it has around the same living space as a 60-foot monohull.

Trimarans are another unique style of sailboat similar to a catamaran. They have three hulls side by side instead of two, making it very stable.

They also have a wide sail area and make for quick spurts out on the water. However, they also need good conditions to operate their best to move fast.

These displace water similar to a catamaran and are more stable. They also tend to go faster in the right conditions than a catamaran.

Both catamarans and trimarans generally have shallow drafts and can be beached. In coastal waters, monohulls have to watch out for their draft since they have a keel.

Fastest Monohull Sailboats

Some of the fastest monohull sailboats have unique characteristics that set it apart from other monohulls. These include sail area, weight, and wetted surface.

The beauty about monohulls is the keel, which has its advantages in tougher conditions. If you were to race a monohull against a multihull in moderate conditions, the monohull has a better chance at navigating through the water due to the keel and potentially going faster. The keel allows the boat to heel from one side to the other and come back to the center.

The Volvo Ocean 60 is one of the fastest monohull sailboats you can find. It is a perfect example of an offshore sailboat that is usually handled by four professional sailors and eight mates on deck.

This boat is roughly 64 feet long and sits about 12 feet in the water. The fastest that these boats go ranges around 35 to 40 knots, but it takes the right conditions and a little bit of patience for that large of a boat.

2. X-Yachts X4.0

The X4.0 yacht was a winner of the European Yacht of the Year award in 2020. It is a fairly new boat design, as it debuted in 2019.

This 40 foot luxury yacht is a top-of-the-line performance cruiser that is built for speed and is lightweight. Sitting about eight feet in the water, this boat can reach up to 10 knots or potentially more with the right conditions. You can quickly reach these speeds due to its size and weight.

3. Beneteau Oceanis 30.1

The Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 is another great example of a power cruising yacht that is new to the scene in 2019. At around 31 feet, it is one of the smaller yachts on the list but packs a powerful punch in performance and speed.

The max draft of this one is just shy of 6.5 feet and it received the Best Performance Cruiser in 2020. While this one, in particular, is built more for luxury and comfort, you can easily see top speeds ranging from 7.5 to 10 knots.

4. Santa Cruz 52

The Santa Cruz 52 is a perfect combination of a lightweight sloop and a blue water racer. At 53 feet long and a draft of nine feet, this boat is a beauty to see go fast.

These are often compared to the original Swan sailboats around the same length, as far as the class and style of the boat. In good conditions, they top around eight knots on a good day.

The Amel 60 is another beauty of a luxury yacht cruiser spanning almost 60 feet in length and nearly an eight-foot draft. This boat began production in 2019 and received the 2020 European Yacht of the Year Luxury Cruiser award.

With a reliance on the engine, you can push the boat a little harder in good conditions to gain more speed. While topping out the engine, you are looking at anywhere between eight and 10 knots.

Fastest Multihull Sailboats

Multihull sailboats are generally faster than monohull sailboats due to their lack of extra weight. These are up to 30 percent faster in that situation.

The only downside is that if you want to reach those maximum speeds, you cannot add a lot of extra weight to the vessel. So for sailors that want to utilize a multihull’s full potential, they need to consider what they bring on board and how many people they have.

1. Rapido 60 (Trimaran)

The Rapido 60 is one of the fastest multihulls out there for its size. At nearly 60 feet in length and almost 11 feet in draft, this unsinkable trimaran can speed up to 25 knots.

These were first built in 2015 and are a popular trimaran to look at if you are wanting the space. In the right conditions, the manufacturer says you can easily reach 30 knots if not more.

2. Dragonfly 40 (Trimaran)

The Dragonfly 40 is one of the few 40-footers out there that you can operate shorthanded. While it typically accommodates six to eight people, the boat’s design allows it to be easily handled.

According to the manufacturer, they claim it can reach 24 knots. Assuming the conditions are perfect, it could potentially reach more.

3. ICE Cat 61 (Catamaran)

The ICE Cat 61 is just a tad over 61 feet long and is one of the more beautiful catamarans you will ever see. For its size and design, it is impressive to see it reach top speeds.

With just the motors alone, you can easily reach 13.5 knots. If all the right conditions are in play, you can expect to reach up to 25 knots.

4. SIG45 (Catamaran)

The SIG 45 is a 45-foot racing cruiser that can comfortably hold about six people. With features like low dragging bows, carbon fiber material found in spars and bulkheads, and around 1,400 square feet of sailing area to play with, you can expect top performance all the way around.

It is estimated that this boat can safely top out around 20 knots. However, there is room for more knots in the best conditions.

5. Lagoon 67 S (Catamaran)

The Lagoon 67S is one of the rarest catamarans you will ever see. There were only four built from 1993 to 1995 by Jeanneau Technologies Avancées and are a gorgeous sight to see.

Regardless of the age of this boat, it still flies in the right conditions like the newer catamarans you see today. You can expect to reach a little over 20 knots for this 67 footer and about five feet of draft.

Related Articles

I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

by this author

Best Sailboats

Learn About Sailboats

Most Recent

Affordable Sailboats You Can Build at Home

September 13, 2023

Best Small Sailboat Ornaments

September 12, 2023

Important Legal Info

Lifeofsailing.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.

Similar Posts

Best Small Sailboats With Standing Headroom

December 28, 2023

Discover the Magic of Hydrofoil Sailboats

December 11, 2023

Best Bluewater Sailboats Under $50K

Popular posts.

Best Liveaboard Catamaran Sailboats

Can a Novice Sail Around the World?

Elizabeth O'Malley

June 15, 2022

4 Best Electric Outboard Motors

How Long Did It Take The Vikings To Sail To England?

10 Best Sailboat Brands (And Why)

December 20, 2023

7 Best Places To Liveaboard A Sailboat

Get the best sailing content.

Top Rated Posts

Lifeofsailing.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. (866) 342-SAIL

© 2024 Life of Sailing Email: [email protected] Address: 11816 Inwood Rd #3024 Dallas, TX 75244 Disclaimer Privacy Policy