3 New Multihull Cruisers

By Adam Cort

August 30, 2021

Spurred on, no doubt, by the continuing extraordinary demand for sailboats of all sizes, the catamaran industry has made a point of not letting the events of the past year stop it from continuing to innovate. If you’re in search of the perfect boat for relaxing on the hook, look no further than these three new cruisers. You may be surprised at how well they do when it’s breeze-on as well!

Leopard 42

With their new Leopard 42, South Africa’s Robertson and Caine, and Simonis Voogd Design have created a follow-up to their successful Leopard 40 that features an attractive new angular aesthetic coupled with additional entertainment areas in the form of a coachroof lounge and larger cabins. In a nice touch, the elevated lounge can be accessed via a set of steps to port, meaning guests won’t have to intrude on the helm area to starboard. Stepped hulls help reduce wetted surface area, while blunt ends maximize sailing length. An overlapping genoa and the option of a powerful square-top main serve to keep the boat moving when things go light. The boat is also available through The Moorings as the Moorings 4200.

Lagoon 55

“Experience tells us that people ignore a design that ignores people. That’s why we wanted to draw a beautiful boat that would be immediately identifiable as being a Lagoon,” says designer Patrick le Quément of the Lagoon 55 and its unmistakable profile. Equally important to boat’s design were extra-large windows, skylights and hull windows to help bring the outdoors in. Construction is in polyester with anti-osmotic resins to help ward off blistering. The hulls, deck and coachroof are all infused, with a balsa core in the deck and solid laminate below the waterline. The cockpit looks to be especially fun, with transoms specifically configured to function as a kind of “terrace on the water.”

Fountaine-Pajot 51

In the as-yet unnamed, new 51-footer, Fountaine Pajot teamed up with Olivier Racoupeau Design to reimagine sustainable cruising by retooling the boat’s decks to not only create more sunbathing space, but power as well. To this end, the Fountaine-Pajot 51 comes standard with 30ft² of flush solar panels, which under optimal conditions can provide up to 2,000 watts of power. A large flybridge provides additional living space topsides and allows guests to keep the skipper company, albeit from a slight lower angle, as the steering pedestal is located on a split-level platform to starboard. Four different interior layouts are available, with anywhere from four to six cabins. The galley is immediately adjacent to the cockpit, which includes a large, protected table for dining and entertaining in all conditions.