MC50 cat

British designer Jason Ker is best known for a string of hot offshore racing monohulls, but he’s turned his hand to multihull design with this striking new catamaran that’s being built by McConaghy Yachts in China.

As with his monohulls, Ker is not scared to buck convention and bring some fresh thinking into play. The Ker 50’s “balcony” helm station, with its twin wheels set behind a traveller that runs the width of the cabintop, is the first of its kind in a cat of this size. The ease of access to the sail controls indicates the sporting potential of the boat, while full-width wrap-around seats abaft the wheels mean the crew can keep the helmsman company.

The open-plan saloon merges seamlessly into the cockpit aft, but can be closed off from the elements by a glass “garage door.” A step in the deck provides more volume in the hulls where one or two double cabins are located, depending on whether the owner’s or four-cabin layout is chosen. Overall, the MC50 is a stylish and quick-looking boat. mcconaghyboats.com

LOA 50ft LWL 49ft BEAM 26ft 3in DRAFT 3ft 2in/8ft 10in DISPLACEMENT N/A

Outremer 45

If the Outremer 45, launched two years ago, is too staid for you, this turbocharged version should put a smile on your face. Careful weight shaving has taken 1,300lb off this already svelte cat, and combined with a larger sailplan and extended transoms to boost the sailing waterline, this puts an added spring in its step. Add to that some cool new graphics and you have a midsize performance cat that will turn heads wherever she goes.

Constructed of a fiberglass/PVC foam sandwich above the waterline and a solid layup below, the 4X has composite bulkheads and a carbon mast. Owners can choose between three- and four-cabin versions. catamaran-outremer.com

LOA 48ft LWL 48ft BEAM 23ft 4in DRAFT 3ft 2in/6ft 7in DISPLACEMENT 18,000lb (light ship)

Leopard 40

This replacement for the Leopard 44 is an all-new boat that continues the styling theme introduced last year with the new Leopard 40. The Simonis Voogd design improves on the Leopard 44 it replaces but does not break new ground in hull shape—pronounced chines provide generous volume in the hulls while keeping the waterlines narrow—but like the 40, the use of interior space gives the impression of a much bigger boat. Leopard’s trademark forward cockpit, or lounge as some call it, remains a popular feature. The boat can be specified with three or four cabins and will find its way into Moorings and Sunsail charter fleets over the coming winter. leopardcatamarans.com

LOA 45ftLWL 43ftBEAM 24ft DRAFT 4ft 10inDISPLACEMENT 36,156lb (light ship)

Fountaine-Pajot New 47

This boat may well have a different name by the time it appears at the Salon Nautique in Paris in December, but at time of writing, it was still the New 47—the replacement for Fountaine-Pajot’s long-lived Salina 48. The Berret-Racoupeau design looks just like an enlarged version of the Lucia 40 introduced last year.

Like the 40, it features excellent use of the available space—so much so that one layout option is a “Quintet” arrangement with a fifth cabin, complete with ensuite heads. The three-cabin “Maestro” layout has an owner’s suite featuringa vast heads/shower.

So far Fountaine Pajot has not gone down the forward cockpit route, preferring to place a large lounging/seating area atop the flybridge adjacent to the helm station on this model. There’s a separate “sundeck” forward on the bridgedeck. catamarans-fountaine-pajot.com

LOA 46ft LWL 45ft BEAM 25ft 4in DRAFT 4ft 4in DISPLACEMENT 30,420lb (light ship)

Lagoon Seventy 7

Lagoon’s largest cat yet, the Seventy7, makes its debut at the Cannes boat show this fall. An impressive boat in every sense of the word, it features a level of luxury that’s beyond anything the French builder has yet created.

The centerpiece is the vast owner’s suite, which not only opens onto a lounging area forward on the bridgedeck but has an optional hull door that can be opened out and lowered to form a private swim platform. The three other guest suites are more modest, lacking the big walk-in closet of the master cabin for example,but look more than comfortable enough for extended living.

Lagoon was releasing news of this boat bit by bit as the show deadline approached, so the full package won’t be revealed until Cannes. One thing’s for sure—it’ll be an eye-catcher. cata-lagoon.com

LOA 76ft 3in LWL 74ft 2in BEAM 36ft DRAFT 6ft 3in DISPLACEMENT 125,663lb

HH88

Do you fancy cruising at an unstressed 25 knots, in total comfort? This new Morrelli & Melvin performance cat could be the boat for you. Featuring all the performance essentials like big carbon rig, daggerboards and carbon fiber construction, this big beast is also totally customizable to an owner’s requirements. The “standard” deck plan has twin helm stations, but the boat can also be ordered with a flybridge; belowdecks, the owner’s suite takes full advantage of the vast amount of interior space offered by this design. It has a day lounge and its own access to the deck. hhcatamarans.com

LOA 80ft 3in LWL 70ft 6in BEAM 38ft 4in DRAFT 2ft 6in/14ft 9in DISPLACEMENT 97,000lb (light ship, est)

Explocat 52

Here’s a cat for the intrepid high-latitude explorer. Built in France by Garcia Yachting, the Explocat is constructed of the same high-grade aluminum used in the factory’s monohulls. Inside, the hulls are insulated thermally and acoustically to ensure comfort, and the layout and accommodations lack nothing in terms of amenities.

While the hull design and rig should ensure respectable performance, the yard has put plenty of emphasis on load-carrying ability, bearing in mind that owners will want to spend considerable lengths of time off the grid.

There is a choice of three layouts—owner’s, four-cabin, and charter—with up to 10 berths counting those in the saloon.

Of the various details seen on this boat, the access doors in the cockpit sides are a good idea that’s bound to be imitated by other builders. garcia-yachting.com

LOA 52ft LWL 50ft BEAM 27ft 10in DISPLACEMENT 41,887lb (light ship)

Wave 58

In 2011, the owners of Wave Catamarans in Poland had a 58-footer built and headed off on a lengthy bluewater cruise. Along the way, they received several inquiries from sailors who wanted to buy their boat, so the logical step was to set up production of the Wave 58 when they returned. The cat is built in epoxy resin/e-glass and PVC foam sandwich and is fitted out in semi-custom style to owner’s requirements. The first boat, which will be put into charter in the BVI, has a five-cabin layout that looks remarkably spacious. wavecatamarans.com

LOA 57ft 9in LWL 54ft 9in BEAM 30ft 2in DRAFT 4ft 6in DISPLACEMENT 31,000lb (light ship)

Freestyle 37

Imagine a cross between a pontoon boat and a cruising cat and you’ve got the Gemini Freestyle 37. Based on the Gemini 35, the Freestyle is a new kind of warm-weather cruiser, all about outdoor living. Belowdecks, accommodations are restricted to one cabin plus a heads/shower. On deck, you can fit the boat out with factory-supplied modules or with lawn furniture of your choice, even a freestanding grill. The optional hardtop keeps the sun off and is sturdy enough to sunbathe on. Gemini is also building a commercial version that will carry 24 people. geminicatamarans.com

LOA 38ft 2in LWL 34ft 10in BEAM 14ft DRAFT 2ft 10in DISPLACEMENT 7,500lb

ICECAT 61

Italy’s ICE YACHTS is known for its luxurious, speedy and beautiful monohulls, and now it too has turned its attention to multihulls. The ICECAT 61, designed by Enrico Contreas, is a speedy bluewater boat that embraces some fashionable design concepts but rejects others—for instance, Contreas believes that bows on a cruising boat should also be working platforms and that’s why the boat does not have the trendy reverse bows seen on many performance cats. It does however have daggerboards and a generous sailplan.

The ICECAT will have electric winches to trim the mainsheet and traveler, along with the headsails. A carbon rig is standard, and the construction is vacuum-infused epoxy/foam sandwich, though the builders plan to offer a full-carbon version. iceyachts.it

LOA 61ft LWL 61ft BEAM 26ft 10in DRAFT 3ft 2in/8ft 3in DISPLACEMENT 29,762lb (light ship)

O Yachts Class 6

The O Yachts yard in Latvia has come up with this interesting concept for a large performance cruising catamaran that can easily be sailed solo. This Schickler/Taglapietra design will be launched next year. Renowned French solo racing sailor Laurent Bourgnon had plenty of input into the boat, which will be equipped with three or four furling headsails—the smallest of which is self-tacking—that will allow the crew to change gears to handle any wind conditions without the need to leave the cockpit. She has curved daggerboards and sleek lines that conceal generous accommodations that make full use of the wide beam.

Even more interesting is the “spine” build concept—the boat is constructed around a longitudinal carbon fiber beam that runs the length of the boat. The mast is stepped on this and the major bulkheads key into it, like ribs on a backbone. Because the mast does not need the support of a bulkhead it can be located further aft in the boat, allowing for a greater foretriangle and a high-aspect mainsail that is easier to handle than a full-roached main. o-yachts.com

LOA 59ft LWL 59ft BEAM 29ft 6in DRAFT 2ft 4in/12ft 5in DISPLACEMENT 27,557lb (light ship)

MHS Fall 2016