MULTIHULLS CRUISING
PRIVILEGE SERIE 6 In recent years, the luxury catamaran market has found itself trending toward the performance side of the equation, which is all well and good. However, not every sailor defines “luxury” as what is essentially a raceboat with a massively powerful rig and stark, albeit well-appointed accommodations. Enter the Privilege Serie 6, a French-built cat that is hardly a slouch under sail, but still takes a sharp turn back toward the “luxury” end of the scale, with style and comfort to spare. Although this is a boat that exudes posh quality from the moment you step aboard, the pièce de résistance is surely the owner’s stateroom, which is both customizable and spans the boat’s entire 30ft beam. Privilege Marine, privilege-marine.com
FOUNTAINE PAJOT SAONA 47 Described by Fountaine Pajot as “the quintessential catamaran for extended cruising or circumnavigations, offering remarkable space, safety, comfort and powerful performance in all conditions,” the Saona 47 makes a bold bid to do just that, with its dramatic lines and expansive accommodations. In keeping with the current trend in cruising catamarans, the Soana 47 also provides acres of socializing and lounging space in the form of an open-plan cockpit, a forward “sun lounger” space and a dedicated “lounge deck” alongside the raised helm. The boat’s innovative tender lift even doubles as a swim platform. Fountaine Pajot, catamarans-fountaine-pajot.com
HH55
Designed by the West Coast multihull mavens at Morrelli & Melvin, the HH55 performance cat is configured to provide an “exquisite amalgam of style, speed and manageability” in a fast, bluewater yacht that will be sure to turn heads everywhere it goes. Highlights include all-carbon construction, a cutting-edge Southern Spars carbon mast and a carbon V-boom. The boat is specifically laid out for shorthanded passagemaking and can be handled by just two people. It’s available with either three or four cabins and a pair of conventional outboard helm stations aft, or a single helm station forward near the base of the mast. A powerful square-top main and curved “C-style” daggerboards complete this impressive package. Hudson
Yacht Group, hhcatamarans.com
HH66 A magnificent performance cruiser by any measure, the Morrelli & Melvin-designed HH66 employs scads of carbon-fiber in concert with cutting-edge design to provide sparkling performance on passage with comfortably appointed accommodations. Notable features include a pair of wave-piercing tumblehome bows, high-aspect daggerboards equipped with push-button control, a towering carbon rig and a bridle mainsheet with Cariboni hydraulic “Magic Trim” rams for a clean, safe cockpit and optimum control. The HH66 is available with either a single, central helm or a pair of more conventional outboard helms aft. The overall look is lean, purposeful to the point of being almost predatory and just plain gorgeous—a spectacular example of modern boatbuilding at its best. Hudson Yacht Group, hhcatamarans.com
MAINE CAT 38
Bucking the trend in production cruising catamarans, the Maine Cat 38 strikes a fine balance between performance and accommodation in order to provide a combination of both comfort and exhilaration under sail without breaking the bank. Central to the boat’s success is its infused construction, with the laminate built around a thermo-formed Core-Cell core, which allows a tighter and more accurate fit thereby creating as light, stiff and strong hull(s) as possible. These weight savings, in turn, allowed designer Dick Vermeulen to spec a smaller rig for easier shorthanded sailing and create an impressively svelt waterline beam-to-length ratio of 12:1, making the boat both slippery and seakindly in a seaway. The boat is now also available in an even lighter LS version, which strips out yet more weight by simplifying the boat’s joinerywork. Maine Cat, mecat.com
WAVE 58
Built in the heart of Poland’s historic shipbuilding district, the Wave 58 catamaran offers a very different take from what many contemporary sailors may be used to when it comes to cruising cats. Among the more distinct features aboard the boat are its distinctly curvaceous styling—including dramatic tumblehome in the hulls—and a central fly bridge surrounded by passenger seating, with a pair of winches and batteries of stoppers at its base. Not surprisingly, this is a boat with plenty of space for stretching out, with five private staterooms and four heads with showers. Wave Catamarans, wavecatamarans.com
LAGOON SEVENTY 7
Wow! Even in a world of increasingly expansive production sailboats, the Lagoon Seventy 7 literally towers head and shoulders above the competition. Needless to say, this is a boat with magnificent accommodations and lounging space throughout: from the expansive forward lounging cockpit to the truly massive flybridge to an optional hull door in the owner’s suit that affords direct access to a personalized drop-down swim platform Lagoon refers to as a “private beach.” Aboard any other production boat, such a concept might be laughable, but aboard the Lagoon Seventy 7 it works. For those who don’t like Lagoon’s ideas on how the accommodations should be arranged, the boat is also highly customizable. Set foot aboard this incredible boat and be amazed. Lagoon, cata-lagoon.com