Multiple Choice
BOATING NEW ZEALAND COMPREHENSIVE MULTIHULL GUIDE
What follows is a mostly European-centric mix of sleek performers, canny cruisers and cool powercats. Choosing one to suit your lifestyle takes research, but research can be an excuse for a European holiday to places such as the world’s largest multihull show, La Grande Motte (20 April 2022) on the Mediterranean coast of France, or other prestigious locations such as the Cannes Boat Show (September) and other smaller regional events.
Before the pandemic, extending your holiday by including a factory hand-over was also popular, followed by a season cruising the Med before shipping the new boat home. With rising vaccination rates, hopefully this will soon be popular once more. Closer to home, Asia has several multihull builders, as do Australia and New Zealand.
Compact Cruisers
STARTING SMALL, for both budget and seamanship purposes, is often a good idea – one reason the upcoming Bali 4.2 is included. Hugely spacious, thanks to fore and aft cockpits, plus a vast flybridge, it still manages to move along quite well, or at least its predecessor did when I sailed it in France.
Similarly, the South African-built Leopard 42 has the same philosophy in a manageable 42-foot base, as visitors to Sanctuary Cove 2021 found when stepping onto its vast transom-level swim platform.
Moving up a size notch, the larger catamarans really showcase the space and versatility of the concept. Dominated by the global leaders, such as Fountaine Pajot with the new Berret-Racoupeau designed FP 51, which replaces the popular Saba 50 that sold 200 units. Heavier than its predecessor (18.1 tonnes whereas the Saba weighed only 15.7), the sail area has increased slightly to compensate.
The is the latest from, the same size as the model that launched the brand in 1987. The 2021 version was unveiled in March, when the company gave a global press briefing at the CNB yard in Bordeaux as the first hull slid into the river. Curvaceous is a word that describes this 55-footer, but expect it to be highly functional with all sail controls and fixtures just where they should be.
