Story by Will Miller / March 1, 2023
In early 2023, Cruising World approached us to seek our opinion on recommending a couple of brokerage catamaran options for first time catamaran buyers to consider when they first stepping into the catamaran market. Here are six boats hand-picked by The Multihull Company’s president and CEO, Capt. Will Miller, as excellent choices for brokerage-catamaran seekers. These are all worth a look whether you’re a first- time buyer or an experienced monohull sailor converting to a catamaran.
Bear in mind with these recommendations that these do not consider personal cruising agendas, budgets or preferences.
Fountaine Pajot Lipari 41 – The Lipari 41 is an ideal choice for those looking for an affordable liveaboard cruiser. Its deck layout is ergonomically designed for convenient sail handling and al fresco entertaining, blending excellent sailing characteristics with comfort. The Maestro version offers an owner’s suite full of cabinets and lockers complimented by a large master bath. On deck, there is ample storage space in the forepeaks and anchor locker for all of your cruising essentials. Whether you are a seasonal cruiser or full-time liveaboard, the Lipari 41 can fulfill those demands at an affordable price point.
Lagoon 42 – The Lagoon 42 (or 420 as a budget friendlier option) is a top pick for those who prioritize comfort onboard. This catamaran offers unparalleled volume and storage capacity in its size category, making it an excellent choice for those with large families or frequent guests. With a self tacking jib, and simple deck organization, this yacht can be easily single-handed. The semi-raised hem station provides great sightlines and the vertical salon windows offer panoramic views from inside. The spacious design, simple sail management, and excellent payload capacity are great features that will attract many first-time catamaran buyers.
Catana 431 – For performance-minded sailors the Catana 431 boasts a number of desirable traits. Upwind performance is dramatically enhanced with the use of daggerboards, an aerodynamic cabintop, tulip-shaped bows, and well thought out weight distribution. The Twaron reinforced layup further strengthens the vinylester foam core construction,making these yachts extremely light and stiff. Creature comforts were not an afterthought. The interior fabrics and finishes are very high-quality, turning this into a very aesthetically pleasing platform inside and out. This generation of Catanas continues to retain resale value and marketability 20+ years after they were originally launched. If you grew up racing, and are now transitioning to the liveaboard lifestyle, this yacht will give you the responsiveness and speeds that you became accustomed to in your youth.
Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 – One of the most coveted models from Fountaine Pajot is the Helia 44. Its modern Euro-styling strikes a unique balance of comfort, storage, and space utilization. The peninsula shaped berths make climbing in and out of bed all too easy, and the rest of the interior flows together creating a very livable space. The exterior combines a generous sailplan with a cockpit designed for entertaining your buddy boat crews. It’s no surprise this model transitioned seamlessly from a popular charter design into a capable offshore cruiser. The Helia is an excellent option for those who appreciate a sophisticated look with above average sailing characteristics.
Leopard 46 – For the experienced sailor who wants a larger boat that balances performance, value, and comfort, the Leopard 46 hits the nail on the head. Leopard prides themselves on system design and accessibility, making this a very user-friendly yacht. Her spacious cockpit and salon come together to create an optimal social flow. The helm and cockpit can also be easily enclosed to extend your sailing season. Beefy davits with an integral step make loading and unloading the dinghy exponentially easier, and are complemented by extra wide sugar scoops. Whether you’re planning an offshore passage or just island hopping in the Caribbean, the Leopard 46 should be considered as a top contender.
Seawind 1260 – The Seawind 1260 is the perfect boat for beginner sailors who want a high-performance option without sacrificing interior volume for daggerboard trunks. The vinylester resin and foam coring ensures superior build quality, lighter weight, and improved performance. Garage-style salon doors give the boat a unique interior/exterior feel, with unparalleled ventilation. With a galley down configuration, the saloon lives like a much larger yacht. This yacht can sail with ease in light air, conserving fuel and shortening passage times. If you’re just starting out and want a boat that provides a great sailing experience with excellent build quality, the Seawind 1260 has a track record of proven success.
Capt Will Miller is the CEO and Senior Broker at The Multihull Company. He has been a yacht broker, ASA instructor, and delivery captain for over two decades. He has sailed aboard dozens of catamarans in locations all over the world, and has managed the sale of over 100 yachts throughout the course of his career. For more information, visit www.multihullcompany.com
Yacht Broker Micheal Streng did a fantastic job helping us buy our dream retirement boat. He is pleasant, professional, smart, diligent, and totally focused toward ensuring the best outcome for us- his clients.
He helped us identify the key features we wanted. And, helped us then learn the market by seeing firsthand seeing all the boats available. How? By organizing a two day driving extravaganza to see as many boats available from dawn to dusk.
But, his crucial expert assistance continued throughout the whole buying process… helping us craft multiple offers and counter offers to ensure we “bought-right”!
His expertise continued with calmly helping us organize the multitude of details, from sourcing survey experts and renegotiating credits for issues… to ensuring our foreign manufactured vessel had duty paid receipts… thus all saving us much aggravation and thousands of dollars!
In closing, sourcing and buying a boat right has adventurous elements of the “wild-west”. Our Broker – Micheal Streng was our LoneRanger & Tonto… expertly guiding and helping us to help make our dream a reality.
Tom & Danielle
Waterford, Connecticut
We purchased a Lagoon 470 catamaran through Zvonimir (Zee) Kalinic, TMC’s broker in Croatia and Italy. Zee is the ultimate professional and by far the best broker we have ever had the pleasure of doing business with. Thankyou Zee for your professionalism, guidance and support in securing this purchase for our family! Not an easy task being Australian and purchasing in a foreign country but thanks to your help and the assistance of Andrew Holland in the office, this process was made so much more stress free.
Thank you Zee and The Multihull Compnay!
Andrew Hodgdon was a pleasure to have as a broker. He was always there for me and I appreciated his help and professionalism. Thank you Andrew!! Highly recommended.
Just wish to share our thanks with Cal Landau and The Multihull Company for their service selling our catamaran that we owned for nearly 15yrs. Cal our broker in West Palm Beach was THE BEST!
He worked with us beyond the call of duty in helping us prep and moor our boat during some horrendous weather that came through last Winter and always offered to lend a hand while we were in West Palm procuring supplies. etc. Cal was always present to show the boat, learned about our boat systems to answer questions from shoppers and made a very informative listing with great photos and video that attracted a lot of action. I wish to highly recommend Cal and The Multihull Co if you’re planning on putting your boat on the market.
The entire company was committed to my satisfaction as a seller. Andrew the broker went out of his way to help me prepare the boat for sale and in just 3 weeks we had it under contract. I had to be away from the country but Andrew the broker and Andrew (same name) the Chief Operating Officer walked me through all the paperwork needed and kept me informed at every stage of the sale. Boat owners don’t remain without a boat for long, if this is the case for me, I will certainly contact Andrew and the Multihull Company to be my broker.
Successful relationships cannot exist without it. At The Multihull Company we base every relationship on a firm commitment to earning and retaining our client’s trust.
Advice of any kind is valuable only when grounded in hard-won expertise. It too, must be trustworthy. Trust and expertise define the heart and soul of The Multihull Company. We are a team of skilled professionals who thrive on providing expert, trustworthy advice and service to catamaran and trimaran sailors around the globe.
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