The four best catamarans for first-time buyers

So, you’ve been accumulating sailing experience and now want to put your skills to good use aboard your own boat. It’s not necessary to have thousands of miles of experience to take your loved ones on a cruise, you just need to choose cruising grounds to match your skills. If you’re thinking of buying your first catamaran, read on to learn our top recommended catamarans for first-time buyers.

There is a well-known expression in sailing: big boat, big problems, small boat, small problems. It may seem a bit simplistic, but it is deeper than one might think. We also expect our boat to deliver us safely and be easy to handle.

Comfort, efficiency, safety and reliability at sea requires careful design and manufacturing, as well as numerous pieces of well-chosen equipment. Considering these parameters, we have selected four yachts that make excellent choices for a first catamaran purchase. We’ll explain the reasons why in this article.

Which catamaran is best for a first-time owner?

The three sailing catamarans we selected: the Bali Catsmart, the Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42, and the Lagoon 42; plus one power catamaran – the Fountaine-Pajot MY4S.

• The Bali Catsmart is a 38-foot (12.08 meters) catamaran with four cabins and rear helm stations like on a monohull. Its price is particularly competitive.
• The Lagoon 42 and Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42 are four-cabin boats measuring 42-feet (13 meters), both featuring spacious sunbathing areas on their roofs.
• The Fountaine-Pajot MY4S is a four-cabin motorized catamaran that allows you to cruise at twice or thrice the speed.

Advantage of a smaller boat

The large boats of yesterday have become the small boats of today. Thirty years ago, a 38-foot (12-meter) sailboat was considered a large boat. Today, this is the size of some of the smallest monohulls and catamarans that we have on offer. While average sailboat sizes have been getting larger, ports and marinas have not changed. Even though catamarans are very maneuverable boats, maneuvers in port become more difficult in tight spaces.

Smaller boats are more manageable and, in case of loss of control, one can still act physically considering their weight.

See our top choices of catamarans for new buyers

Bali Catsmart

The Bali Catsmart is a light and clever catamaran – small but mighty and packed with features! With 4 cabins and a nice galley facing forward, its space feels much larger.

Powercat Fountaine-pajot MY4S

The Fountaine-Pajot MY4S is another smaller yacht that packs a big punch with its features and well designed spaces.

Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42

The Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42 and the Lagoon 42 are just a meter longer.

Lagoon 42

But a meter of length can make a big difference on a catamaran. The Lagoon 42 & Astrea 42 cabins are a bit larger, the helm is raised, and you can enjoy sunbathing on the roof.

A boat that’s forgiving

The larger the catamaran, the more sail area they carry. In case of a mishap or incident, the rigging’s reactions are proportional to its surface area. And if a line is jammed or if the reefing line refuses, having a manual control system makes a real difference in terms of safety.

“Open” type catamarans, such as the Bali Catsmart, Lagoon 42, and Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42 belong to this category of boats where the boom height remains easily accessible from the roof – it’s both practical and secure. On large catamarans, one might find themselves standing on the flybridge bimini at over 18-feet above water level.

This never happens with Bali Catsmart, Lagoon 42 and Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42. The latter two have sunbeds on their roofs but nothing that raises the boom position. As for Fountaine-Pajot MY4S, there are no boom issues – it’s a powercat!

A catamaran that is forgiving is also a sailboat capable of long-distance motoring, and at a good speed. That’s why nearly all our catamarans are equipped with the most powerful engines offered by shipyards. With a catamaran, a full tank, and powerful engines, you’ll always be able to make it safely back to a marina.

The Fountaine-Pajot MY4S is a powercat, a catamaran with two powerful Yanmar diesel engines of 150 or 250 HP. With such power, the cruising speed can exceed 15 knots and handles rough seas with ease.

The Lagoon 42 and Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42 are equipped with two 57 HP and two 50 HP auxiliary engines, respectively. These boats have a cruising speed of 7 knots and a top speed of nearly 9 knots. They can maintain these speeds for hours on end to reach their destination.

A well-equipped boat

The catamarans you purchase from us are most often placed in a management program for use in our charter fleet. For this reason, we configure them to be as comfortable and easy to handle as possible. Our boats are always equipped with state-of-the-art navigation electronics, an electric windlass, a dinghy outboard motor, and large water and fuel tanks. This is an important point when considering the extraordinary way of spending your holidays that cruising offers. Large tanks allow you to avoid having to enter a port for refueling and having to dock in a crowded harbor.

All four boats we have selected possess top-of-the-line electronics, a good dinghy, a powerful windlass, and large tanks. The Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42 and MY4S and the Lagoon 42 feature a generator and air conditioning for the saloon and each cabin when destined for tropical destinations. The generator can also recharge the batteries. All four catamarans in our comparison have desalinators – perfect for not worrying about water consumption and refilling during cruises.

Interior layouts

The interior volume and layout of cabin and common area spaces will vary between these four catamarans. Even on two competing catamarans of the same length, things can look quite different. The cabins, for example, can have double or bunk beds and their arrangement often varies greatly from one model to another; likewise, the galley layout can differ significantly.

The cabin layouts

The Bali Catsmart is the smallest and least expensive of these four catamarans. Each hull accommodates two cabins, positioned in line with the bow, and access to the berths from the foot of each bed. Each cabin shares a bathroom with the second cabin in its hull.

The Lagoon 42, Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42, and MY4S have four cabins each, all with their own private bathroom. The beds in each cabin are accessible from the side, as the hulls are slightly more spacious.

The galley is a very important amenity for a catamaran! The Bali Catsmart is the only one in our lineup with a forward-facing galley, across the entire width of the bow section. The Fountaine-Pajot MY4S has its galley along the length of its hull on the port side. The Fountaine-Pajot Astrea 42 and Lagoon 42 both have a “U”-shaped kitchen located on the side: to starboard for the Lagoon 42 and to port for the Astrea 42.

The first glance

Following the outline of these practical considerations, let’s move on to a more intuitive aspect of choosing your first catamaran. Comparisons aren’t everything. Individual tastes and style preferences for one design over another are important.

In terms of design, the Bali Catsmart is the most compact, with its helm stations at the back, giving it a sporty look.

The Lagoon 42 has an upside-down cap-like roof and curved salon windows that suit it quite well.

The Astrea 42 design is more angular in shape, with a modern and unique appeal.

The Fountaine-Pajot MY4S also features these angular Fountaine-Pajot lines, along with grey-colored hulls that suit it well.

These four catamarans are available for placement in our charter fleets in Europe, the Caribbean, or even in the Seychelles. Various management programs are available to match specific requirements and goals,  like the amount of downpayment you are considering, your usage requirements, and whether you prefer the security of a fixed guaranteed income to help offset your payments. Let us help you navigate the options.