Multihull Sailing Boats - Trimarans & Catamarans for Cruising

As I'm sure you'll know, there are two types of multihull sailing boats - catamarans and trimarans. As the accommodation plans below show, the catamaran is significantly more commodious than a trimaran of similarly length overall.

A Typical Accommodation Layout in a 6 Berth Cruising Catamaran

A Typical Accommodation Layout in a 6 Berth Cruising Trimaran

Artwork by Andrew Simpson

Multihull sailing boats for cruising can make a great deal of sense; fast, light - and they don't heel. Of the two, the catamaran provides more accommodation but the trimaran makes for faster passage times.

No prizes for guessing which is the more popular with charterers!

Catamarans and trimarans are rely on form stability much more so than their ballasted monohull cousins - overload a multihull sailing boat and any performance advantage is lost.

A Glossary of Multihull Sailing Boats...

Catalac 12m

'Twin Spirits', a Catalac 12m at anchor in Five Islands Bay, Antigua

Specs and data to follow

Catana 471 Catamaran

'Theleme', a Catana 471 Cruising Catamaran

Specs and data to follow

Gunboat 62 Catamaran

'Zenyatta', a Hi-Tec Cruising Catamaran anchored in Portland Bay, Dominica, West Indies

Specs and data to follow

Knysa 480 Catamaran

'Jangles', a Knysa 480 Cruising Catamaran about to drop the hook in Five Islands Bay, Antigua, West Indies

Specs and data to follow

Knysna 500 Catamaran

'Thandiwe' - 'Jangles' slightly bigger sister - at anchor in Lee Bay, Great Camanoe, British Virgin Islands.

Specs and data to follow

Privilege 655 Catamaran

'Sagittarius' covers up, demonstrating the downside of large flat cabin windows in the hot tropical sun.

Specs and data to follow

Privilege 745 Catamaran

'Captiva', a huge cruising catamaran at anchor in Five Islands Bay, Antigua.

Specs and data to follow

Cross Trimaran

A cruising trimaran from Cross Multihull Designs

Specs and data to follow

Hina 22 Catamaran

Rory McDougal and his diminutive Wharram-designed catamaran, 'Cooking Fat'.

Specs and data to follow

Newick 45 Trimaran

A Newick 45 trimaran

Specs and data to follow

Apache 41 Catamaran

'Foreigner', an Apache 41 Catamaran at anchor in Prickly Bay, Grenada, West Indies

• Hull Type:~ Catamaran (twin centre-boards)
• Hull Material:~ GRP (Fibreglass)
• Length Overall:~ 40'10" / 12.4m
• Waterline Length:~  36'0" / 11.0m
• Beam:~ 19'6" / 5.9m
• Draft (max):~ 6'9" / 2.1m
• Rig Type:~ Masthead sloop
• Displacement:~ 1,600lb / 7,258kg
• Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:~ 18.0
• Displacement/Length Ratio:~ 153
• Designer:~ J. R. Macalpine-Downie
• Builder:~ Sail Craft Ltd. (UK)
• Year First Built:~ 1970
• Year Last Built:~ ?
• Number Built:~ ?
• Owners Association:~ ?

Lagoon 42 Catamaran

A Lagoon 42 cruising catamaran sailboat anchored on a bridle in the preferred multihull manner.

• Hull Type:~ Catamaran (twin keel)
• Hull Material:~ GRP (Fibreglass)
• Length Overall:~ 42'6" / 13.0m
• Waterline Length:~  38'8" / 11.8m
• Beam:~ 22'7" / 6.9m
• Draft:~ 4'5" / 1.4m
• Rig Type:~ Fractional sloop
• Displacement:~ 1,500lb / 6,804kg
• Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:~ 21.4
• Displacement/Length Ratio:~ 116
• Designer:~ Van Peteghem and Lauriot Prévost
• Builder:~ TPI Inc, USA
• Year First Built:~ 1990
• Year Last Built:~ 1994
• Number Built:~ 51
• Owners Association:~ ?

Admiral 38 Catamaran

An Admiral 38 Cruising Catamaran 'Plane Sailing' from South Africa...

• Hull Type:~ Catamaran
• Hull Material:~ GRP (Fibreglass)
• Length Overall:~ 38'3" / 11.7m
• Waterline Length:~ ?
• Beam:~ 23'1" / 7.0m
• Draft:~ 3'3" / 1.0m
• Rig Type:~ Sloop
• Displacement:~ ?
• Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:~ ?*
• Displacement/Length Ratio:~ ?*
• Designer:~ Lavranos Yacht Design
• Builder:~ Admiral Yachts (South Africa)
• Year First Built:~ ?
• Year Last Built:~ ?    
• Number Built:~ ?
• Owners Association:~ ?

*Read more about these important numbers...

Read what one owner has to say about his Admiral 38...

Lagoon 420 Catamaran

• Hull Type:~ Catamaran (twin keel)
• Hull Material:~ GRP (Fibreglass)
• Length Overall:~ 41'4" / 12.6m
• Waterline Length:~  40'3" / 12.3m
• Beam:~ 24'7" / 7.5m
• Draft:~ 4'2" / 1.3m
• Rig Type:~ Fractional sloop
• Displacement:~ 2,582lb / 1,171kg
• Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:~ 68.9
• Displacement/Length Ratio:~ 17.57
• Designer:~ Van Peteghem and Lauriot Prévost
• Builder:~ ?
• Year First Built:~ ?
• Year Last Built:~ ?
• Number Built:~ ?
• Owners Association:~ ?

Lagoon 440 Catamaran

Great accommodation in this Lagoon 440 catamaran

• Hull Type:~ Catamaran (twin keel)
• Hull Material:~ GRP (Fibreglass)
• Length Overall:~ 44'8" / 13.6m
• Waterline Length:~ 41'10" / 12.8m
• Beam:~ 25'3" / 7.7m
• Draft:~ 4'3" / 1.3m
• Rig Type:~ Fractional sloop
• Displacement:~ 26,786lb / 12,150kg
• Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:~ 15.4
• Displacement/Length Ratio:~163
• Designer:~ Van Peteghem and Lauriot Prévost
• Builder:~ ?
• Year First Built:~ ?
• Year Last Built:~ ?
• Number Built:~ ?
• Owners Association:~ ?

Manta 42 Catamaran

• Hull Type:~ Catamaran
• Hull Material:~ GRP (Fibreglass)
• Length Overall:~ 41'7" / 12.7m
• Waterline Length:~ 39'10" / 12.1m
• Beam:~ 21'0" / 6.4m
• Draft:~ 3'8" / 1.1m
• Rig Type:~ Fractional sloop
• Displacement:~ 16,500lb / kg (dry weight)
• Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:~ ?
• Displacement/Length Ratio:~ ?
• Designer:~ ?
• Builder:~ Manta Catamarans (US)
• Year First Built:~ ?
• Year Last Built:~ ?
• Number Built:~ ?
• Owners Association:~ Manta Owners Association

Prout Snowgoose 37 Catamaran

• Hull Type:~ Catamaran (twin keel)
• Hull Material:~ GRP (fibreglass)
• Length Overall:~ 37'0" / 11.3m
• Waterline Length:~ 33'0" / 10.1m
• Beam:~ 15'0" / 4.6m
• Draft:~ 2'1" / 0.6m
• Rig Type:~ Cutter-rigged sloop
• Displacement:~ 12,125lb / 5,500kg
• Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:~ 17.3
• Displacement/Length Ratio:~ 151
• Designer:~ Prout Catamarans
• Builder:~ Prout Catamarans Ltd (UK)
• Year First Built:~ 1987
• Year Last Built:~ ?
• Number Built:~ ?
• Owners Association:~ Prout Owners Association

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