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Powered Catamarans

A recent development in catamaran design has been the introduction of the power catamaran. The 'power' version incorporates the best features of a motor yacht and combines it with the traditional sailing characteristics of a multihull. Usually, the power catamaran is devoid of any sailing apparatus as demonstrated by one of the top-selling models in the United States, the Lagoon Power 43. This boat has now been introduced to a number of charter fleets in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean and is becoming an increasingly common sight.

The power catamaran is a boat which has two hulls connected by a large deck area. Each hull has a very narrow beam (width). These hulls, individually, would be very unstable. Paired up with a rigid deck in between, however, the two hulls become a stable platform. Having less wetted surface - thus, less drag - the catamaran is easily driven and tends to slice through waves instead of pounding down on them. Originally a sailboat design, the catamaran is becoming a popular powerboat.

Mega Catamarans

One of the biggest developments over the last decade in the yachting arena has been the rise of the super catamaran - a multihull over 60 feet in length which come in semi-custom and custom designs.

Various international boat manufacturers are leading the way in this area including Yapluka, Sunreef, Lagoon and Privilege. A catamaran over 145 feet in length is reportedly under construction on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

The emergence of the super or mega catamaran is a relatively new event which is akin to the rise of the mega or super yacht which was used to describe the huge growth in luxury, large motor yachts in the French Riviera and Floridian Coast.

One of the reasons for increased mega catamaran construction was The Race, a circumnavigation challenge which departed from Barcelona, Spain, on New Year's Eve, 2000. Due to the prize money and prestige associated with this event, four new catamarans (and two highly modified ones) over 100' in length were built to compete. The largest, PlayStation, owned by Steve Fossett, was 125' long and had a mast which was 147' above the water. Virtually all of the new mega catamaranss were built of pre-preg carbon fiber for strength and the lowest possible weight.

It takes up to one year to complete construction of one of these super catamarans and represent state-of-the-art design breakthroughs in the catamaran sector.

Catamaran Designs

Popular small racing catamaran sailboats include:

• The Hobie cats (especially the 16-foot long Hobie 16, as well as many other designs including 14, 17, 18, and 20 ft models);
• Nacras;
• Prindles;
• International A-Class (open design; length 5.49 m (18 ft), beam 2.3 m (7 ft 6.5 in), weight 75 kg, sail 150 ft);
• Formula classes (F16, F18, F20);
• Dart 15 and Dart 18;
• Tornado, Olympic class racing catamaran.

Small sailing catamarans that are mass-produced, trailerable, and can be beached on sandy shores are commonly called "beach cats".