IPANEMA 58 An elegant and refined 58 footer with a flybridge

Fountaine Pajot’s new 58’ catamaran will be unveiled at the forthcoming Cannes Yachting Festival. For the first time, the La Rochelle yard are fitting a flybridge to a sub-58’ model. We made the most of nice windy day in June to check out this big cat around the islands of the Charente on the French west coast.

A constantly-evolving flagship range

In September 2013, the appearance of the Victoria at the La Rochelle Boat Show marked a turning point for Fountaine Pajot. Passing the point of no return, the 67 footer sported a flybridge! This “flying deck” of motor yacht origins had, until then, represented a line which the La Rochelle-based builder was not going to cross. This caveat was based on the convictions of Jean-François Fountaine, who believed that an irreverent crows-nest had no place on catamaran, especially one under 65’. The appearance of the Victoria raised eyebrows among FP fans over this “trendy” comfort feature. In comparison, this likely depreciated the Sanya. After an honorable career, with 30 examples built, the Sanya (see review in Multihulls World No. 123) has struck her ensign and given way to a successor for this worthy position.

Well canvassed, the Ipanema sports a cutter rig which divides the sailplan and makes sail-handling easy in conjunction with the automatic traveler

Architecture and construction

The Ipanema is based on the Sanya’s lines on the water, but is a new boat which is very different from its predecessor. It shares the same construction ...