2025 Sail Buyer's Guide

45 to 50 feet

For a long time now, this has been the category in which the biggest builders have been competing most fiercely. And this is only to be expected: 45 to 50 feet is the ideal size that most family crews have in mind when they dream of letting slip the lines and living aboard. But rising prices and skyrocketing interest rates have put a dampener on many plans these past few years. But the good news is that prices are now stabilizing, some even dropping, further sharpening what has once again become a very tough competitive environment. If you’ve got the budget, you can find yourself aboard a comfortable, safe boat that remains perfectly manageable without the need for a professional skipper. But each model we present here has its own personality: you’re sure to find the multihull that’s right for you!

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Published 29/11/2024

By Mark Bernie, Julie Echelle, Dick Sawyer, Emmanuel van Deth and Kim Wellington

Subscribers Only

Issue: 199

Published: jan. / mar. 2025

Discover this issue

Tanna 47

The Saona Reviewed and Updated

Presented for the first time at the 2022 Cannes Yachting Festival, the Tanna 47 is a successful and intelligent redesign of the Saona 47. The overall characteristics - rig, displacement and deck layout – all remain identical, but the nacelle has been reworked to feature new furniture with softer angles and larger overhead windows. The galley is new: while the former, and much appreciated, central island, has gone, there’s now an extra 10.6 cubic feet (300 liters) of storage space. Like the latest models in Fountaine Pajot’s sailing range, the Tanna 47 has a lounger. A perfect place for the watchkeeper... but also for relaxing. However, this does mean losing the Saona’s chart table. Outside, behind the raised helm station, the lounge area has doubled in size. A large area of solar panels (50 to 100 sq ft / 5 to 9 m²) can be fitted.

Builder: Fountaine Pajot
Architect: Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design
Hull length: 45’9” (13.94 m)
Beam: 25’3” (7.7 m)
Draft: 3’11” (1.2 m)
Displacement: 32,450 lbs (14.72 t)
Mainsail: 830 sq ft (77 m²)
Genoa: 560 sq ft (52 m²)
Drivetrain: 2 x 50/60 HP
Fuel: 2 x 124 US gal (2 x 470 l)
Water: 2 x 92 US gal (2 x 350 l)
Cabins: 3/4
Price: € 781,000 ex-tax
www.fountaine-pajot.com

St Francis 460

Much More Modern Than the 50

NEW

Until now, St Francis Marine’s catamarans had been considered to be extremely solid but having a very traditional design, like the St Francis 50 MK2 with her sloping bows, just like her coachroof... The new St Francis 460 is a real break from the brand’s previous codes. The design, from renowned architect Anton Du Toit, is undoubtedly the major factor. The surprise is a much higher and generously glazed nacelle, inverted bows, ultra-taut hull lines and maximum openness between the saloon/galley and the cockpit. The builder has even provided a home cinema area. On the other hand, the principle of the raised helm station and bimini has been retained. The St Francis 460 will be available in a three or four-cabin version.

Builder: St Francis Marine
Length: 45’10” (13.98 m)
Beam: 26’3” (8 m)
Light displacement: 29,760 lbs (13.5 t)
Draft: 4’1” (1.24 m)
Sail area: 1,250 sq ft (116.2 m²)
Water: 2 x 105 US gal (2 x 400 l)
Fuel: 2 x 92 US gal (2 x 350 l)
Drivetrain: 2 x 40 HP
www.stfranciscatamarans.com

Lagoon 46

With Volume to Burn!

The mission for the Lagoon 46 was to replace the 450. To begin with, the two models shared the fiercely competitive 45-foot cruising catamaran market sector.... After the Lagoon 39 and 52 (which appeared in 2013), then the 42, 40 and 50, the 46 in turn continued with the aft-set mast. The release last year of the Lagoon 51 with a mast forward of the coachroof - “old-style” - could foreshadow a similar development for the 46, which could become a 47 with an overlapping genoa. While we wait to see, the Lagoon 46 has attractive volume and layout; this model also ...

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