the word catamaran

• More from M-W
• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

Definition of catamaran

Illustration of catamaran, examples of catamaran in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catamaran.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Tamil kaṭṭumaram , from kaṭṭu to tie + maram tree, wood

1673, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near catamaran

Cite this entry.

“Catamaran.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catamaran. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of catamaran, more from merriam-webster on catamaran.

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for catamaran

Nglish: Translation of catamaran for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about catamaran

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day, braggadocio.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

The tangled history of 'it's' and 'its', more commonly misspelled words, commonly misspelled words, how to use em dashes (—), en dashes (–) , and hyphens (-), absent letters that are heard anyway, popular in wordplay, the words of the week - mar. 29, 9 superb owl words, 'gaslighting,' 'woke,' 'democracy,' and other top lookups, 10 words for lesser-known games and sports, your favorite band is in the dictionary, games & quizzes.

Where Did Catamaran Originate? (A Look Into Its History)

Catamarans have been around for centuries, but where did they come from? For those who are curious about the history and origins of catamarans, this article will explore the history of catamaran, from its beginnings to its current uses.

From the meaning of the word “catamaran” to its use in racing and cruising, this article will look into the history of catamarans and how it has shaped the sport today.

We will also look at how catamarans have been used for fishing, and how they are still used for this purpose today.

Finally, we will explore the ways in which catamarans are used for racing and cruising, and the ways in which they have become popular vessels for these activities.

Join us as we explore the fascinating history of catamarans!

Table of Contents

Short Answer

Catamarans are thought to have originated in the South Pacific region, likely in the islands of Polynesia.

The earliest catamarans are believed to have been constructed by the Austronesians around 1500 to 1000 BC.

These vessels were then spread to other cultures by trading and other means of communication.

Today, catamarans are used in various ways around the world, including for commercial and recreational purposes.

The Origins of Catamaran

Catamarans have a long and rich history that dates back to the Indian subcontinent.

The word catamaran is derived from the Tamil language of South India and literally means tied wood, referring to how two logs were tied together to form the original catamaran design.

This sturdy craft was originally used for transportation and fishing, but it eventually made its way to the West in the late 18th century as a recreational sailing vessel.

Today, catamarans are used for a variety of purposes, ranging from racing and cruising to fishing.

They are renowned for their stability, maneuverability, and speed, and they are popular with both recreational and professional sailors alike.

Catamarans are especially adept at handling choppy waters, as their design allows them to handle waves better than most other vessels.

This makes them an ideal choice for sailing in rough or windy conditions.

Catamarans are also praised for their spacious layout, with their two hulls providing more room than other types of vessels.

This makes them ideal for larger groups, as they can comfortably accommodate more people than a traditional sailboat.

Additionally, catamarans are renowned for their efficiency, as their design allows them to move through the water faster and more efficiently than other boats.

Overall, catamarans have come a long way from their humble origins in the Indian subcontinent.

Today, they are a versatile and popular choice for sailing enthusiasts of all levels, and their history is a testament to their durability and longevity.

The Meaning of the Word Catamaran

The word catamaran is derived from the Tamil language of South India, where it literally means “tied wood”.

This refers to the traditional design of catamarans, which typically consists of two logs or planks of wood tied together with rope.

The original catamarans were used for transportation and fishing, and their widespread use in the Indian subcontinent has been documented since at least the 3rd century BCE.

Today, the term catamaran is often used to describe a wide range of multi-hulled vessels, from recreational sailing vessels to racing boats and even commercial vessels.

While all of these vessels share the same basic design, the modern catamaran has evolved over the centuries and now includes variations such as trimarans, trimarans, and even pontoon boats.

The development of the modern catamaran began in the late 18th century, when the first catamarans appeared in the West.

These vessels were developed for recreational sailing, and over time they have become increasingly popular for use in racing, cruising, and fishing.

Catamarans are well known for their stability and speed, and they are now used in a variety of applications, from leisure sailing to commercial shipping.

Ultimately, the word catamaran is derived from the Tamil language and it literally means “tied wood”.

Over the centuries, the catamaran has evolved and today it is used for everything from racing to cruising to fishing, and is renowned for its stability and speed.

Catamarans in the West

The first recorded appearance of catamarans in the Western world dates back to the late 18th century.

At the time, the vessels were brought to the Caribbean from the Indian subcontinent by traders and explorers.

They were quickly adopted by sailors for their speed and stability, as well as their ability to navigate shallow waters.

Catamarans were also popular among fishermen, as they could carry more cargo and could easily navigate shallow waters.

The vessels quickly spread across the globe, with catamarans becoming a popular recreational sailing vessel in the 19th century.

The vessels were a common sight in the Caribbean, and they eventually spread to other parts of the world, including the United States and Europe.

By the mid-20th century, catamarans had become a popular recreational sailing vessel, with many people using them for racing, cruising, and fishing.

Today, catamarans are used for a wide variety of activities, from recreational sailing to fishing and racing.

They are renowned for their stability and speed, and they are still popular among recreational sailors of all skill levels.

Catamarans continue to be used for transportation and fishing in the Indian subcontinent, where they originated, and they are still a popular sight in many parts of the world.

Uses of Catamarans

Catamarans have long been used for transportation and fishing in the Indian subcontinent, where the word “catamaran” originates from the Tamil language, meaning “tied wood.” This origin refers to the traditional design of tying two logs together to form the original catamaran.

Today, catamarans are used for a variety of purposes, from recreational sailing to racing, cruising, and fishing.

Catamarans are renowned for their stability and speed, making them ideal for traversing large bodies of water quickly.

They provide a stable platform for activities, such as fishing and diving, and offer increased living space when compared to conventional sailboats.

The increased stability of a catamaran also makes them ideal for use in areas with high winds and choppy waters, as they can handle the conditions better than traditional sailboats.

In addition to transportation and fishing, catamarans are also used for a variety of recreational activities.

They are popular among sailors due to their speed and maneuverability, and can be used for racing, cruising, and day-sailing.

Catamarans are also popular among families and large groups, as they provide ample space for socializing and relaxing.

Catamarans have come a long way since their humble beginnings in the Indian subcontinent, and are now an integral part of the sailing world.

With their stability, speed, and ample living space, catamarans are a great choice for both recreational and commercial use.

Racing with Catamarans

Catamarans have become a popular choice for racing enthusiasts all over the world.

This is due to their remarkable stability and speed, which make them ideal for competitive sailing.

Catamarans are able to cut through the water more efficiently than traditional sailing vessels, and their light weight makes them easier to maneuver.

In addition, their dual-hulls provide more surface area, allowing them to catch more wind and push through the water faster.

This makes them perfect for racing, as they can easily navigate tight turns and sail upwind faster than any other type of boat.

Catamarans are also well-suited for long-distance sailing, as they typically have more space than traditional vessels.

This extra space allows for more storage and greater comfort, making it easier for a crew to stay out on the water for longer periods of time.

Catamarans also have a relatively flat bottom, which reduces drag and helps make them faster than traditional boats.

Today, catamarans are used in a variety of sailing competitions, including the Americas Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.

These races typically involve multiple catamarans, making them exciting spectacles to watch.

Catamarans have also become popular in recreational sailing, and many people use them for pleasure cruises and fishing trips.

No matter how it’s used, the catamaran has become an icon in the sailing world.

Its unique advantages have made it a favorite of both racers and recreational sailors alike, and its history makes it an interesting topic to explore.

Cruising with Catamarans

Catamarans are well-known for their stability and speed, making them a popular choice for recreational sailing.

Whether youre looking for a day of leisurely sailing or a thrilling race, catamarans offer an enjoyable experience that can be tailored to your individual needs.

Catamarans are especially suited to cruising, as they offer plenty of space for passengers and cargo, and their hulls dont require much maintenance.

Catamarans have a unique design that allows them to cruise efficiently and smoothly.

Their two hulls make them more stable than other boats, and their flat decks provide plenty of room for passengers to move around.

The spacious cabins provide plenty of space for sleeping, dining, and relaxing, and the cockpit is designed to make sailing easy and enjoyable.

Catamarans are also known for their speed and agility.

Their hulls are designed to cut through the water with minimal resistance, allowing them to reach speeds of up to 20 knots.

Their shallow draft also makes them ideal for shallow waters, allowing you to explore more areas than with a traditional monohull boat.

In addition to their speed and stability, catamarans are also known for their safety.

Their wide beam makes them less likely to capsize, and their two hulls help to spread the load, making them less susceptible to sinking than other vessels.

Catamarans also have a lower center of gravity, making them less likely to tip over in rough seas.

Whether youre looking for a leisurely day of sailing or a thrilling race, catamarans are an excellent choice for cruising.

With their stability, speed, and safety, they offer an enjoyable and accessible way to explore the open waters.

Fishing with Catamarans

The use of catamarans for fishing is nothing new, with the vessels first being used for the purpose in the Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago.

In the Tamil language of South India, the word catamaran comes from two words that literally mean tied wood, referring to how two logs were tied together to form the original catamaran design.

It was these vessels that were used for fishing, with two logs forming the base for the frame and a platform built on top for the fishermen to stand on.

These catamarans were incredibly versatile vessels, allowing fishermen to access shallow waters and maneuver quickly and easily to chase schools of fish.

They were also incredibly stable, and could carry a large amount of equipment and supplies, which made them ideal for long-distance fishing trips.

Today, modern catamarans are still used for fishing, with the vessels’ stable and maneuverable design still providing an ideal platform for fishermen.

Modern catamarans are made from a variety of materials, including fiberglass and aluminum, and are available in a range of sizes to suit different needs.

Catamarans are also popular for recreational fishing, with the vessels providing a great platform for anglers to enjoy their sport.

The popularity of catamarans for fishing is a testament to the versatility and effectiveness of these vessels.

With their stable and maneuverable design, their ability to access shallow waters, and their capacity to carry a large amount of equipment and supplies, they remain a popular choice for those looking to take to the water in pursuit of their catch.

Final Thoughts

Catamarans have come a long way since their humble beginnings in the Indian subcontinent.

From their simple design of two logs tied together, to today’s modern catamarans used for racing, cruising, and fishing, it’s amazing to think about all the ways these vessels have evolved.

Now that you know the history behind the word catamaran, why not take a sail and experience the thrill of these incredible vessels for yourself?

James Frami

At the age of 15, he and four other friends from his neighborhood constructed their first boat. He has been sailing for almost 30 years and has a wealth of knowledge that he wants to share with others.

Recent Posts

Does Your Boat License Expire? Here's What You Need to Know

Are you a boat owner looking to stay up-to-date on your license requirements? If so, youve come to the right place! In this article, well cover everything you need to know about boat license...

How to Put Skins on Your Boat in Sea of Thieves? (Complete Guide)

There is a unique sense of pride and accomplishment when you show off a boat you customized to your exact specifications. With Sea of Thieves, you can customize your boat to make it look like your...

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of catamaran in English

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

• cabin cruiser
• dragon boat
• rubber dinghy
• As soon as the boat anchored, a catamaran put out, and brought Charlie and his followers to shore.  
• Next morning we were visited by a party of natives from the neighbouring island, consisting of six men in a canoe, and one on a catamaran or raft.  
• Soon we were surrounded with catamarans and canoes, with three or four natives in each.  
• The horses and cows were taken on a species of catamaran, or large raft, that is much used in those mild seas, and which sail reasonably well a little off the wind, and not very badly on.  
• When we reached the lagoon, a catamaran with three natives on it came off to us.  

Examples of catamaran

Translations of catamaran.

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

to change a document in order to deceive people

Sitting on the fence (Newspaper idioms)

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• English    Noun
• Translations
• All translations

Add catamaran to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder
• Word of the Day
• Synonym of the Day
• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Grammar Coach ™
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials
• Commonly confused
• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips

a vessel, usually propelled by sail, formed of two hulls or floats held side by side by a frame above them. : Compare trimaran .

a float or sailing raft formed of a number of logs lashed together, used in certain parts of India, South America, etc.

Canadian Dialect . a wooden sled.

Origin of catamaran

Words nearby catamaran.

• catalytic converter
• catalytic cracker
• catalytic cracking

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use catamaran in a sentence

It involved a private island tour, catamaran cruise, visiting Rihanna’s childhood home and more.

We were about to sail back to Puerto Vallarta, but the catamaran barely moved.

I think the crew just didn’t know how to maneuver the catamaran very well, the sea was not very rough nor was it too windy.

I can paddle my catamaran against both wind and tide; why cannot you do the same?

They never tired, I think, of seeing me handle my giant “ catamaran ” and the (to them) mysterious harpoon.

We also started building a catamaran , with which to navigate the river when the floods had subsided.

She had easily forced a way for the catamaran through the branches, and once past, had drawn them together again.

Yamba cried out to me to lie flat on the catamaran , and hold on as tightly as I could until we reached smooth water again.

British Dictionary definitions for catamaran

/ ( ˌkætəməˈræn ) /

a sailing, or sometimes motored, vessel with twin hulls held parallel by a rigid framework

a primitive raft made of logs lashed together

old-fashioned a quarrelsome woman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

• Dictionaries home
• American English
• Collocations
• German-English
• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Recent additions
• Resources home
• Text Checker

Definition of catamaran noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

catamaran (n.)

East Indies log raft, 1670s, from Hindi or Malayalam, from Tamil (Dravidian) kattu-maram "tied wood," from kattu "tie, binding" + maram "wood, tree." It also was used in the West Indies and South America.

Trends of catamaran

More to explore, share catamaran.

updated on October 19, 2017

Dictionary entries near catamaran

• English (English)
• 简体中文 (Chinese)
• Deutsch (German)
• Español (Spanish)
• Français (French)
• Italiano (Italian)
• 日本語 (Japanese)
• 한국어 (Korean)
• Português (Portuguese)
• 繁體中文 (Chinese)

When Was the Catamaran Invented?

Look at how multi-hulled vessels have evolved over the millennia to find out when was the catamaran invented.

Stefan Kristensen

The first modern catamaran was designed and built by Nathanael Herreshoff in 1876 and patented a year later. However, the concept and construction of catamarans and vessels that operate on the same principles date all the way back to the second millennium BCE among the Austronesian people.

In the rest of the article, we are going to learn what makes a catamaran different from a traditional boat and explore the long history of the vessel’s gradual development to fully answer the question of when was the catamaran invented.

What Is So Special About a Catamaran?

Although they are often perceived as a trend or a fad, catamarans actually do have significant structural differences compared to traditional boats. Catamarans have two hulls instead of only one. The two hulls of a catamaran are joined by the bridge deck to form a single vessel.

One of the most noticeable practical differences between the catamaran and monohull boats is that catamarans are a lot more stable. This is because the beam is significantly wider than a traditional boat’s, giving the catamaran a greater initial stability, albeit with a poorer secondary stability. This makes the boat less likely to capsize, but more difficult to recover once a capsize has begun.

Catamarans also have shallower drafts and displace significantly less water than comparable traditional boats, which means they experience less resistance from the water when moving forward. This, in turn, means that catamarans, whether they are powered by sail or motors, need less energy to move the same mass at the same speed compared to a similarly sized traditional monohull boat.

What Is the History of the Catamaran’s Development?

When most people think of catamarans, the type of vessel they picture traces its history to Amaryllis , a boat designed and built by American mechanical engineer and naval architect, Nathanael Herreshoff. While only in his 20s, Herreshoff created the modern catamaran design, raced his first one in 1876, and patented it the next year.

This kickstarted the modern industry and application of catamarans, but the principles that Herreshoff made use of to design Amaryllis were not all completely new. Similar designs had been trialed by Europeans since the 17th century and used by Austronesians in the Indian and Pacific Oceans going back thousands of years. So then when was the catamaran invented?

Early Austronesian Origins

The history of catamarans among the early Austronesian people is tied to that of outrigger canoes, which are boats that are stabilized through the use of a separate floating device which sits alongside the main hull. There is controversy among academics over whether outrigger canoes developed as scaled down versions of catamarans or catamarans as expanded versions of outrigger canoes.

There is history of both types of vessel going back to the second millennium BCE, though the earliest record that Europeans have of them is from 1521, when they were observed by sailors on Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition to circumnavigate the world.

Petty, Crisp, and the English Prototypes

The first European prototype of a vessel with two hulls was designed in 1662 by famed English economist, William Petty. Although as with any catamaran, this boat was designed to use less energy, move faster, and navigate shallower waters, the concept was just too experimental for Petty’s contemporaries, and it never took off.

A few decades later, toward the end of the 17th century, English navigator and pirate, William Dampier, was on the Indian subcontinent, where he learned of vessels with multiple hulls from the native Tamil speakers. He was the first English speaker to record the word “catamaran” for these, adapting it from the Tamil word “kattumaram.”

The first catamaran built by Europeans to see use was designed and built by English captain Mayflower F. Crisp in Burma in the early 19th century. His vessel was called Original , and Crisp documented its exploits and the rationale behind his design himself in his 1849 book, A Treatise on Marine Architecture, Elucidating the Theory of the Resistance of Water .

Original remained in service for a number of years, during which it largely navigated the Gulf of Martaban, enabling trade between Southeast Asian ports situated on the gulf. In spite of Original’s success, the work of Captain Crisp did not change sailboat designs among his contemporaries.

Herreshoff and the American Catamaran

The final big development in catamaran design came in 1876, when American engineer and naval architect, Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, designed and built his first catamaran, Amaryllis . Herreshoff patented this design in 1877, the year following Amaryllis’ maiden voyage.

Whether due to changes in design or the fact that he was the first to formally patent his design, many consider Amaryllis to be the first modern catamaran and therefore Nathanael Herreshoff to be the inventor of the catamaran, as we know it, in 1876.

Interestingly, Herreshoff never referred to his design as a catamaran in the patent . The patent itself is simply titled “Improvement in Construction of Sailing-Vessels,” and Herreshoff makes references to “the vessel” and “my invention” but never uses the Tamil word that the English had previously adopted for the design.

Catamarans saw a lull in popularity once again after Herreshoff’s design won and was subsequently excluded from a lot of yacht clubs for what was perceived to be unfair competition.

The catamaran design saw its final and longest lasting resurgence in the mid-20th century, when its construction and use started getting picked up across the globe. Perhaps the most popular adoption was by American surfing legend, Hobie Alter.

Alter’s company, Hobie Cat, manufactured and sold small catamarans bearing the same name. The Hobie Cats have become a world standard, with one vessel, the Hobie 16, having sold more than 100,000 units since manufacturing began.

Most people offer Nathanael Herreshoff’s Amaryllis in 1876 as the answer when asked when was the catamaran invented. While it is considered the first modern catamaran, we have learned today about the thousands of years of gradual development across cultures and continents that have shaped the vessel, from early Austronesian rafts to the Hobie Cats of yesteryear.

Sign up for more like this.

A Trusted Source For Boating Information Since 2019

Catamaran hulls- everything you need to know.

• Post Written By: Boater Jer
• Published: July 17, 2022
• Updated: July 19, 2022

Disclaimer: You might notice that we recommend products in some articles. We may earn a commission for referring you if you click the link and buy a product.

We only recommend products we’ve tried/tested/own (that’s why you won’t find thousands of affiliate links on my site). If you have experience with one of the products we’ve mentioned, please share your experiences in the comments at the end.

Advertisement

Catamaran hulls are not like normal boats but provide increased stability. Let’s take a look at these incredible boats and how their hulls create one of the most versatile watercraft available today.

The Tamil Cholas used catamarans to ferry their troops to invade Malaysia, Indonesia, and Burma. The early paravars or fishing communities in the southern part of Tamil Nadu used two-hulled boats to fish. Polynesian seafarers were also early users of the catamaran, utilizing the watercraft to get to hard-to-reach islands. ( source )

Although the catamaran hull concept is a relatively new introduction to modern boat design , the boat has been in use since the 5th century. It was used for fishing, traveling, and transporting people and supplies. 

Parts Of A Catamaran

Here are the basic parts of the modern sailing catamaran:

• Hulls are what sets this boat apart from the rest. The catamaran has two hulls, while the monohull, as the name suggests, has only one hull. Most of the advantages of this boat are hinged on these two hulls. 
• The bridge deck connects the two catamaran hulls. 
• On top of the catamaran hulls and the bridge deck is the deck . It is where owners attach most of the equipment in a boat. 
• You can locate the berth, the galley, and other living amenities in the cabin . 
• The cockpit is where you find the navigation equipment of the boat . It is where you control the catamaran’s rudder, sails, and engine. 

Types Of Catamaran

The modern catamaran is far more different than its crude ancestor. Instead of tree cutouts, catamarans are now carbon fiber or fiberglass. Here are the different types of catamarans: 

Based On function

Pontoons are usually present on rivers and lakes and sometimes even on oceans, but they only travel near the shore.

In a catamaran pontoon-type boat, the pontoons serve as storage areas, where you will find the onboard motors. They are useful for water leisure activities such as short water trips, tubing, wakeboarding, and water skiing. 

Some pontoons may also serve as houseboats. They provide a broader, more stable platform ideal for a floating house. Plus, the space is bigger, and most of it is above water. It offers a better viewing option than a monohull. ( Source )

Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull is a catamaran-type boat that the United States Navy initially used for military purposes. They provide the water stability that is necessary when transporting heavy military equipment. 

One example of a military SWATH catamaran is the Spearhead class EPF. It is as long as a World War II escort destroyer, yet it is twice as fast at 43 knots. It can reach that speed because of its two separate hulls.

Because of their innate speed, SWATH catamarans can become patrol boats in lakes and rivers. They can easily outrun and outmaneuver standard watercraft.  

Nowadays, there are SWATH cruise ships and other non-military variations. ( Source )

Based On Design

• Sailing Catamaran

The smaller sailing catamarans do not have auxiliary engines, so the owner can propel the boat by harnessing the wind using the sails. It’s a popular choice for people with very little or no sailing experience because they are light and easy to use. 

The larger sailing catamarans are for group charters and long-distance cruising. They have become so popular lately that they now outnumber monohulls in tropical locations all over the world. They have a last, a headsail, and a mainsail. And the twin hulls have one engine each. 

• Power Catamaran

Unlike their sailing cousins, the powered catamarans do not have sails. They have massive engines which provide high speed. Their twin hulls are stronger and can carry and protect the large motors. 

The smaller “powercats” are used mainly for fishing. The bigger ones are rented out for charters and cruises. 

Catamaran Hulls Performance 

Thanks to the catamaran hulls, the boat offers many advantages over other boat types. 

• Because its dual-hull design provides a broader base, it offers more water stability than monohull boats. It makes the cat (catamaran) a popular choice for fishing expeditions and cruises.
• Riding a catamaran is ideal for people who feel seasick whenever they ride boats. The twin hulls prevent the boat from moving from side to side. The hulls allow the boat to travel smoothly, even on moderately choppy waters.
• The catamaran is the best choice when storing provisions and other household items with less heeling and bobbing. 
• The twin hulls’ stability is ideal for many activities such as cooking and partying. 
• Cats offer more moving space because of their broader base, thanks to dual hulls.
• With a catamaran, you have two great options on where to hang out. You can do it on the spacious deck or below the galley. 
• Compared to a monohull of the same size, the catamaran can accommodate more equipment and people.
• The living area in a catamaran is above the water line. This feature provides more natural light, a greater view of the outside, and better air circulation. 
• Since catamarans do not have keels, they can anchor on shallow waters, something that most monohulls will not be able to do. This ability of catamaran boats is impressive, especially if you are going around areas with many reefs and small islands.
• Catamaran hulls allow the boat to cut through the waves easier and faster. It means they require less engine power than their monohull counterparts.
• Because it has two engines and two rudders, the catamaran can easily maneuver in very tight spaces. 
• Because they do not carry heavy keels, catamarans can sail faster than monohulls. 
• The catamaran’s stability, speed, and weight make it a safer option than the monohull. It can sail in shallow waters, make a 360 degrees maneuver effortlessly, and carry more provisions. 

Disadvantages Of A Catamaran

Like any other boat type, the catamaran also has drawbacks and limitations. Here are some of them:

• The catamaran hulls prevent the boat from sailing as fast as the monohull upwind. The two hulls cause drag, and this slows the boat considerably. 
• Because of its bigger size, looking for a docking site can be more difficult and costlier than a monohull. 
• For hardcore sailing fans, the experience of sailing with a catamaran will never be able to match that of sailing with a monohull. To them, the challenge of true sailing is just not there with a catamaran.

What Are The Hulls Of The Catamaran Called?

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the Tamil word கட்டுமரம், which is pronounced as kattumaran, is where the word catamaran takes its name. The word means “pieces of logs tied together”. Through the years, the term has evolved into what is now a catamaran in English. 

What Are The Characteristics Of A Catamaran Hull?

• Both hulls of a catamaran complement each other to achieve very minimum water resistance. 
• Because of this, it takes less energy to propel a catamaran, whether via an engine or sails. 
• The catamaran hulls provide stability to the boat. The twin-hull significantly reduces bobbing. 
• The catamaran’s ability to keep steady on the water makes it an ideal vessel for cooking, dining, and storing provisions. 

Are Catamarans Good In Rough Water?

Catamarans are amazingly stable in rough water. The catamaran’s design and build, which provides stability, are factors why it is one of the best boats to use when the waters are choppy. 

Yes, catamarans are relatively more expensive than monohulls. Nevertheless, since single-hull boats are less expensive, their resale value is also cheap. 

If you add all the advantages that a catamaran offers – safety, comfort, and speed- it does not come out expensive. 

patekphilippe.io

Share this post with your friends

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Join us in our love for all things water. And Adventure.

A Snapshop Guide To Boat Buying

Advertisement A Guide to Buying Boats for a Smooth Sailing Adventure Looking for the ideal boat can feel like an arduous adventure. To begin your boating journey, a boat must be suitable for your requirements in terms of the quantity and quality of its lodgings, speed, maneuverability, overall look, and affordability based on your budget. 

Best Cruising Catamarans For Couples

Advertisement Looking for the best cruising catamarans for couples? Are you looking for the best spot to spend your holiday as a couple? If you want to spend a little time with someone you care about, keep reading because you are in the right place.  Among the well-known cruising catamaran patronized by couples is the

Who Makes Each Brand of Catamaran and Where They’re Built

Advertisement Boating Guide Presents: Who Makes Each Brand of Catamaran and Where They’re Built. Catamarans are gaining popularity among seasoned sailors. Their speed and reliability made them the top choice for family cruises and long distances voyages. Let’s dig deeper into their fabrication, shall we? Among the acclaimed Catamaran brands is Lagoon, Privilege, Gemini, Bali,

Do Flat Bottom Boats Have Titles?

Advertisement Have you ever wondered if Flat Bottom Boats have titles? It’s a perfectly valid question, and essential to know if you plan on purchasing a flat bottom boat or already own one. Or maybe you have a different kind of boat and are wondering about the need for a title? A title is a

Can Sailboats Go Against The Wind? Here’s How!

Advertisement Can sailboats go against the wind? Let’s find out! There is a saying that you can’t change the direction of the wind and would have to adjust your sail; how true of it. One cannot alter the wind’s current by will or any other method; that is why one should adjust their sail accordingly. 

How Long Does A Kayak Last? 5 Awesome Materials Examined

Advertisement If you’re wondering: “How long does a kayak last?” you’ve come to the right place for answers about kayaks of various materials. Kayaks and canoes are expensive things. Some cost hundreds of dollars, so it is understandable to want your investment to last for a lengthy period. Some investigation is required to establish the

Boat Information By Type

© 2023 Boating.Guide, A Hyperwave Media Group Ltd. Publication.

Privacy Overview

17 Best Catamarans for Sailing Around the World

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We may also earn commissions if you purchase products from other retailers after clicking on a link from our site.

Catamarans are quickly outstripping single-hull boats for long-distance journeys. They are more stable and comfortable , and some can travel more than 200 miles in a day. In today’s article, I have put together a complete (well almost) list of some of the best catamarans for circumnavigating the planet; the question is, which one is best for you?

The best catamarans for sailing around the world include: 

• The Fountaine Pajot Ipanema 58

These cats focus on speed, safety, and comfort for longer journeys. 

This article will show you the seventeen best catamarans for long journeys, and why they’re the best. You’ll also learn some great tips on what to look for in a Catamaran and how to save money by buying a used catamaran. Let this list be a jumping-off point for your future research!

Pro-tip; here are the actual costs of maintaining a cat and here are considerations on how to circumnavigate .

Table of Contents

The Best Catamarans for Sailing Around the World 

A catamaran is a double-hulled boat with a deck or cabin area in between (bluewater cat definition in this article ). The double hull design means that the boat rocks less, sits higher on the water, uses less fuel to sail, and can be sailed in shallower waters than a single-hulled boat without worrying about grounding. 

Catamarans come in a variety of sizes and can be sail-powered or motor-powered and range from single-person sailing boats to family-sized yachts. Every catamaran design is different, and the twin-hull shape offers many ways to customize the layout of a ship. 

Each boat on this list is a larger catamaran (+40ft, more on size here ), so if you’re going to sail around the world, you want lots of space for provisions and rest.

Of course, there are tons of technical specs for each of these boats, but I’m going to focus on the overall features of each of these catamarans, what makes them stand out, and why they would each be an excellent choice for a transatlantic journey. 

Antares 44i 

The Antares 44i is an excellent option for sailing around the world and was explicitly designed for long-distance cruising. It performs well in any weather conditions, can be sailed easily by two people, and you’ll be able to sail long distances and live in comfort. 

Although it can be easily sailed by a crew of two I believe that a true bluewater cat should be set up for single-handed sailing, more on that in another article .

This catamaran features a stateroom on each hull and a forward cabin with plenty of storage space. The living and entertainment features include a flatscreen tv and a high-end deck speaker system. 

With this model, Antares dedicates itself to high-quality boats with optimal rigging and engine configurations. 

Atlantic 42

Atlantic is no longer building this catamaran, but there are usually a few pre-owned boats on the market. You can also get it made custom if you love the design, but be prepared to spend more money on a custom boat (custom boat also gets custom problems ;)). 

The Atlantic 42 is slightly smaller than some of the other catamarans on this list but is a seaworthy vessel. 42 ft is what most sailors I interview ( in this article ) said was the smallest cat to safely cross big oceans. It is also a decent size to counter the risk of capsizing (more on that here ).

It has a forward cockpit and pilothouse, which gives the owner a better use of space and makes the boat easier to navigate. With single-handed capability, one person can sail it easily and let the rest of the crew relax. 

One of the best-praised aspects of the Atlantic 42 is its galley, more extensive than most 42-footers (12.8-meter) can offer. 

One of the few 50 footers (15.24 meters) that can be sailed by just one person (many would of course disagree on this).

The Catana 50 is a catamaran worthy of an overseas journey. Its size adds to its stability on the open waters and its ability to sail straight through the choppy ocean and windy conditions. 

The Catana is also incredibly spacious on the inside, with substantial cabins and showers. The biggest downside to the Catana 50 is its price, as it’s much more expensive than most of its competitors. 

Catana also holds up well against some of the fastest cruising cats out there, here’s a list of the fastest cruisers if you are interested in that.

However, if you can find a gently-used Catana 50, you can rest assured that this boat will last! 

The Dolphin 42 is unique because of the use of daggerboards instead of fixed keels. This upgrade means that the boat has some pretty decent upwind performance while at the same time being faster downwind.

Centerboards and daggerboards offer some interesting downsides compared to mini keels. This is an interesting discussion and I suggest you read another one of my articles if you want to deepen your knowledge a little.

These catamarans are some of the lightest on the market. Not many Dolphins were made, so they are relatively hard to find. However, if you want a small, lightweight boat capable of going great distances, the Dolphin 42 is an excellent choice. 

Fountaine Pajot Belize 43

The Fountaine Pajot Belize is another well-built cruising yacht. Its core is made of foam instead of balsa, which reduces the risk of structural damage due to a rotten core in case of water intrusion. 

The design of Belize offers many options for customizability, with large open spaces and a combined saloon, navigation, and dinette area. 

There are two styles of Belize catamarans for sleeping quarters. You can either purchase a boat with an entire primary suite on one hull or one with two cabins in each hull. The first option is great if you are sailing the world alone and not expecting many guests, as it increases the storage capacity. 

Understanding what factors to consider when getting a cat can be hard, there are just so many of them (such as the daggerboard discussion above), I have tried to compile some of the most important in this article .

The boat also has wraparound windows to increase the sense of space in the galley. 

Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40

Fountaine Pajot is one of the best sailboat manufacturers existing today, as their boats are well made and highly versatile. The Lucia 40 is no exception – it’s a smaller boat but has a lot of room for moving around and on-board living. 

The living area is remarkably spacious on this catamaran for its size. 

The galley and lounge easily accommodate 6+people. The Lucia 40 doesn’t disappoint when it comes to sailing either, as the narrow hulls slice through choppy waters with ease. 

Most catamarans today are built to withstand rough weather but that doesn’t matter as much if the crew isn’t up for the task, I firmly believe that the most important thing a boat should consist of, is knowledge. Therefore taking online courses ( two free here ) or reading books ( my favorites here ) is imperative.

Gemini 105M

Gemini’s boats have been on the market for years and are solidly built for cruising. This boat is one of the most popular ever made, I personally would consider something different for offshore cruising, but since it has such a good reputation, I felt I had to add it to the list.

If you want to understand why I am hesitant to take this boat around the world, I recommend you read my article: What are trampolines on a catamaran?

The Gunboat 62 is a great catamaran and set the standards for the rest of the impressive Gunboat lineup. It’s sleek and spacious while being robust and capable of transatlantic journeys. You can easily travel the world in a Gunboat 62 with several people and not feel cramped. 

The yacht was made for speed and power and remains one of the fastest catamarans on the market, even rivaling the newer Gunboat models.  GABO

Although the earlier models of the Gunboat 62 weren’t designed for a lot of cargo, you can still find space for everything you need without compromise. 

Lagoon catamarans are known for their reliability and ease of use. If you are considering a catamaran for the first time and are unsure about the technicalities of sailing, a Lagoon boat is a great option. 

The Lagoon 380 is probably the smallest cruiser on this list, which makes it better suited for solo or couple sailing.  

When I go looking to buy something, whether it be a boat, campervan, or whatever, I create a checklist and classify all the things I want either by NEED or NICE to have.

I believe the Lagoon 380 to be sub-optimal for my NEEDS, even though it does check a lot of NICE boxes, there’s a step-by-step article on the NEED and NICE method here .

There are several cabin options available on the Lagoon 380, but if you’re sailing by yourself, you can settle for three cabins and a larger galley and living space. With a smaller cockpit and broader side decks, the Lagoon 380 packs a lot of practicality and ease of sailing into a more compact catamaran. 

If you like the idea of a Lagoon boat but want a little more space, the Lagoon 42 is the upgraded version of the Lagoon 380. With all of the same benefits, it comes with more space for cabins or storage, making it one of the best-selling Lagoons of all time. 

The Lagoon 42 is also a faster cruiser built for strength. While it’s not the fastest on the market, it works well in choppy waters and windy conditions, making it great for the beginning sailor to go on a more extended trip. 

Many people have completed an around-the-world sail with this ship.

Although there is a flybridge version, I would recommend the “open” version due to several factors, some including increased windage and a higher boom. More on flybridges pros and cons here .

For stability, safety, and durability, you can’t beat the Lagoon 42. 

The Leopard 45 performs better with less storage weight because of the relatively low bridge deck clearance. If the boat is fully loaded, you could experience some wave pounding. However, the cockpit is open and airy, with devices that block the sun and provide maximum comfort while sailing. 

The Leopard 45 is an incredibly beautiful boat,   and has a strong reputation for excellent build quality!

Leopard catamarans are one of my personal favorites, as such I have written an entire article about the brand, so if you want to understand its pros and cons then here is the link . Gabo

Designed in South Africa, it features a high rear arch for extra support and very smoothly connected decks. The galley is large and open, and most Leopards offer a four-cabin plan. If you are traveling with another person, this boat is an excellent option for you! 

The Manta 42 is another classic catamaran that you can buy used (at a decent price), as it is an incredibly seaworthy vessel. While still in production, the Manta was one of the most popular catamarans on the market. 

It is still in high demand amongst circumnavigators. Buying a used Manta 42 usually means that you inherit some of the previous owner’s boat upgrades! 

The Manta 42 also made it to my list of the 9 safest catamarans on the market ( link ).

This blue water cat can be sailed by one or two people, making it ideal for liveaboard couples or long-distance shorthanded sailing. The galley is in the saloon ( instead of in one of the hulls ), making the cabins below more spacious and better equipped. 

Overall, the Manta is well equipped for sailing around the world. 

Nautitech 44

Nautitech is an excellent brand of the catamaran, with several different designs per boat. The Nautitech 44 has a unique feature, you can have it with two options for steering: twin wheels or a single wheel.

The Nautitech 44 also features a cockpit on the same level as the saloon. The door between the two is more convenient than a hatch and dramatically reduces the risk of water damage during rain pour. 

This is also the same boat that aeroyacht president Gregor owns, he has offered some great insights into Nautitech in the book Catamarans (amazon link )

Outremer 45

Outremer is famous for being one of the fastest brands of catamarans on the market. If you need speed, the Outremer 45 might be the perfect choice for you. It has a top speed of 16 knots, which is higher than almost every other catamaran of its class. 

While the Outremer 45 is known for speed, it doesn’t compromise on the quality of living. 

You can settle into life on this boat with complete peace of mind. Even as a beginning sailor, the steering is simple and easy to use, and the autopilot is top of the line, so you’ll be able to sail across the ocean in an Outremer without issue. 

Privilege Serie 5

A French-designed catamaran, the Privilege Serie 5 is one of the most comfortable 50-foot (15 m) yachts available. The unique cabin layout includes the master cabin in the boat’s center instead of in one of the hulls. 

The Privilege Serie 5 is also incredibly easy to sail, despite its larger size. 

The sails and controls lead to the helm, where the raised deck makes it easy to see all around the deck. If you want to cross the ocean with a full crew then the Privilege Serie 5 might be perfect for you! 

Seawind 1000

The Seawind 1000 is the smallest boat on this list, measuring 33 feet (10 meters) long altogether. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s not livable. If you are sailing on your own or with a partner, there is more than enough space to live in the Seawind 1000, which includes the option of a centered cabin or two hull cabins. 

Because it’s small, the Seawind 1000 is easy to handle. The mast and sails are all manufactured for extra stability and ease of use. 

Overall, the Seawind 1000 is an excellent example of a simple, safe, and seaworthy catamaran. 

Note: since this is a small catamaran it will also be more sensitive to heavy weather so trip-planning becomes even more important.

The Voyage 44 is one of the oldest cats on this list, having had its hay-day in the mid-1990s. However, this also means that a used Voyage 44 will be cheaper than a newer boat. If you can find a Voyage with previous responsible owners, you will inherit any upgrades and fixes that they’ve made on top of a very seaworthy boat. 

The Voyage 44 has more storage and space than most cruisers of its size and is known for behaving very well in choppy waters. 

This catamaran does its job well while providing adequate space for cooking, sleeping, and living aboard. 

What To Look For in a Long-Distance Cruising Catamaran

If you are planning to sail around the world, you need to be very careful about which kind of catamaran you decide to use. Many of the things you want in a boat really comes down to personal preference, so be sure you know what design preferences you want before you start shopping! 

Size and Payload

The most important thing to consider when buying a catamaran is how much space and cargo you need because the larger the boats are, the bigger the payload it can handle. Decide how long you want the ship to be and how much you’re taking with you. 

It’s vital not to overload a catamaran, this will reduce performance and increase risk of unwanted behavior in heavy seas.

Cabin Placement  

Most catamarans have options for a “Maestro” cabin placement, where one entire hull is the master suite, and the other cabins are located on the opposite hull.

Cockpit and Protection From The Weather

Is the cockpit on the boat you’re looking at covered or open? This can make a difference on the high seas, especially during rainy weather. 

The size of the ship also can affect how many people you need as a crew. If you’re traveling by yourself or with one other person, you don’t want to buy a boat that needs a larger crew. 

Buying Used? 

If you don’t want to spend the money on a brand new catamaran, I don’t blame you. Several of the ships on this list are out of production and can only be found used. However, for circumnavigation, you do want a boat of high quality to keep you safe and dry until you make it to your destination.  

When buying a suitably used catamaran, it’s essential to look at the refit history of the boat more than the year it was made. Catamarans are sturdy, and the general design has been the same for at least the past decade. 

If you find a newer, larger, cheaper boat, you should look into its history. 

Your best bet to save money while buying a catamaran will be to buy an older, probably smaller boat with an excellent refit history and no serious issues. It will still be an investment, and a sturdy used catamaran will serve you well. 

Final Thoughts

No matter which catamaran you decide to buy for your journey, you’ll be able to sail safely and comfortably. Catamarans are great yachts for long-distance sailing, and the ships on this list are the best of the best. These brands are time-tested and ready to accompany you on an adventure around the world! 

Here are Some of My Favorite Catamaran Cruising Resources

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it helpful as you hopefully start your sailing adventures. Here are some resources that I use as a sailor that I hope you’ll also find helpful. These are affiliate links, so if you do decide to use any of them, I’ll earn a commission. But in all honesty, these are the exact things that I use and recommend to everyone, even my own family. Sailboats: If you’re looking for the best boat to suit your needs, I would recommend a catamaran. If you’re interested, I can show you the differences between catamarans and other types of sailboats .

Books:  For getting started, I really like  Cruising catamarans made easy . It is actually a textbook from the American sailing association; it is used to get a cruising catamaran certification. There are some other great books, and I have compiled a list of books about cruising catamarans that you will find useful.

Communication:  Being out on adventures, whether it be sailing or climbing mountains, good communications are essential to being safe. I recommend two things Google fi (incredibly simple cellular data all over the world) and Garmin inreach mini (for text and voice in remote areas without cell coverage)

Sailing courses: Online sailing courses are great for beginners starting out their sailing career; it’s an efficient way of learning the basics of navigation, throttle controls, and maritime safety. I suggest starting with two free courses from NauticEd .

To see all my most up-to-date recommendations,  check out this resource  that I made for you!

• Wikipedia: Catamaran
• Cruising World: A-Z Best Cruising Catamarans 
• Dreamy Yacht Sales: Four Best Catamarans for New Buyers
• Atlantic Cruising: Good Cat/Bad Cat
• Yachting World: Catamaran Sailing Across the Atlantic
• Boat Affair: What is a Catamaran? 
• Nautilus Sailing: Catamaran Sailing

Owner of CatamaranFreedom.com. A minimalist that has lived in a caravan in Sweden, 35ft Monohull in the Bahamas, and right now in his self-built Van. He just started the next adventure, to circumnavigate the world on a Catamaran!

3 thoughts on “ 17 Best Catamarans for Sailing Around the World ”

I like the efforts you have put in this, regards for all the great content.

Thanks Elisabeth I really appreciate the kind words 🙂

I appreciate you sharing this blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.

Recent Posts

Must-Have Boat Gear for Catamaran Sailors!

Sailing is probably the most gear-intensive activity I've ever done; there are so many decisions to be made about what gear to buy now, for tomorrow, and what to definitely never buy. The gear on...

6 Best Trailerable Trimarans For Bluewater and Coastal Sailing

Having a boat costs a lot of money, even when you are not using it, marina fees, etc. And once it is in the water most sailors never go very far from their "home marina" and sailing will be somewhat...

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

James Wharram: life and legacy of the iconic designer

• January 29, 2024

Julien Girardot meets Hanneke Boon in Cornwall to discover the legend and legacy of pioneering catamaran designer James Wharram

Falmouth, Cornwall, 1955: a legend is born along Customs House Quay. A smartly dressed young man with wild, curly hair has launched a 23ft catamaran, built in just a few months for the modest sum of £200 (the equivalent of around £6,500 today).

Rigged as a ketch with battened junk sails, the aptly named Tangaroa (meaning ‘God of the Sea’ in Polynesian) marked the beginning of the epic Wharram story.

At the time, catamarans were considered dangerous and eccentric, while yachting was a pastime largely reserved for high society. But sailing already has other visionaries. On the deck of Tangaroa, beside James, are two young women: Jutta Schulze-Rhonhof and Ruth Merseburger. In puritanical post-war England, setting off to cross the Atlantic with two young women – and German ones at that – was downright shocking! But these three young people care not a jot about conventional thinking. They dream of adventure and their enterprise is an act of defiance.

For years James Wharram has nurtured a passion for the history of sailing pioneers and the ethnic origins of the multihull. Devouring every book on the subject he could lay his hands on, he discovered the story of Joshua Slocum, the first solo circumnavigator (1895-1898), and the voyage of Kaimiloa by the Frenchman Eric de Bisschop. The tale, published in English in 1940, of de Bisschop’s attempt to prove the seaworthiness of double canoes by making a voyage from Hawaii to France on a catamaran he had built on the beach, became Wharram’s primary source of inspiration.

Riding out the storm: James Wharram at the helm of Tangaroa in Biscay in 1955. Photo: Julien Girardot

Wharram disagreed with many assumptions of the time, and his first Atlantic crossing was an opportunity to refute Thor Heyerdahl’s theory on the settlement of the Pacific islands. Wharram contested the assertion of the Danish anthropologist who, after his voyage aboard the Kon-Tiki in 1947, affirmed that the boats used were simple rafts. Wharram was convinced that the boats were more akin to double canoes with sails, capable of going upwind and holding a course. These early multihulls, consisting of two hollowed-out tree trunks, were connected by crossbeams bound together with plant fibre. The sails were probably made from what is known as ‘tapa’ in Polynesia, hammered tree bark, which was also used to make clothes.

The three young adventurers left Falmouth on 27 September 1955 on a boat loaded with books, basic foods, and very little else. Despite a fraught passage, encountering storms in the Bay of Biscay and being suspected of being spies by Franco’s Guardia Civil, the trio successfully crossed the Atlantic and reached the island of Trinidad on 2 February 1957.

Without a penny to their name, they adopted a simple island life, and Jutta gave birth to her and James’ first child, Hannes. The unconventional polyamorous family lived aboard a raft inspired by the floating dwellings of the Pacific, nicknamed ‘the paradise island of the South Seas’. Tangaroa, now tired, was abandoned, as Wharram decided to build a new catamaran. By chance, two solo sailors came to anchor in the bay where the Wharram tribe lived afloat, and the legendary Bernard Moitessier and Henry Wakelam helped Wharram build his new design, Rongo.

Wharram, Merseburger and Schulze-Rhonhof aboard Tangaroa in Falmouth, 1955, before their Atlantic crossing. Photo: Julien Girardot

Thanks to the experience of his first transatlantic voyage, as well as knowledge gathered from Wharram’s endless reading, Rongo was much more accomplished. While Tangaroa was flat-bottomed, Rongo has V-hulls. To prove the design’s seaworthy qualities, Wharram decided to tackle the North Atlantic, sailing from west to east with his two companions. This route was known to strike fear into the hearts of multihull sailors of the time, as the two previous attempts had tragically ended in two deaths.

The crew left La Martinique for New York on 16 April 1959, one year after Rongo’s construction began. The return voyage to Conwy in Wales took 50 days, but the gamble paid off, and Wharram’s new design was the first to achieve what many thought impossible. The curly-haired eccentric became something of a celebrity, and following his great Atlantic adventure, James published his first book, Two girls, Two Catamarans. The years that followed were Wharram’s golden age, with plans released to suit every budget and every dream. Soon there were Wharram designs all over the world, connected by a powerful community spirit.

Drawing a Wharram

My own journey to this remote corner of Cornwall began decades before. After 15 years of travelling the world, inventing and reinventing my life, including many years living in the Pacific islands, I felt the need to capture these experiences by creating the boat of my dreams.

Illustrations inspired by a visit to the Wharram design office in Cornwall. Image: Benjamin Flao

While living in Tuamotu, I was involved in several incredible projects to build traditional sailing canoes under the directive of talented local Tahitian boatbuilder, Alexandre Genton (now chief of operations at Blue Composite shipyard in Tahiti). At first we launched small single-seat sailing canoes with two outrigger floats. These are the simplest way to sail: a sheet in one hand, a paddle in the other, which you plunge over the side of the canoe into the water, and it makes a perfect rudder. Then we built a larger version, Va’a Motu, for a hotel in Bora Bora, of splendid stripped kauri planking. Finally, we worked with the local population to build an ambitious 30ft Va’a Motu with a single ama, on the atoll of Fakarava in the Tuamotu archipelago.

Curiously, after many experimental trials at building and sailing canoes, my imagined ideal yacht turned out to be something very close to a Wharram design, which I learned as soon as I shared my first cautious sketches with friends. I realised I had to meet James Wharram.

In October 2021, I dialled the number of JW Designs. A woman answered; James’ long-term life and business partner Hanneke Boon. I tell her my ideas to build from one of their plans: the Islander 39. We began an email exchange and when I asked her what James thought of this model, in November 2021, less than a month before he died, she replied: “James is enthusiastic about your project. He’s now 93 years old and nearing the end of his life.

The Pahi 63 Spirit of Gaia which Wharram and Boon sailed around the world. Image: Benjamin Flao

“He has been looking at the Islander 39 design for several years and often says, ‘I wish I had one myself.’ It’s the only Wharram design that has never been built, so your project is a wish come true for him.”

On 14 December 2021, James Wharram passed away. Out of respect for the bereavement, and due to Covid-related travel restrictions, we decided to postpone our meeting. Some months later on a beautiful spring afternoon, I landed in Plymouth with my friend and artist Benjamin Flao, himself the owner of a Wharram-designed Tiki 28, and headed for Devoran near Truro in Cornwall, the stronghold of the Wharram family.

Hanneke welcomes us into her office. It is a beautiful wooden cabin, warm and bright, overlooking the changing lights of Cornwall. The place looks like a museum telling the story of a life of travel and passion through yacht models, photographs and unusual objects. James is there, you can feel it. A glance at the shelves of the library shows an impressive array of rare and precious books, mostly dealing with navigation and shipbuilding in Oceania, and demonstrates the seriousness with which Wharram and Boon studied the history and technicality of ‘double canoes’.

“I’d like our boats to be called double canoes and not catamarans, which I think is a mistake,” Hanneke explains. The word catamaran, originally pronounced ‘catamaron’, comes from the Tamil dialect of katta ‘to bind’ and maram ‘wood’, as they were actually one-man rafts used to work on the outer hull of ships. The English pirate and adventurer William Dampier, in the 1690s, was the first to describe a two-hulled vessel as a catamaran, but although catamarans might be the commonly accepted word nowadays, it’s actually a mistake.

oon unfolds the plans of the Islander 39, the only Wharram design that has never been built. Many plans were hand-drawn by Boon. Photo: Julien Girardot

Hanneke unfolds the Islander 39 plan on her drawing board. Like all Wharram plans for half a century, it has been marked with her signature. Despite this unique pencil stroke, she has remained in the shadow of Wharram’s mythology for 50 years. Since 1970, Boon has drawn the majority of the construction plans by hand. They’re works of art and the best way to imagine yourself aboard a Wharram. Without her, JW Designs would not be what it is.

Originally from the Netherlands, Boon grew up in a family of sailing enthusiasts. By the age of 14 she was already building small canoes and at the age of 20 she joined the Wharram team and quickly became his co-designer. They criss-crossed the Atlantic twice in quick succession aboard Tehini, the crab claw-rigged double canoe on which James and several women lived for 10 years. Since then, Hanneke has escaped from her office whenever she can to sail thousands of miles on all the seas of the world, always using a double canoe.

Those radical vessels included the Spirit of Gaia, also built on site, through a sliding door next to Hanneke’s office. It was aboard this 63ft Pahi, Wharram’s flagship, that the Wharrams sailed around the world from 1994 to 1998. James described Spirit of Gaia as “a beautifully shaped woman he was in love with”.

Boon’s design office is adjacent to the Wharram HQ in Devoran and looks out over one of the River Fal’s many creeks. Photo: Julien Girardot

In Wharram’s wake

James and Hanneke’s home is a former veterinary surgery. The furnishings are basic, with only the essentials, but the doors close by themselves, thanks to an ingenious system of weights, ropes and pulleys. Benjamin and I offer to shop and cook, and in the living room, we put the dishes down and eat on the floor, like on the deck of a Wharram.

Jamie, James and Hanneke’s son, joins us for the meal with his partner Liz. “James has remained the icon of the business, but it’s really Hanneke who has been doing the job for the last 10 years. She is JW Designs,” confides Liz.

Jamie is at first more subdued, but talking to him you soon discover a true character. Given the world he grew up in, it’s surprising to learn that sailing is not really his thing: “I get bored quickly at sea and I’m sick most of the time! I prefer to be underwater. Above the line is not my thing.

Evocative illustration of the Wharram workshop in Devoran, Cornwall. Image: Benjamin Flao

“I do like the calmness of the ocean though, that parenthesis effect, detached from our hectic lives on land. In fact, I think the best thing about sailing is remembering long voyages, not making them,” Jamie jokes.

But he is keen to preserve Wharram’s legacy and the couple are thinking ahead to when Hanneke can no longer hold the fort. “As long as Hanneke is alive, the business will be run in her own way. But it’s certain that something will be put in place to enable people to continue to acquire the building plans, at the very least, this service will remain guaranteed.”

Back in the office next door, Nicki John answers clients and sends plans around the world. She’s only been with JWD for a couple of years, but that’s long enough for her to fall in love with the company’s story.

“One of the things I loved about James was that he came in every day. He’d knock on the door and jokingly ask, ‘Do you have time for some gossip?’ And then he’d tell me all sorts of stories. His travels, the women he had shared his life with, it was fascinating. When he was 18, he hitchhiked to Europe, smuggling coffee on the black market to finance his adventures. James’ story is just phenomenal.

Mana 24 is available as a CNC-cut self-build kit boat. Photo: Julien Girardot

“One day James came in, took out a plan, unfolded it as he sat down, and said, ‘Aren’t they beautiful?’ James was deeply convinced of Hanneke’s talent. He never stopped admiring her,” Nicki says fondly.

The community Wharram fosters is unique. Nicki shows us a photo that defines the ‘Wharram spirit’, of the hull of a Wharram being lifted out of the second floor window of a home in England. With no shed to build their Wharram design, they decided to use their living room as a boatyard. “This picture shows that if you really want to build a Wharram, you can do it anywhere,” says Nicki, “During Covid, we sold a lot more plans. Confined, people dreamed of freedom and took time to figure out how they wanted to live their lives.”

Now it’s Hanneke’s turn to shine as the head of JWD. In contrast to the technologically-led path that sailing often follows, James and Hanneke’s ‘low tech’ approach drives those who follow it to reconnect with past knowledge, practices, and philosophical approaches to our relationship with the world and the way we live in it.

Their love of minimalism is also at odds with many trends in modern yachting, but it brings its own luxury. The joy of not having too much of anything allows you to make room for the essentials, and for the beauty that surrounds you.

My dream of building Wharram’s unfulfilled plan, the Islander 39, remains. I’m in no hurry. Like the libertarian vision of James Wharram, it endures.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams. Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder
• Word of the Day
• Synonym of the Day
• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Grammar Coach ™
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials
• Commonly confused
• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips

Advertisement

noun as in vessel

Strongest matches

Strong match

Discover More

Related words.

Words related to catamaran are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word catamaran . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in vehicle for water travel

noun as in opposing views

• bone to pick
• contrariety
• contretemps
• controversy
• disagreement
• discordance
• estrangement

noun as in boat

noun as in a boat propelled with wind by sailcloth

• gaff-rigged sailboat
• wooden boat

Example Sentences

It involved a private island tour, catamaran cruise, visiting Rihanna’s childhood home and more.

We were about to sail back to Puerto Vallarta, but the catamaran barely moved.

I think the crew just didn’t know how to maneuver the catamaran very well, the sea was not very rough nor was it too windy.

I can paddle my catamaran against both wind and tide; why cannot you do the same?

They never tired, I think, of seeing me handle my giant “catamaran” and the (to them) mysterious harpoon.

We also started building a catamaran, with which to navigate the river when the floods had subsided.

She had easily forced a way for the catamaran through the branches, and once past, had drawn them together again.

Yamba cried out to me to lie flat on the catamaran, and hold on as tightly as I could until we reached smooth water again.

Synonym of the day

Start each day with the Synonym of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

On this page you'll find 7 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to catamaran, such as: raft, sailboat, and float.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

• Words with Friends Cheat
• Wordle Solver
• Word Unscrambler
• Scrabble Dictionary
• Anagram Solver
• Wordscapes Answers

Make Our Dictionary Yours

Sign up for our weekly newsletters and get:

• Grammar and writing tips
• Fun language articles
• #WordOfTheDay and quizzes

By signing in, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy .

We'll see you in your inbox soon.

Catamaran Sentence Examples

The catamaran and the reed boat were known to the Peruvians.

It is a large catamaran , which holds over 200 passengers.

Outrigger Catamaran offers a spectacular sunset cruise that sails along picturesque Waikiki Beach and includes awe-inspiring views of Diamond Head and other local landmarks.

The motor catamaran will then be loaded onto a container ship for the ride to Canada.

The high speed passenger catamaran service to Southampton is centrally located at Fountain Key, where you will also find the Tourist Information Center.

Have you ever wanted to experience the thrill of sailing a catamaran ?

It was informative and has peaked my interest since I'm currently in the process of building a cruising catamaran .

You'll also board a catamaran to get even closer for a different view of the glacier.

Little diamond began twin-hulled catamaran compared an excellent steward.

You can also visit the Outer Reef by high-speed catamaran or helicopter.

The ferry back was a modern luxury fast catamaran , with really, really nice toilets.

The big glaciers had produced vast u-shaped valleys which had formed the lake our comfortable catamaran was on.

The catamaran consists of two fiberglass hulls each side with soft material floor between.

You can charter any type of boat from the many companies located here, including monohull or catamaran sailboats as well as powerboats.

Tamils have a long association with the British and words incorporated into English include pariah and catamaran .

Would be right best fares start bread freshly picked during Mediterranean catamaran sailing cruises the busiest.

The choices range from vessels as small as a catamaran all the way up through the 54' Tahoe Star luxury yacht operated by Harrah's.

Check out the Blue and Gold Fleet, which docks at Pier 41, or pay a visit to Adventure Cat, a 55-foot catamaran that hangs out near Pier 39.

Venice - A full day trip by high speed catamaran across the Gulf of Venice, allowing you to discover this truly unique city.

The Calypso Catamaran Cruise operates a 71-foot Catamaran Manta Raya, which has features such as an underwater viewing-window that are designed specifically to cater to cruise vacationers.

The sunny locale offers a variety of water sports, jungle tours, catamaran rides, and cliff diving opportunities.

The cruises take place on the 70-foot double-deck catamaran dubbed the "Spirit of Kona," which features two underwater viewing ports where you can watch dolphins, turtles and a variety of tropical fish in their natural habitat.

Browse other sentences examples

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Also Mentioned In

Words near catamaran in the dictionary.

• catalytic cracking
• catamorphic
• catamorphism

• AROUND THE SAILING WORLD
• BOAT OF THE YEAR
• Email Newsletters
• Best Marine Electronics & Technology
• America’s Cup
• St. Petersburg
• Caribbean Championship
• Boating Safety

2024 Boat of the Year: HH44

• By Dave Reed
• December 18, 2023

On a cool late-October morning in Annapolis, Maryland, Sailing World ’s Boat of the Year judges stepped on board the gleaming red HH44 built by the Hudson Yacht Group in China. With them for the test sail was HH Catamarans president Seth Hynes and commissioning skipper Chris Bailet, who had tuned the rig and bent on the boat’s Dacron delivery sails. (The race sails were delayed in shipping.) It was their first time sailing the boat too, and like the judges, they were eager to see what it could do.

As the crew slipped dock lines and motored away in silence, the boat’s twin 10-kilowatt electric engines propelled the sleek catamaran through the mooring field in silence. If not for the sound of water gurgling from the transoms and the apparent wind blowing across the foredeck, the judges could barely tell they were underway.

The mainsail was then carefully hoisted inside the lazy jacks, and the halyard held firm with an innovative Karver KJ cone (a conical rope-holding device that acts like a restricter). They bore away and unfurled the non-overlapping jib, which snapped full, and the boat immediately accelerated. 

“Once we got going, it was 5, 6, 7 knots and then—boom—we’re right up to 10,” Stewart says. And with that they were laying tracks all over the Chesapeake Bay, making good pace on all points of sail, even without a reaching sail to deploy. (That too was stuck in transit.)

After two hours of straight-­lining, tacking, jibing, and enjoying the comforts of the interior in a 10- to 15-knot southerly and sharp Chesapeake chop, I extracted the judges from the boat and asked, “So?”

“Boat of the Year,” was veteran Boat of the Year judge Chuck Allen’s immediate response. “That thing is wicked.”

Greg Stewart and Mike Ingham confirmed with nods of approval and big grins. There was no need to debate any further: The HH44 had earned the first award of what will be more to come. This $2 million crossover catamaran is the performance sailor’s retirement race boat. [Editor’s note: The judges’ estimated price was based on an expected racing inventory and associated hardware, but according to HH Catamarans, the new 2024 pricing is as follows: The HH44-OC will start at $995K and is approximately $1.3m fully optioned with EcoDrive and sails). The HH44-SC will start at $1.45m and be approximately $1.6 million fully optioned with EcoDrive and sails.]

With a stated 37 of these 44-footers on order as of late October and a waiting list of three-plus years, HH44s will someday be scattered about in cruising grounds around the world, says Hynes. But it’s only a matter of time—and it will be sooner than later—before owners gather and give the racing thing a go.  

The HH44 is the smallest of the builder’s new lineage of hybrid-powered performance catamarans (there is a 52-footer in the works), so it is positioned as an entry point into big-cat sailing. This model does not require a professional captain or crew because simplicity and owner-operator considerations are prevalent throughout the boat, which is designed by young naval architect James Hakes, son of Paul Hakes, one of the company founders. Chinese entrepreneur Hudson Wang is the other “H” of HH Catamarans.

“It had a great groove upwind. The self-tacking jib was really easy to deal with, and for the mainsail it was just a few feet of ease on the mainsheet, adjust the powered traveler up to center, trim on and go.”

“James brought the hybrid idea with him, and Hudson was willing to take a risk and look at doing something kind of game-changing in the industry with our parallel-­hybrid approach,” Hynes says. Morrelli & Melvin was intimately involved in every performance aspect of the boat, from the appendages to the final hull profile.

“It’s a diesel engine with a shaft drive, and then independent of that is an electric motor with a belt to the shaft, so they’re really independent of each other,” Hynes explains.  

HH isn’t the first or only builder to use the system from Hybrid Marine, but Hake’s approach to the boat overall is inextricably linked to maximizing solar coverage, which means a clean roof and placing the helm stations down in the cockpit. To address the known challenges of cockpit steering in such catamarans, the steering wheels pivot inboard and outboard to allow for better forward visibility and communication with anyone on the foredeck dealing with sails, anchors or dock lines.

Placing the steering stations in the cockpit eliminates the tiered wedding-cake look of most big catamarans these days. More importantly, doing so allows them to lower the sail plan. “That allows for more sail area and less stress on the standing rigging,” Stewart says. “Plus, it looks so much better.”

There are 4,432 watts worth of solar panels piled onto the coach roof, which Hynes says has plenty of juice to get by off the grid, even in low-light conditions. “At full battery capacity, you can run the boat at full throttle using the two 10-kilowatt electric motors and get 7 knots of boatspeed for approximately two hours,” he says. “In light air, you can even keep your leeward electric motor running to build yourself some apparent wind. That’s what’s great about this system: You can sail quietly when no one else can sail at all.”

The port helm station is where a lot of the boathandling happens; there are powered halyard winches and a meticulous array of labeled jammers. Tails disappear into a deep trough forward of the pedestal. The wheels are sized just right, Stewart says. “Initially, I was steering from the weather wheel and I could see fine, and when I went to the leeward wheel, I could easily see the telltales. It had a great feel to the helm—light and responsive with no slop or tightness.”

In Allen’s sailing assessment of the HH44: “It had a great groove upwind. The self-tacking jib was really easy to deal with, and for the mainsail it was just a few feet of ease on the mainsheet, adjust the powered traveler up to center, trim on and go. There is some choreography to learn with the steering wheel, though. You have to move the wheel inboard to get better access to the sail and daggerboard controls during the tack. But once you’re done, you pop the wheel right back out to the outboard position. We didn’t have a screecher to really light it up downwind, but even with the Dacron jib and main, the boat took off. I was really impressed.”

One wish for Stewart would be a sliver of a coach roof window for quick sail-trim checks, but he understood the priority of using every inch of solar-panel coverage.

Not having a sail-trim window wasn’t an issue for Ingham, however. “Most of the time, you’ll trim it to your best guess, take a step outboard and up the stairs right next to the wheel, and check yourself on the trim. It’s all push buttons anyway, so you’re not having to reload a winch or anything like that every time you make an adjustment.”

Even as the morning’s fresh breeze abated, the boat continued to perform beyond expectations, Stewart says. “As we got down to 5 knots of wind, the boat was still quick through the tacks. We didn’t have to back the jib at all, and it sailed at good angles upwind. I was impressed with how well it tacked, and how well it tracked with only one daggerboard down.”

Stewart, a naval architect himself, also appreciated the boat’s modern styling and “sexy-looking profile,” especially the uncluttered interior. “It’s a nice departure from other similar-­size catamarans,” he says. “I like the styling—it caught my eye the very first time I saw the rendering. The transom angle and the reverse bow give it nice aesthetics and the buoyancy you need. The curved boards worked well and are integrated nicely on with the boat. Overall, it’s a great-looking package, and it would be a lot of fun to do some races on.”

“We will definitely end up racing in the Caribbean and doing some fun events for owners,” Bailet says. “The cool thing about this boat is you can take a smaller crew of friends and race competitively, and it isn’t going to cost you $50,000 in paid crew and housing. You can race this boat with three or four people, no problem. Doublehandling is pretty easy too, but if you really wanted to go banging around the buoys, with this boat it would be easy.”

• More: 2024 Boat of the Year , HH Catamarans , Print January 2024 , Sailboats
• More Sailboats

Nautor Swan Has A New Pocket Rocket

Pogo Launches its Latest Coastal Rocket

A Deeper Dive Into the Storm 18

2024 Boat of the Year Best Recreational Racer: Z24

The Wisdom of Augie Diaz

Brauer Sails into Hearts, Minds and History

Anticipation and Temptation

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Credit card rates
• Balance transfer credit cards
• Business credit cards
• Cash back credit cards
• Rewards credit cards
• Travel credit cards
• Checking accounts
• Online checking accounts
• High-yield savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Car insurance
• Home buying
• Options pit
• Investment ideas
• Research reports
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

8 Fascinating Facts About ‘Wayfinder,’ a 224-Foot Catamaran With a Helipad That Doubles as a Pickleball Court

The aptly named Wayfinder —referring to a navigational tool—is a 224-foot aluminum multihull and only the second purpose-built catamaran support vessel in the world. (The first is its sistership Hodor .) Built in 2021 by Astilleros Armon, the vessel is the Spanish yard’s largest delivery to date.

The word on the street, or at least in the yachting community, is that the hardy-looking vessel was commissioned by Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. Oliver Design, the Spanish studio that penned and outfitted the yacht’s interior, confirmed the unconfirmed owner is “one of the world’s wealthiest individuals.” The 10,800-square-foot interior includes crew and guest cabins, offices, a galley, a mess area, lounges and, like many support vessels these days, an infirmary.

With industrial exterior design and naval architecture by the Australian-based big-cat specialist Incat Crowther, Wayfinder pivots between a transatlantic charter yacht to a dedicated support vessel. Available for charter through Edmiston, its 2024 itinerary includes the Mediterranean, Baltic, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf for summer before heading to the Caribbean for winter.

Power is provided by a pair of MTU 16V engines that drive two Servogear controllable-pitch propellers to deliver a maximum speed of 21 knots. An impressive range of 5,500 nautical miles at 14 knots gives it the ability to do very long, oceangoing voyages.

Here are eight fascinating facts about one of the world’s most capable catamarans.

Best of Robb Report

The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast

The World’s Best Superyacht Shipyards

The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht

Recommended Stories

The return of baseball, opening day recaps, starter draft update.

Jake Mintz & Jordan Shusterman celebrate the return of baseball by giving recaps to all the exciting Opening Day games in the league and some things you might've missed.

X confirms plans for NSFW Communities

A day after researchers surfaced X's plans to test NSFW adult communities on the platform formerly known as Twitter, the company confirmed that Community admins can now set an "Adult Content" label in their settings to avoid having their communities' content auto-filtered. Communities are X's smaller groups with their own feeds outside of the main timeline. The changes appear to confirm the earlier tests of NSFW communities spotted by various researchers and reverse engineers, and point to a social network that will now more directly embrace the adult content that has always been present on the platform.

Junkyard Gem: 2012 Fiat 500

A 2012 Fiat 500 in a Colorado wrecking yard.

New inflation reading 'along the lines of what we want to see': Fed's Powell

Federal Chair Jerome Powell said that a new inflation report released Friday is 'along the lines of what we want to see,' sticking to an assertion that inflation is still on a 'bumpy path' down to 2%.

The first VW Golf was built exactly 50 years ago today

Volkswagen built the first example of the original Golf on March 29, 1974, and the company has made about 37 million units of the Golf since.

Down payment assistance: How it works and how to qualify

Down payment assistance helps first-time buyers afford a home. Learn how to get a grant, forgivable loan, or low-interest loan for your down payment.

Pitch Deck Teardown: Plantee Innovations' $1.4M seed deck

It's rare that I come across a pitch deck that ticks almost all the boxes. It's so good, in fact, that I fed Plantee's deck into an AI tool I built, and it determined there was a 97.7% chance that Plantee would raise money. This tool generally determines that only about 7.5% of all pitch decks are up to scratch, so Plantee's is positively off the charts.

This No. 1 bestselling electric toothbrush loved by 83,000+ Amazon shoppers is down to just $30

The AquaSonic is just as effective as pricier brands, happy users say — plus, it comes with two years worth of brush heads.

76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr., Nick Nurse each fined $50K by NBA for confronting officials after game

Officials admitted to blowing the call in the postgame pool report.

NCAA tournament games, scores, updates: Follow Friday's Sweet 16 action live

The Sweet 16 began Thursday and the first day of action did not disappoint. Will we get more upsets Friday?

• Motorcycles
• Car of the Month
• Destinations
• Men’s Fashion
• Watch Collector
• Art & Collectibles
• Vacation Homes
• Celebrity Homes
• New Construction
• Home Design
• Electronics
• Fine Dining
• Baja Bay Club
• Costa Palmas
• Fairmont Doha
• Four Seasons Private Residences Dominican Republic at Tropicalia
• Reynolds Lake Oconee
• Scott Dunn Travel
• Wilson Audio
• 672 Wine Club
• Sports & Leisure
• Health & Wellness
• Best of the Best
• The Ultimate Gift Guide
• This New 131-Foot Catamaran Comes With See-Through Hulls

Tecnomar has followed up one polarizing multihull with another.

Rachel cormack.

Digital Editor

Rachel Cormack's Most Recent Stories

• This New 131-Foot All-Aluminum Superyacht Lets You Take a Dip at Tip and Tail
• This 92-Foot Yacht Has a Deck Big Enough for Your Chopper
• Share This Article

Tecnomar just unveiled the spiritual successor to the feather-ruffling 143-foot catamaran This Is It .

Related Stories

• This New 131-Foot Aluminum Catamaran Concept Can Take on a Transoceanic Expedition
• This New 89-Foot Custom Catamaran Has Its Own Nap Station on the Flybridge
• Rafael Nadal's Favorite Catamaran Builder Is Opening a New Yard in the UAE

Another highlight of Cat 133 is the stern: Two hulls, two internal wings, and two foldable side doors come together to create a swimming platform that is about 52 feet wide when fully opened. This Is It , on the other hand, has more of an enclosed aft deck and two fixed swim platforms.

The interior details of Cat 133 have not yet been shared, but the vessel will be able to accommodate up to 10 guests and 11 crew. This Is It sleeps a total of 12 guests and 12 crew in a bright asymmetric interior with skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows aplenty. As for amenities, This Is It features an indoor cinema, a curved cocktail bar, a spa, a playroom, and a two-level vertical garden. Hopefully, Cat 133 is also blessed with some of those glitzy features. (The renders show it has a small infinity pool on the aft of the upper deck, at least.)

Regarding power, the newcomer is equipped with twin MAN V-12 engines and two 50 kW electric bow thrusters that enable a maximum speed of 17 knots and a cruising speed of 15 knots. This Is It is a hair quicker, with the ability to hit 21.5 knots at full tilt or cruise at 20 knots.

Something Cat 133 has that This Is It does not is the ability to generate clean, green power: Roughly 750 square feet of solar panels are integrated into the cat’s superstructure arches and hardtop. Cat 133 is certainly smaller than This Is It , but it may be more sustainable.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

Read More On:

• The Italian Sea Group

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Alum Henry Golding Is Joining ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Season 2

Everything We Know About ‘The Bear’ Season 3′ So Far

Meet 7 Designers Moving Fashion, Interiors, and Architecture Forward

Hermès Is Being Sued by Two Shoppers Who Couldn’t Buy a Birkin Bag

Culinary Masters 2024

MAY 17 - 19 Join us for extraordinary meals from the nation’s brightest culinary minds.

Give the Gift of Luxury

Latest Galleries in News

The History of Luxury in 50 Objects, From Cleopatra’s Barge to Louis Vuitton Trunks

The 25 Best Robb Report Stories of the Year, According to Our Editors

More from our brands, boardriders laying off hundreds of southern california employees in second staff reduction, amazon prime joins fight game with premier boxing champions ppv, bad robot’s mysterious anne hathaway, ewan mcgregor film for warner bros. gets title, release date, takashi murakami’s kyoto survey shows the multiple dimensions of japan’s superflat superstar, the best exercise mats for working out, according to fitness experts.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Subscriber-only Newsletter

Frank Bruni

The overlooked truths about biden’s age.

By Frank Bruni

Mr. Bruni is a contributing Opinion writer who was on the staff of The Times for more than 25 years.

In terms of optics and in terms of energy, I wish President Biden were younger. There’s no point in pretending otherwise. And from the casual conversations all around me and the formal polling of voters, I know I’m in robust company. A great many Americans consider his age unideal, and that belief is why there’s no wishing away the focus on it. The swell of attention to it over the past few months is more beginning than end. There are tsunamis yet to come.

Even so, aspects of the subject actually get too little consideration, starting with this crushingly obvious and yet frequently overlooked fact: The presidency isn’t a solo mission. Not even close. It’s a team effort, and the administration that a president puts together matters much, much more than his brawn or his brio.

To listen to the fretting over how many hours a day Biden can vigorously work, how many speeches he can authoritatively deliver and how many miles he can comfortably travel is to get the sense that he’s independently on the hook for the nation’s welfare. That he’s more action figure than decision maker. That, um, he alone can fix it. That he shoulders all the responsibility.

But he’s not Atlas; he’s POTUS. And the president of the United States is only as good as the advisers around him, whose selection reflects presidential judgment, not stamina.

We acknowledge as much when we discuss how a president might fill or has filled his cabinet. We recognize that many vital decisions are made — and that most important policies are realized — outside of the Oval Office.

But that recognition weirdly dissipates when we start tallying Biden’s birthdays. We attach as much weight to digits as to discernment, or we imply that the former wipes out the latter. Yes, age can erode judgment — if a person’s cognitive health is in marked and clear decline. But Biden’s situation is more cloudy than clear, and nothing about it suggests to me that he’d treat governing as cavalierly as Donald Trump would (and did) or assemble a team as ragtag as Trump’s — or, for that matter, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s.

He wouldn’t elevate a conspiracy theorist like the quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was on a short list of potential running mates for Kennedy before, on Tuesday, Kennedy chose Nicole Shanahan , a philanthropist (and vaccine skeptic) with zero experience in public office. He wouldn’t invite anyone as unhinged and reprehensible as Rudy Giuliani, who led Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, into his inner circle.

Yes, Trump is about three and a half years younger and often peppier than Biden. Biden is about 300 times saner and always more principled than Trump. That’s the infinitely more important contrast between the two men, and we should never, not for a nanosecond, sweep it aside.

We should also call nonsense on many of the people who signal or say that Biden’s age is propelling them toward Trump. Obviously, that’s a dynamic for some of them, but it can’t be all that common because it defies common sense. Voters who’d be content to back a version of Biden with more spring in his step and less stammer in his voice have values, priorities and policy leanings that would probably render Trump an unconscionable choice. They’re not going to throw in with Trump because he throws himself around more forcefully.

Really, how many people say to themselves: Heck, Biden may be the guy with a proper respect for democracy, won’t blow air kisses at murderous tyrants and doesn’t sound like a fascist, but that Trump sure can shout louder, talk faster and clomp around more thuddingly! He’ll bring the vim to trashing democracy that Biden can’t muster for preserving it. I guess I’ll go with Trump!

No, many of these Trump supporters like what he’s selling — maybe the lower taxes for corporations and wealthy Americans, maybe the promised crackdown on immigration, maybe the nihilism, maybe just the vitriol — and have found a way to defend a vote for him (Biden’s decrepit!) without fully owning up to it.

In an age of rampant falsity, let’s be honest about that.

For the Love of Sentences

“At first spray, it smells like a stick of Land O’ Lakes marooned on a beach at low tide,” Molly Young wrote in The Times about a challenging fragrance called Miss Tranchant. “Over 10 minutes it mellows into a mesmerizing cloak of spicy vanilla with just a hint of sex-under-a-pier. I’ve received zero compliments on it and two pieces of forceful negative feedback. Miss Tranchant is perfume as not only a personal aesthetic experience but also apparently an indefensible one.” (Thanks to Beth Mauldin of Yarmouth Port, Mass., and Lizanne Wilson of Chicago, among others, for nominating this.)

Also in The Times, Esau McCaulley described his experience as a Black associate professor at a school whose faculty isn’t especially diverse: “I am faced with the daily reality of my strangeness, like being a peacock in a flock of wild turkeys. The peacock is interesting and adds some color, but the fact that it is not native to the area is clear to all.” (Suzanne Starr, Vancouver, B.C.)

Carina del Valle Schorske approached a mysterious island destination in the Caribbean by boat. “I had taken off my glasses, foggy from the spray, so at first I wasn’t sure if the smudge of cream in the corner of my eye was just a trick of light,” she wrote. But then, bit by bit, “the island’s shape sharpened: a thin slice of stone floating like a cataract on the dark iris of the sea.” (Patrick McGovren, Kalamazoo, Mich., and Ted Trotta, Santa Fe, N.M., among others)

Tina Brown assessed King Charles: “Even with the best prognosis for his cancer, he has been left with a rueful rump of a reign.” (Ann Madonia Casey, Fairview, Texas)

Jesse Green reviewed a new Broadway production: “Romantic musicals are as personal as romance itself. What makes you sigh and weep may leave the person next to you bored and stony. At ‘The Notebook,’ I was the person next to you.” (Christopher Flores, San Antonio)

And Bret Stephens, conversing with Gail Collins, skewered the social media site affiliated with Donald Trump: “I take it you’re referring to Truth Social, which in an honest world would be renamed Lies Sociopathic.” (Ross Payne, Windermere, Fla.)

In Vox, Ian Millhiser questioned the logic of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a public Texas university’s ban on drag performances: “The idea that lewd, sexualized or otherwise titillating performances undermine a university’s ‘basic educational mission’ will come as a shock to pretty much anyone who has ever attended college.” (David Hoexter, Washington)

In her Men Yell at Me newsletter, Lyz Lenz added context to Boeing’s miserable safety record of late: “All of this is made even more terrifying by the fact that there are basically only two companies that make airplanes — Boeing and Airbus. We call it a duopoly. Which is basically a monopoly that cosplays as a free market.” (Alan Stamm, Birmingham, Mich.)

In The Dispatch, Jonah Goldberg asserted that many media figures have sacrificed their credibility on the altar of overwrought characterizations of Trump’s words: “They want to talk about blood baths, and everyone else tunes it out as bloodless bathos.” (Peter Coy, Demarest, N.J.)

And in The Atlantic, Adam Serwer made an important distinction : “Fairness, objectivity and due process are important values, but there is a difference between upholding them and seeking to convince everyone that that’s what you’re doing. Performatively pursuing the latter can easily come at the expense of the former. If you try too hard to convince people you are doing the right thing instead of just doing the right thing, you often end up doing the wrong thing.” (David Tebaldi, Worthington, Mass.)

To nominate favorite bits of recent writing from The Times or other publications to be mentioned in “For the Love of Sentences,” please email me here and include your name and place of residence.

What I’m Watching, Reading and Doing

I’m big on British police dramas, and I previously recommended “Happy Valley,” whose first two seasons are excellent, and “DCI Banks,” which isn’t at that level but satisfied me nonetheless. “ Line of Duty ,” which I’m very late to, falls somewhere between those two. (You’re probably way ahead of me on this one, but if not, it’s available on BritBox, Amazon Prime and Peacock, among other streaming services.) “Line of Duty” was created by Jed Mercurio, who also brought us “Bodyguard,” and I loved and devoured its fleet five-episode first season. I found its six-episode second season slightly tortured but still intriguing enough to propel me onward, and it showcased an extraordinary performance by Keeley Hawes (who also stars in “Bodyguard”) as a detective accused of a hideous conspiracy. Four more seasons to go! I’ll take my time, lest I finish too soon.

The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has a knack for explaining human behavior and motivation with accessible language and apt metaphors, in a manner as earnest as it is erudite. He’s also boundlessly wise. Those qualities turned his books “The Righteous Mind” and “The Coddling of the American Mind” (the latter co-written with Greg Lukianoff) into hugely influential best sellers and are on vivid display in “ The Anxious Generation ,” which was published on Tuesday. It examines how smartphones, social media and other facets of our wired world have seriously compromised our powers of concentration, our peace of mind, our resourcefulness and more. Children, he notes, are at particular risk and are especially affected but needn’t be, not if we implement some sensible reforms. “The Anxious Generation” is important and engrossing. For more about Haidt and the book, check out Emma Goldberg’s recent profile of him in The Times.

Around the April 30 publication of my own new book, “ The Age of Grievance ,” which looks at the rancor and recriminations that dominate our political and cultural conversations, I’ll be doing a bunch of public events; you can find the evolving schedule of them here . Two of the earliest ones are a conversation with Eboo Patel at the Chicago History Museum on April 27 (details here ) and a conversation with Katie Couric at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in Manhattan on May 1 (details here ).

On a Personal Note

It was as if a toddler had tumbled overboard.

Several of us gasped or cried out as the wind carried the object away. We frantically searched the sea’s surface for some sign of it. And when, about two minutes later, we spotted it near the shoreline some 50 feet away, the captain of our catamaran dove into the water, swam as quickly as he could and brought it safely back to the boat.

Catastrophe averted! We had saved paradise from an empty can of beer.

That was about three weeks ago, during a trip to New Zealand, where my three siblings, their spouses and I encountered more than some of the most dazzling seascapes and landscapes we had ever seen. We also observed a respect for nature and stewardship of the environment that put the behavior of so many of us Americans to shame.

Graced with mountain lakes and coastal fjords and lush forests and birds galore, New Zealanders seem to possess a special appreciation of both the majesty and the fragility of what they have. I say “seem” because I visited this island nation only briefly, I’m going by first impressions and I’m surely generalizing.

But to connect with the natural world the way you do when moving across a patch of earth as crazily beautiful as New Zealand is to understand, in a deep and spiritual way, the moral necessity of preserving it, the sacrilege of spoiling it and how much control we have — if only we choose to exert it, if only we temper our hungers and our heedlessness.

In New Zealand, I routinely witnessed or heard about such exertions and such tempering. They were as humdrum as a store’s banishment of plastic and as ambitious as the government’s relocation of an entire species of native bird endangered by the corruption of its original habitat.

When we kayaked in Doubtful Sound, we crossed paths with no other kayakers and only a few boats: The government strictly limits activity there. Almost everywhere we hiked, we came across meticulously distributed, laboriously maintained traps for rodents and weasels that weren’t indigenous to New Zealand and, left unchecked, might wipe out yet more species of birds. We also saw hundreds of clusters of strategically planted saplings, their spindly trunks skirted with protective cylinders. Where deforestation had once occurred, reforestation was now taking place.

What an impressive campaign. And what a powerful inspiration. When you behold this kind of commitment, you internalize it, and as you do, you realize that an accretion of decisions and actions — some communal, some individual, some major, some minor — points the way toward our ecological salvation or ruin.

Had the catamaran captain not chased down that beer can, I might well have. I want the same New Zealand that took my breath away to leave people breathless for generations to come. I want to answer the gift of it with the gratitude it deserves.

Frank Bruni is a professor of journalism and public policy at Duke University, the author of the book "The Age of Grievance" and a contributing Opinion writer. He writes a weekly email newsletter .   Instagram   • Threads •  @ FrankBruni • Facebook

AUSTAL VIETNAM AWARDED CONTRACT FOR 71 METRE RORO PASSENGER-CARGO VESSEL

- March 29, 2024 —

Austal Limited (Austal) (ASX: ASB) is pleased to announce Austal Vietnam has been awarded a contract to design and construct a 71-metre roll-on-roll-off (RORO) passenger cargo vessel for The Degage Group of French Polynesia.

The new steel monohull ferry design includes an aluminium superstructure accommodating up to 140 seated passengers and 17 crew, and features a main cargo deck area of 494 sqm; capable of transporting a combination of 10’ and 20’ containers, palletised cargo and vehicles.

The exact purchase price for the vessel cannot be disclosed for commercial reasons however is in the range of AUD$30 - $40 million.

Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the new contract represents the fifth ferry to be designed and constructed by Austal for The Degage Group, and the first steel hull ship to be constructed by Austal Vietnam.

“This contract is a testament to the successful business partnership developed between Austal and The Degage Group over a number of decades; reflecting the Degage Group’s great satisfaction in the Austal ferries delivered to date and their tremendous confidence in our team’s capability to deliver this all-new, steel hull design,” Mr Gregg said.

“In less than five years, the world-class shipbuilding team at Austal Vietnam has delivered three major ferry projects, for operators around the world, and now they are ready to take on their first steel hull ship, for one of our most valued customers.

“Our sincere thanks and warmest congratulations to both The Degage Group, and the Austal Vietnam team on this exciting new shipbuilding project that adds yet another, innovative ferry platform to the Austal commercial portfolio.

Mr Eugene Degage, Owner and Managing Director of The Degage Group said “We are extremely satisfied with our collaboration with the Austal shipyard, which has successfully built vessels for our Degage Group fleet. This success is testament to the trust we place in their expertise and professionalism. Each vessel is a testament to their dedication to delivering superior products that combine innovation and performance. Their unwavering commitment and attention to detail ensures that these vessels meet the highest industry standards. This fruitful collaboration reinforces our conviction that Austal shipyard is a reliable and competent partner for large-scale marine projects. We look forward to continuing this relationship and exploring new opportunities together.”

With a cruising speed of 12 knots and a range of 1,000Nm, the new ship (to be named Dory 2, after her predecessor) is designed to operate essential, inter-island transport services efficiently and sustainably, between Papeete and the Palliser Islands in French Polynesia. Austal has previously designed and built six vessels for The Degage Group, comprising two 69 metre monohull cruise ships (Austal Hulls 172 and 173), a 56 metre vehicle passenger catamaran ferry (Austal Hull 266), an 80 metre vehicle passenger catamaran ferry (Austal Hull 201), a 49 metre vehicle passenger ferry (Hull 421) and most recently, the 66 metre high-speed catamaran ‘Apetahi Express’, delivered in June 2023.

This ASX announcement has been approved and authorised for release by Paddy Gregg, Austal Limited’s Chief Executive Officer. 

‘Dory 2’ is a 71 metre RORO passenger cargo ferry to be constructed by Austal Vietnam for The Degage Group of French Polynesia (Image: Austal Australia)

 FURTHER INFORMATION

Contact: Austal Phone: 61 8 9410 1111 Fax: 61 8 9410 2564 Email: [email protected]

Release ID: 89125738

In case of detection of errors, concerns, or irregularities in the content provided in this press release, or if there is a need for a press release takedown, we strongly encourage you to reach out promptly by contacting [email protected]. Our efficient team will be at your disposal for immediate assistance within 8 hours – resolving identified issues diligently or guiding you through the removal process. We take great pride in delivering reliable and precise information to our valued readers.