Hey Guys, I was recently testsailing the Catana, too. Nice, smooth sailing, very easy to handle, perfect for cruising (fast), even with much payload. The "Bali" - impression is in my eyes caused by the furniture, they should offer some other colours or wood, too, and round the corners.
I hope you enjoyed the sail as much as we do! I believe that they will probably have choices available if they have not already. However, the main reason that they are being referred to as another "Bali", is that they have the same open concept and of course the Bali range is built in the same yard in Canet. The fact is, the Catana is a very different boat and could not be further apart in design, manufacture and performance from a production catamaran.
Very nice review! Could you kindly shre your opinion regarding ventilation in the hulls. Are the side windows enough on a hot day to get decent airflow throug the cabins? Thank you!
Thanks! The ventilation is adequate but not fantastic. We actually manufactured windscoops that is amazing and the breeze that comes through the cabin with the scoops work beautifully. See the video here th-cam.com/video/9fjRiitvEdI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=tp9KXCR5GaGx6DBt
What is the lead time to purchase the OC 50? From placing your order tio receiving the boat, how long does it typically take? Many of the high performance cat have a waiting list of 3 years.
Hi Ken! The Catana range is brand new. We own hull 1, so not long on the market yet. The next available hull is due out in about 1 year. However, we have a brand new fully loaded OC 50 for sale immediately. The owners had to abandoned their plans to sail for family reasons and have to sell.
"the ultimate performance cruising boat" not even close, and you blew all credibility with that one statement. Several other cats and even a couple of monohulls would better fit that niche, most of which are of course more expensive and feature exotic materials.
Most of the other performance cats in this space are specified as lighter than the OC50. We all know that quoted displacements often have a tenuous relationship to reality. I would love to see some real world actual displacements for the contenders in this niche. Displacement, waterline length and sail area are the key factors with the last one also subject to some "fudging".
Of course you are entitled to your opinion. We happen to love the boat and for us, it is the ultimate performance cruiser. The Catana OC 50 is built with a combination of Carbon and FBG. The bulkheads are all Carbon as are the areas where the chain plates are bolted on to the hull. Additionally the entire coach roof from deck level is carbon infused so as you go up the structure is lighter. Addditional options are carbon crossbeam, longeron and mast with composite rigging. If you do the Bruce number calculation based on Power to Weight you will see the Catana rates right up there. The boat sails at wind speed in the lower ranges and we have recorded 24Knots in stronger winds. It should be noted that the Catana OC 50 has the best weight carrying ability which makes it a good choice for a fast offshore cruiser. Just to clarify the weight issue - we actually weighed the boat in Sotogrande, Spain and it came in at the declared weight of 13,5T. As you know, many of the manufacturers do not declare exact weight or is at minimum misleading, so it's hard to compare apples to apples without proper data. If you are interested, we did a comparison here of a few of the cats catamaranguru.com/performance-catamaran-comparisons/
@@Catamaranguru hey nice to know real world weight numbers! I am not denying that the Catana is a performance boat, but it is a relatively cheap one and is not in my view the "ultimate" performance cat. It's probably the one I would choose. If the Catana has more payload is that not because the hills have more volume? In which case does that not compromise performance?
@@deerfootnz Nigel, quite honestly, I think Catana under price the boat, although the price has gone up since we bought ours. Regarding the weight carrying ability, the Catana has good bouyancy and the design calculations allow for the boat to perform to its lines. Remember Catana has been doing this for 30 years, long before any of the other Performance manufacturers entered the game. They are known for performance cruisers.
@@Catamaranguru and they have had problems like any other production builder: broken dagger boards are all too common, bulkhead and chainplate issues, leaks etc.
HI Colleen! We actually did not choose one over the other. Our Bali 5.4 is currently in crewed charter and we use it regularly. We love this boat for livability and comfort and she happens to perform very well as a cruising boat. While Zuri is very capable of doing a circumnavigation, we want to do the ARC Rally around the world next year at a relatively quick pace. The Catana can sail an easy 200+ miles / day and we also want to be able to sail at windspeed in light winds. We know that the Catana can do both and to top it off, it is a very comfortable live aboard boat compared to most performance sailing catamarans that have relatively small interior spaces and accommodations. The Catana really excel in that department. After the circumnavigation we will likely move back onto the Bali 5.4 when we drift around the Bahamas and Caribbean. LOL
Currently looking at this boat very seriously since I saw one parked next to us in Valencia this spring, your reviews are excellent! How was rope management? (This is something the outremer gets wrong, ropes everywhere 😂). I think the sports bridge set up is the best arrangement for line of sight night sailing and safety as not totally exposed. (I think seawind has got this wrong) On a personal side I would like to see a set of recliners as an option in that forward saloon 👴🏼 Your comment on wave slap is well noted - not many cats are as quiet as this one - how is the internal sound insulation? Sorry for the questions; keep up the great work - very appreciated.🎉
Thank you! I am happy this helped. The insulation seems to be great. There is also no creaking of furniture at all. The deck layout works for us, the lines are well positioned and there is a huge rope well / storage in the cockpit that contains the lines.
@@Catamaranguru many thanks for replying, one key thing that surprised me when I saw her was that she didn’t look massive - just fast, strong and very manageable for couples. We are looking. Forward to your later updates!
Yes she doesn’t look crazy big but the living space is phenomenal. Follow us on social media for more updates. Good luck on your journey. If you need help email us!
just had this though - replacing the most aft two seats with recliners ...... have the table fold away differently. much better for evening chillin @@Catamaranguru
Hey Guys, I was recently testsailing the Catana, too. Nice, smooth sailing, very easy to handle, perfect for cruising (fast), even with much payload. The "Bali" - impression is in my eyes caused by the furniture, they should offer some other colours or wood, too, and round the corners.
I hope you enjoyed the sail as much as we do! I believe that they will probably have choices available if they have not already. However, the main reason that they are being referred to as another "Bali", is that they have the same open concept and of course the Bali range is built in the same yard in Canet. The fact is, the Catana is a very different boat and could not be further apart in design, manufacture and performance from a production catamaran.
Very nice review! Could you kindly shre your opinion regarding ventilation in the hulls. Are the side windows enough on a hot day to get decent airflow throug the cabins? Thank you!
Thanks! The ventilation is adequate but not fantastic. We actually manufactured windscoops that is amazing and the breeze that comes through the cabin with the scoops work beautifully. See the video here th-cam.com/video/9fjRiitvEdI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=tp9KXCR5GaGx6DBt
What is the lead time to purchase the OC 50? From placing your order tio receiving the boat, how long does it typically take? Many of the high performance cat have a waiting list of 3 years.
Hi Ken! The Catana range is brand new. We own hull 1, so not long on the market yet. The next available hull is due out in about 1 year. However, we have a brand new fully loaded OC 50 for sale immediately. The owners had to abandoned their plans to sail for family reasons and have to sell.
"the ultimate performance cruising boat" not even close, and you blew all credibility with that one statement. Several other cats and even a couple of monohulls would better fit that niche, most of which are of course more expensive and feature exotic materials.
Most of the other performance cats in this space are specified as lighter than the OC50. We all know that quoted displacements often have a tenuous relationship to reality. I would love to see some real world actual displacements for the contenders in this niche. Displacement, waterline length and sail area are the key factors with the last one also subject to some "fudging".
Of course you are entitled to your opinion. We happen to love the boat and for us, it is the ultimate performance cruiser. The Catana OC 50 is built with a combination of Carbon and FBG. The bulkheads are all Carbon as are the areas where the chain plates are bolted on to the hull. Additionally the entire coach roof from deck level is carbon infused so as you go up the structure is lighter. Addditional options are carbon crossbeam, longeron and mast with composite rigging. If you do the Bruce number calculation based on Power to Weight you will see the Catana rates right up there. The boat sails at wind speed in the lower ranges and we have recorded 24Knots in stronger winds. It should be noted that the Catana OC 50 has the best weight carrying ability which makes it a good choice for a fast offshore cruiser. Just to clarify the weight issue - we actually weighed the boat in Sotogrande, Spain and it came in at the declared weight of 13,5T. As you know, many of the manufacturers do not declare exact weight or is at minimum misleading, so it's hard to compare apples to apples without proper data. If you are interested, we did a comparison here of a few of the cats catamaranguru.com/performance-catamaran-comparisons/
@@Catamaranguru hey nice to know real world weight numbers! I am not denying that the Catana is a performance boat, but it is a relatively cheap one and is not in my view the "ultimate" performance cat. It's probably the one I would choose. If the Catana has more payload is that not because the hills have more volume? In which case does that not compromise performance?
@@deerfootnz Nigel, quite honestly, I think Catana under price the boat, although the price has gone up since we bought ours. Regarding the weight carrying ability, the Catana has good bouyancy and the design calculations allow for the boat to perform to its lines. Remember Catana has been doing this for 30 years, long before any of the other Performance manufacturers entered the game. They are known for performance cruisers.
@@Catamaranguru and they have had problems like any other production builder: broken dagger boards are all too common, bulkhead and chainplate issues, leaks etc.
Looks like a lot of the solar is shaded at any one time
Yes at times it will shaded and we have to move the boom out of the way.
Why did you chose Catana OC over Bali 5.4 ?
HI Colleen! We actually did not choose one over the other. Our Bali 5.4 is currently in crewed charter and we use it regularly. We love this boat for livability and comfort and she happens to perform very well as a cruising boat. While Zuri is very capable of doing a circumnavigation, we want to do the ARC Rally around the world next year at a relatively quick pace. The Catana can sail an easy 200+ miles / day and we also want to be able to sail at windspeed in light winds. We know that the Catana can do both and to top it off, it is a very comfortable live aboard boat compared to most performance sailing catamarans that have relatively small interior spaces and accommodations. The Catana really excel in that department. After the circumnavigation we will likely move back onto the Bali 5.4 when we drift around the Bahamas and Caribbean. LOL
Thank you for answering! I was afraid it was because of the solid front deck...
Currently looking at this boat very seriously since I saw one parked next to us in Valencia this spring, your reviews are excellent! How was rope management? (This is something the outremer gets wrong, ropes everywhere 😂). I think the sports bridge set up is the best arrangement for line of sight night sailing and safety as not totally exposed. (I think seawind has got this wrong) On a personal side I would like to see a set of recliners as an option in that forward saloon 👴🏼
Your comment on wave slap is well noted - not many cats are as quiet as this one - how is the internal sound insulation?
Sorry for the questions; keep up the great work - very appreciated.🎉
Thank you! I am happy this helped. The insulation seems to be great. There is also no creaking of furniture at all. The deck layout works for us, the lines are well positioned and there is a huge rope well / storage in the cockpit that contains the lines.
@@Catamaranguru many thanks for replying, one key thing that surprised me when I saw her was that she didn’t look massive - just fast, strong and very manageable for couples. We are looking. Forward to your later updates!
Yes she doesn’t look crazy big but the living space is phenomenal. Follow us on social media for more updates. Good luck on your journey. If you need help email us!
just had this though - replacing the most aft two seats with recliners ...... have the table fold away differently. much better for evening chillin @@Catamaranguru
@@peaceranger7215 maybe yes but it is very functional and comfortable as is.