broadblue catamaran review

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Broadblue 38 Review and Owner Interview – “WorldTowning”

• Post author By Diane Selkirk
• Post date February 8, 2021
• No Comments on Broadblue 38 Review and Owner Interview – “WorldTowning”

We talked with Will and Jessica of WorldTowning who bought their Broadblue 38 Prestige called S/V Friendship via CatamaranSite.com’s for sale by owner listings . They bought her in France in September 2020 and are fairly new to cruising, but they already have some strong opinions about what life is like on their catamaran.

We moved from a 21 foot RV. This is a palace! Will and Jessica on life aboard a 38 foot sailboat as family of four.

They have great enthusiasm for travelling and share their adventures across their website, WorldTowning.com and number social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube. You can become a Patreon for special access to their adventures .

Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves and about your boat?

We have been traveling full-time since 2014, and we have now become newly indoctrinated into the cruising lifestyle. For the first six years,we were basically land bound renting out Airbnbs for a year at a time.

Eventually we migrated onto an RV which we did that for about two and a half years visiting every country in Europe and our Covid time was supposed to be our year in Asia bouncing around different countries one month at a time, but sort of every country closed.

We started out in Japan, and it ended up being five months in Japan. Since we realized we weren’t going to be able to do Asia and visit it the way we had intended that we would come back and live in France. We have long stay visas in France.

We thought we might buy a fixer-upper home and kind of remodel a home for a year until Covid was over because we didn’t think it was going to last long. Show our kids how to do that.

In the meantime this fabulous boat came across my Facebook feed and we bought a boat. Now it’s not kind of as crazy as it sounds. We had planned on buying a boat and being live aboard but maybe not for another year or two. Since Covid happened we thought what better time to learn something new when we’re isolated. We’re quite locked down in France. Why not learn you know how to sail a boat.

It was kind of a crazy move to take when things are uncertain, and we have a travel business so obviously everyone knows what the status of that is. It’s on a major pause, but we have to keep moving and learning and growing. We’re not really the type of family that can just kind of you know stop and sit at our computers all day ( although there is a lot of that with our work and we homeschool our kids ).

We thought we need a project so here we are. We are on a boat and have this project. We’ve been on it for five months now.

Can you tell us a little bit about the Broadblue 38 and how you found it and what made you choose it?

The Broadblues have a very long history but not necessarily as Broadblue but as Prouts.

The Prouts was a UK outfit in the 70s to 90s. Ours is a Broadblue 38, so Prout was renamed once it was purchased in around 2002 or 2003. Essentially the Prout 38 is the same thing as the Broadblue 38 which is what we’re sitting on right now ( Editor’s Note: We did an interview with the owner of Broadblue who gave additional clarification about the connection between Prout and Broadblue specifically talking about the 38 foot design. Please click on the link above for the transcript or video embed below with Mark Jarvis .)

It’s a fantastic boat. It’s a three cabin version, and I think they all were made in that that format. Some had the actual stand-up shower in the portside hull while other ones had like a storage unit in the portside hull adjacent to the to the master bathroom.

We like the fact that ours has a storage unit because that’s where we have our washing machine which came with the boat. We’re so happy to have that because Will is a former accountant, so there’s no way we would have been adding the luxury of a washing machine as opposed to kind of upgrading safety and tech. I’m quite grateful to have it.

S/V Friendship is the name of our boat, and she came to us with that name. We hadn’t done a lot of boat research before we bought her. Everyone knows about Lagoon, Leopard, and Fountaine Pajot. But those were all really way out of our budget, and everything that we had been looking at in our budget which was around $150,000 and under US dollars was really awful junk that just needed a ton of work and wasn’t really reliable.

When I say junk I don’t mean like needing repairs I mean they didn’t feel like quality boats that felt safe to us. They had been through hurricanes and were charters. Those are not the type of boats that we were looking at. We have two children, and we’re inexperienced sailors. We needed something that we felt comfortable and safe in.

That being said a friend of mine who lives in japan said, “We’re in the same budget range, and these are the boats that my husband really likes. We have been searching for 10 years.”

So the Prout was one. When we came back to France and decided we were going to buy a house and remodel it on Facebook came across this this Broadblue 38 ( Editor’s Note: If you list your catamaran for sale by owner with us , we do Facebook marketing.) which at the time I didn’t know was a Prout. I looked at it, and I thought, “Wow that’s really nice looking and from what I can read it looks like it’s a pretty great. It’s got a lot of good setups, and it’s in good condition.” I thought to myself, “maybe it’s so low because it’s not a good quality boat.”

So once Will and I started doing some research we found out that these boats have a great reputation. They’re really solid, tough, seaworthy boats and that’s kind of how she came to be ours.

We did a bit of research at that point. It was really hard to get information on her online because I kept searching Broadblue 38, but once I realized going through different Facebook groups that this was also known as the Prout 38 I was able to get more information where I was actually able to kind of discuss it and actually form an educated opinion.

Before that we were like, “What is this? There’s like two paragraphs online about it. How are we going to you know figure out if it’s any good.”

We’ve been doing this travel thing for a while, and you have to sometimes bank on the fact that sort of things are going to just work out for you when when sort of you take the plunge.

Jessica said “junk” because at the end of the day, we got really burned when we bought our first RV. So our first RV that we bought was truly a lemon which had to be returned within like four days of getting her. There was some sneaky workings of the owner that they covered up damage and stuff. So I’m much more skeptical now because it was a very traumatic situation.

If we hadn’t gotten the money back, that dream would have never happened so nevertheless we upgraded that point that wee did not buy junk the second time.

So now we make sure that we do our homework. We don’t buy junk.

Did you have any sailing background?

We did a RYA competent crew course in Malta about two years ago. We spent 10 days on a Bavaria 42, and it was a very interesting experience because the weather was not exactly in our favor. It was the worst storm Malta had in 30 years.

I have sea sickness issues, so that is one of the reasons we chose a catamaran because I knew that it would be really unpleasant for me and I’m pretty tough and whatnot but when sea sickness gets you it’s bad.

Most of the time you’re just incapacitated. You’re very little help, so I didn’t want that to be our experience. That’s how we kind of ended up going with the catamaran versus a monohull.

Have you had a chance to sail Friendship very much yet?

We’ve taken her out about seven times. We first got the boat when Covid lockdown version 2.0 occurred in France. With us having not yet completed our day skipper course, we weren’t able to sail her with our insurance covering us until we completed our certification. So we had to wait until the whole dust settled, and we were able to get our instructor to come visit us and do it live aboard.

He came to us for 10 days essentially. We sailed all the time, and then we’ve done two sails on our own since then.

That’s an interesting insurance requirement that you need.

So tell us about sailing what it been like for you and how is the boat working for you.

We’ve taken her out in point two meter waves and then all the way up to like almost like two meter swells. She handles the waves very well. She does not have the trampoline in the front, so there’s a bit of a slap when things get a little rough.

She averages about six knots, but we’ve got her up to eight knots. She sailed very comfortably.

The only issue is the slap. We knew this going into it from the research. We knew that would be an issue There’s certainly ways you can learn to sail to sort of minimize that a little bit but yeah and just don’t leave anything that’s going to get slapped across the table.

How is it with just your family sailing? Do you feel like you’ve got enough hands to do everything?

We did great with the instructor. This I always knew this was going to be a big learning curve for me as well as i have a little bit of fear and a lot of seasickness.

To be completely transparent parent, both of our sails that we went out alone I came back and cried after both of them. But I dusted myself off, and I said I’m going back out. If other people can do this, I can do it.

On our own, we did have some wind and some swells and so right out of the gate as soon as we exited marina we were all over the place. So we came back, and then we went out again a couple hours later, but it was still pretty wavy. It was more waves than we have ever experienced with our instructor.

I was very confident that the three other people: Will, our 16 year old daughter, and our 13 year old son were very capable in what they were doing. It was just my own personal fear that I kind of need to get a handle on.

I guess a lot of people that have larger catamarans would consider the cockpit and all the lines quite small, but it really works for our family. We all worked great in that space together. You can see really well out the front, and everything fits and works really well on here.

She’s been incredibly well maintained as well. We are actually in contact with the owner we bought it from and then the owner before that so we have a lot of history about her.

What kind of work have you done to her?

The areas that she was weak when purchased her were safety stuff.

The previous owners essentially had a coastal mindset as opposed to more of a long crossing in mind, and so there were certain items that we’re upgrading. We’re upgrading electronics. We’re upgrading solar. There was no life raft. So we’ve upgraded all that which makes us feel even more secure.

I feel like she’s a solid boat with our limited experience.

So what about comfort for your family. You’re a family of four on a 38 foot boat. Some people would consider 38 foot catamaran small especially with teenagers. How’s that working?

We moved from a 21 foot RV. This is a palace!

I am so glad that you asked that question because we’ve gotten a lot of questions on that. We have a YouTube channel . And the sailing community is fabulous wonderful loving kind supportive absolutely. Nothing bad to say at all, but people have asked us – people with obviously more experience – “why would you go on such a small catamaran for four people? That’s insane! You’re going to outgrow that.”

And I always have to respond well we came from 21 and a half feet in an RV. We were all sleeping in one room, This feels like a palace. We have two heads and everyone has their own cabin. I don’t want any more to clean. This feels perfect for us.

We can’t accommodate all the toys like scuba gear and so forth, but that’s fine. We have time for that later on in life. If we choose to upgrade. Right now this is the perfect boat for us at this moment.

I don’t want to put down any other boats, but I personally am not really attracted to the more modern boats because they feel very IKEA inside to me and I love the feel of this boat. It feels…I don’t want to say antique because that’s not really the right word but it’s really well made inside and nothing feels like it’s going to break like the table or the chair. It doesn’t feel like i’m going to ding something, and there’s going to be a big scratch out of it like that.

I’m glad we had done our research ahead of time to know that it was a good boat and made well.

Tell us a little bit about your to-do list now.

This is a bad time to ask that question. We don’t want will crying on you. We just finished watching some of the virtual boat shows that just completed.

We watched the Toronto seminars and then we also watched the Seattle seminars and and as a result of those our to-do list is now 15 pages long of things that we have to do on the boat.

We’ve done quite a bit. A lot of the systems were old. The navigation the safety was either old or non-existent. So we’ve put a lot of money into it already in that area.

I need a new radar.

The previous owner put two extra solar panels but didn’t upgrade the charge controller, so that we’re not utilizing all the solar. I think most of the big ticket items are done at this point. We do need to add some more solar and that.

Then we have like days and days of little one-off stuff that we need to do. For example you want to put bungs by each seacock. Little things like that but once you add it all up it’s massive.

We are creating policies and procedures and regimens that we want to have. We don’t have a man overboard routine. We want to create that and then put it down to paper, memorize it, laminate it, and make sure everyone memorizes it.

All of our VHF protocols. We haven’t really practiced that.

It’s the things that you need to do to basically make this life work for you.

I think that was one of the big shocks to us. Obviously we knew that boats cost a lot of money. There’s a lot of repairs and you’re always repairing something. We did not think that we would actually be as time consuming as it is.

I guess to the benefit of Covid. We’re locked down in France. There’s no temptation to do anything else. We basically work and do boat projects and work and do both projects and sleep a little.

But at this point we got we our boat was undervalued so the survey came in about $30,000 more than we actually paid for it. The owner was ready to get rid of it, and we were just very lucky to purchase when we did. We’ve put in now probably $20,000 without upgrading systems.

we had to put a new alternator, a new starter that we hadn’t anticipated initially. We did have a survey and all that kind of stuff.

What would you say to yourself of six months ago when you’re just starting on this journey? Is there anything you’ve learned that you wish you’d known then?

If you have the opportunity to do this and not work or maybe work at home an extra year to save enough money to be able to not work especially if you’re learning to sail and you have children and you home school, I highly recommend it.

If you’re in your home country maybe buy the boat and live on the boat while you go to your office job for another year, so you’re learning about the boat while you’re still getting money.

Will and I have always worked while we’ve traveled, and it’s a challenge. But it’s been even more challenging with the boat because there’s such a huge learning curve.

So if you have the ability to do that i highly highly recommend doing it. I mean we’re surviving, and we will survive. But that is definitely a challenge.

Many days where we feel like one step forward and 16 steps backwards.

I wish we could sail every day because we live aboard her and so there are days in which like I see just incredible conditions where it’s picture perfect. You can just take off and just have an amazing experience and and because we have to make decisions like to work we have to not sail.

You’re building for the future and as much as there are days that you wish that there were no remote projects. You are building upon something that’s gonna sort of take care of you forever, so I’m totally grateful that we’re doing this experience and when we look back we’re not going to look back on the days of doing boat projects. We’re going to look back on sort of the anticipation of launching and going to far off lands.

Coming soon too because we’ve had six years of travel already. Our clients don’t like it when we say this because it scares them but there’s a bit of suffering that goes along with doing something that’s out of the box. If you can work through that suffering it’s not always a bad suffer.

If you can work through that whatever is at the end is really great and I can say this from being someone who’s gone out and feared for her life both times without an instructor with us and been really seasick that i can’t wait to go back out again.

We’re really happy with our purchase. We love this boat. We’ve been living on her now for five months. We have a really good feel for her as a liveaboard, and we’ve also taken herout sailing. We’ve realized she’s going to keep us safe.

It’s just important to kind of get out there and test as many as you want. Maybe you’re not someone who’s affected that much by your your surroundings as I am. I need light. We also have two teenagers with us, so we have a lot of different personalities to fit on the boat.

It really worked has worked out well for us. I highly recommend the boat and they’re not that easy to find. We’re part of a catamaran group for Prouts, and people are always saying, “Hey I really want a Prout 38. Does anyone know where I can get them?”

I don’t know how many were made but obviously not enough because people want them.

Do you have anything else to add about the Prout 38 before we stop filming?

It just goes to show that you don’t always have to go with the name brands. Everyone’s always looking at you know the Fountaine Pajots, Lagoons, and Leopards. There’s a lot of other quality boats that are sitting out there that don’t have the marketing behind them.\

Or the YouTube cache that other other boats. You find a boat that is a quality boat that is rugged and that will take you places and if it doesn’t have the name behind it what does it matter as long as it’ll get you where you need to go. That’s all you care about.

On other thing, many people we see wait around for the boat that has everything on their list. The perfect boat and from what we’ve learned that catamarans are selling like crazy in the USA right now. In many other parts of the world, people have kind of been waiting around for years for their perfect boats.

If you can be willing to compromise it’s really not that bad. We thought coming in that we must have a trampoline, we must have the galley up so that we don’t get seasick or anything like that, and we absolutely have to have four cabins because if someone comes to visit we don’t want to have to make our teenagers bunk together or sleep up in front of people that are getting up for breakfast.

Although all of those things that we really wanted would have been great I’m happy being on a boat that rather than not finding that perfect boat in the price range that worked for us because we had a very specific price range.

That makes a lot of sense and very true. That is one of the conversations that’s been very consistent with people who are actually out there on boats. Buy the boat that suits your family now as opposed to the boat that you might need one week out of the year. Get out there and have a good time.

• Tags Catamaran Interviews , Catamaran Reviews

By Diane Selkirk

I love to travel and have spent the past seven years sailing with my family aboard our 40 Woods Meander catamaran - traveling from B.C.'s north coast, to the west coast of the US, Mexico, the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, across the Indian Ocean to South Africa and on to St Helena, South America, the Caribbean and Central America.

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Broadblue 346 – tested and reviewed

Cruising multihulls in the sub-35ft bracket are surprisingly hard to come by.  fits the bill, however, as Sam Jefferson discovers

These days there is no shortage of multihulls in the plus 40ft bracket. A quick glance at our Boat News on p14 confirms that there is a plethora of spanking new shiny yachts in this size bracket being launched with remarkable regularity. Yes, multihulls are booming; yet despite this, there is surprisingly little on offer when you move down the size spectrum a touch. Quorning’s Dragonfly Yachts has carved out a nice little niche for performance cruisers, but when it comes to out and out cruisers, there is a real dearth of options.

Perhaps this explains Broadblue’s decision to revamp its successful 345, which has been given a makeover and is now the all-new 346. The 345 was launched all the way back in 2008 and was designed by Plymouth based multihull specialist Dazcats and was initially known as the Voyager 10 before she was acquired by Broadblue and rebranded the Broadblue 345. A decade on and she has had a full revamp, with an all new deck mould and tweaks to the interior layout. In the meantime the manufacturers have retained the features that have ensured that this yacht has a strong and loyal following.

Overall concept

The basic premise behind the 346 is that she is a comfortable family cruiser that can be easily handled by one or two people. Although performance is not necessarily a priority, her weight has been kept down to 4,800kg so she’s fairly light and boasts a decent spread of sail to push her along. One of the key factors in her design was that she was no more than 5m wide as this means you can take her through the French canals – an important consideration for those who don’t feel inclined to wrestle with the vagaries of the Bay of Biscay. That said, she is rated Category A, so there is no need to shy away from some more challenging sailing if you wish. She’s available either with twin 16 or 20hp diesel saildrives, or there is the cheaper option of a single outboard set into a well in the middle of the cockpit.

First impressions are pretty much what you would expect of a comfortable cruising multihull. You have to have a decent amount of freeboard, both to give the nacelle clearance from the water and give you decent volumes of accommodation. This all means that she joins most of her cruising multihull sisters in not being about to win a beauty contest any time soon. Nevertheless, there is a certain pleasing compactness to her shape.

The new deck mould features much more curvature to the deckhouse and that has really brought her looks bang up to date. Perhaps the most striking thing as you approach the 346 is her transom. The bathing platform stretches the full width of the transom and is at an enticing height to allow you to step aboard with the greatest of ease. It gives the boat a nice open and welcoming feel, while the step up to the cockpit means that you don’t feel at all exposed out at sea.

The cockpit itself is unfussy, uncomplicated and well thought out. The helming position is offset to port and offers an excellent view of the sails.

Aft of this is a seating area, while there is more seating on the starboard side plus a cockpit table. All sail controls are led to a bank of clutches located just to starboard of the companionway and ideally situated for the helmsman. They are well laid out with a good straight lead to the mast, minimising friction. A pair of winches can do all the work from here and on the yacht I tested one of the winches was electric which took all of the hard work out of hoisting the mainsail.

Stepping out on to side decks of a decent width, you head forward to a very roomy foredeck which is solid right to the bow which gives an even greater feeling of space.

There is a decent sized locker up here to store all your ropes and fenders in addition to further storage compartments beneath the cockpit sole.

There are removable davits set into the bathing platform for the dinghy and this is such a huge space that a modest dinghy could just be pulled up on to the platform and lashed in place on a coastal passage.

Stepping into the comfortable saloon of the 345, there was a tremendous feeling of space. In fact it’s not so much a feeling of space as a simple reality. It’s surprising that cruising cats are getting so large these days as one of the great things about a multihull is that you can get a huge amount of volume into a relatively modest waterline length. The saloon is a commodious space and there is a definite step up in the amount of joinery compared to the 345, with natural oak abounding, which gives a nice feel of quality. Down below the 346 has a nice uncomplicated, clean feel to her and while she is not stark, she feels low maintenance and uncluttered. There is a saloon table to port combined with ample bench seating augmented by some rather nifty flip-out stools. There is a fairly decent sized chart table which has excellent visibility forward and the L-shaped galley is situated aft of this and is simple with Corian work surfaces. Storage for all of your supplies is excellent.

The standard accommodation for this yacht is two large double aft cabins and a single cabin forward in the starboard hull as standard. The master cabin to starboard has an ensuite forward and there is the option to increase the number of berths by incorporating a single cabin amidships on the port side and if you really want to cram people in there is the option to fit a double berth in the saloon. The pair of double berths set aft in both hulls are something of an oddity compared to most multihulls, as they are quite distinctly raised up. This is to accommodate the twin diesels beneath, as in the past many small multihulls have circumvented this by placing the prop aft of the rudder. This might work well for providing extra volume but it makes the boat mighty hard to manoeuvre. As it is, the layout works rather well as it gives a nice feeling of space when combined with the large aft hatch, which gives you an excellent view from your bedroom window. The other consequence is that access to the engine is excellent.

The owner’s ensuite was quite unusual as the first thing you are confronted with when you step in this relatively narrow space is the toilet, with the shower set right forward in the bow. This seems a bit baffling, although it works just fine and is apparently due to the width constraints in here at waterline level due to the substantial ‘step’ in the hulls. It’s a light and roomy enough space and although it initially feels illogical, it works very well. There is also the option of a second head in the forward berth on the port side, which would make this an excellent yacht for two couples.

We tested the 346 on a blustery, bright march day on Chichester Harbour with a breeze as sharp as a razor and a clarity of light that made you feel like the contrast had been turned up. The wind was all over the place inside the harbour but blew at anything between 15 and 25kt, generally erring on the 20kt plus side of things. This meant we were in for a brisk sail and we opted to put a single reef in the mainsail. It also meant that her flat cut Code 0 was not going to be necessary. This, however, would undoubtedly be an extremely useful sail in breezes below 10kt.

It has also been cleverly set up so that the Code 0 sheets can be led via a thimble to the main winches on the coachroof. This saves on setting winches outboard and means that you can still control everything from the helm. Recent trends have seen many manufacturers setting their masts well aft as this gives the headsail more power and cuts out on pitching. The Broadblue was evidently ahead of her time as she had this configuration even in 2008 and it has been retained in the 346.

We headed off down the Emsworth Channel and were soon storming along at 8.5kt and topped out at 9.4kt, which is not bad going. In common with most cruising multihulls, she featured hydraulic steering but this had substantially more feel than on some models I have handled and after a brief period of adjustment I found her responsive. She also has a decent turn of speed as below the water that big step in the hull means there isn’t a great deal holding her back. Combine that with a modest displacement and you have a nice recipe for speed – particularly in the 25kt gusts. Predictably, she neither pointed as high as a monohull in the same cruising genre nor did she tack as crisply. Yet she performed both tasks competently and she was also utterly unruffled in the sort of conditions where a 34ft monohull would simply be screaming along on her ear.

Sam’s verdict

It was quite clear to me that the Broadblue 346 has come about as the result of a long period of evolution which has ensured that the current model has been carefully and thoughtfully refined. There were certainly no teething problems and this was a yacht that immediately inspired confidence. In common with most of her cruising multihull sisters, looks are not her strongest asset, but she does make up for that with the cleverness and simplicity of her layout combined with impressive accommodation.

In terms of handling, she was lively and handled boisterous conditions with the greatest of ease. Ultimately, if you’re after a cruising catamaran in this size bracket, look no further. In part because there are precious few options – and this yacht is excellent.

Length overall:   33ft 4in (10.2m) Beam:   15ft 7in (4.8m) Displacement:   4800kg Draft:   1.01m Fuel:   1 x 200lt Water:   2 x 250lt

Mainsail:   28m 2 Self-tacking jib:  19m 2 Gennaker:   45m 2

Price £139,950 (base) £169,000 (as tested)

Contact Multihull World multihullworld.com +44 (0) 1243 377333

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Broadblue 385

• By Dave Reed
• Updated: March 17, 2008

Turning onto a beam reach, I nudge the wheel, and Robert Underwood of Broadblue Catamarans winches up the traveler; there’s a sudden but gentle sense of acceleration. With a scant 7 knots of wind at the masthead, the cat settles in at 7 on the speedo as well and quietly glides across England’s Solent. It’s an idyllic afternoon, and in a daydream state, I envision my next landfall, somewhere in the Bahamas. If not for Robert’s prompt to tack-to prove how easily his boat tacks-I might’ve ended up there. Now the helm goes over, the headsail slaps across, and the Broadblue 385 settles on the other tack without fuss. The apparent wind has swung from 40 to 40. Not bad at all for a cruising cat.

Such nimble light-air performance is probably due in equal parts to the 385’s efficient hull profile and its unusual Aft Rig, a unique sail plan that steps the mast at the main bulkhead. (See the drawing.) The Aft Rig mainsail is only 304 square feet, while the genoa, at 534, really pulls the bows across the wind. This rig is ideal for coastal cruising and daysailing, especially when shorthanded. The full-battened Sport Rig, with its large-roach main, offers more horsepower and may be faster for passagemaking.

Peter Thompson, a 45-year-old dentist from Lancashire, England, expects to log more than 8,000 miles this year on his 385 Aft Rig. “For family sailing, the small main is great,” he says. “It’s easier to handle and you don’t have to reef as soon.” If he were to do it again, however, he says he’d choose the Sport Rig for its upwind performance. To bolster his inventory for the 2008 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, he’s added a spinnaker.

In a multihull world populated with cats designed for charter fleets, Broadblue touts its line of boats as “true bluewater cruisers” and builds to Category A (Oceangoing) standards in the European Union. Below the waterline, the hulls are solid glass reinforced with Kevlar in loaded areas. Above the waterline, hulls and deck are balsa-cored laminates with marine-grade-plywood reinforcement at hardware locations. Other offshore-enabling attributes include five bulkheads, flotation compartments, and hardened glass windows set in aluminum frames. The 385 we sailed had a three-cabin layout, with a large shower/head forward in the starboard hull and a smaller walk-through head/shower to port. The alternative, twin-stateroom layout offers two double-berth cabins and two pilot berths. Our test boat featured an office area amidships in the port hull; our sea-going dentist says that he and his two daughters use it a lot at sea.

In the saloon, there’s a generous U-shaped dinette, full galley, and nav station. The galley may leave one wanting for counter space, but the layout does add to the open, airy feel of the 385’s common area. Our test boat had been extensively cruised, and even with cruising cargo, it felt lively enough. But after only a light-air test sail, I asked Peter Thompson to provide a description of sailing in more memorable conditions: “I was with my wife, going around Land’s End at about 2 in the morning,” he said, “and it was blowing Force 8. She turned to me and asked, ‘Are you happy?’ I said, ‘I’m happy as hell.’ And she said, ‘That’s a good answer.’ But from a more pleasant point of view, the best time so far was our four-day passage to Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, with the kids. Just walking around the boat and enjoying being at sea.”

Dave Reed is the editor of Sailing World, CW’s sister publication.

The Broadblue 385 was designed for couples who want to cruise offshore and in the often-atrocious weather around Britain. It meets the highest European Union boatbuilding standard, which can be seen in its six floatation compartments and aluminum-framed glass windows. It’s not a heavy design, but because it’s meant to carry full provisions without a significant drop in performance, it’s no racer either. Unfortunately, my test sail in light winds proved little on this score.

The hulls have a relatively fine entry but plenty of reserve buoyancy. Unlike many competitors, the Broadblue has a long bridgedeck that creates extra stowage space beneath. It has 30 inches of clearance forward, but it appeared to be more prone to slamming than a boat with a trampoline forward.

The hull’s are Polish-built and finished in the United Kingdom. They’re solid glass, .5 to 1.25 inches thick below the waterline, with Kevlar reinforcing in high-load areas. Elsewhere, the hulls are cored with end-grain balsa, as are the decks. The skeg-hung rudders are the same depth as the keels, which allows the boat to be beached for maintenance, thus avoiding the hassle of finding a yard that can haul a cat, which can sometimes prove difficult in foreign ports. The keels are integrally molded with the hull and sealed off, making them the first defense against damage should the boat be accidentally grounded. They’re each fitted with a stainless-steel shoe, making damage less likely.

On deck, the cockpit’s comfortable, as you’d expect on a catamaran, with a raised helm seat on the port side that offers good visibility and easy access to sail and engine controls. Our test boat had the optional fiberglass bimini top, which has Visquine (plastic) windows forward that roll up when the crew want air. Going forward, the decks are wide and clear of obstacles. There’s a centerline step in the front of the house that makes getting to the cabin top easy. The foredeck extends most of the way to the bows and provides storage and a platform for the centerline anchor and windlass.

Two rig configurations are available: The Sport Rig, with the mast at the forward end of the house, features small headsails and a big, roachy main for drive; the Aft Rig positions the mast at the aft end of the house and uses bigger jibs with a much smaller high-aspect main.

Belowdecks on the Broadblue, it’s obvious that this cat’s designed for extended cruising because there’s a ton of storage space. In the configuration of the boat I sailed, both hulls have a spacious aft cabin with large hanging lockers. In the port hull is a desk and chair at the foot of the steps from the saloon; forward is a large head with a separate walk-in shower. On the starboard side, instead of the desk, there’s a huge extra refrigerator/freezer; forward is a head with an integral shower, and in place of the stall shower is room for a workbench and tools. A three-cabin layout with two doubles in the starboard side is also available.

The saloon is comfortable and airy, with a workable, attractive galley and seating for six around the dinette; a small nav station with a swing-out stool is aft to port.

In the wind in which I sailed the boat, it seemed a bit undercanvased, but in such conditions most cruisers would be running the 20-horsepower Volvos. On this boat, equipped with saildrives, the engines ran relatively quietly.

The Broadblue 385 will suit sailors who place higher priority on seakeeping properties and ability to carry stores for extended, comfortable cruising than on exciting performance and fast passages.

Andrew Burton is a CW associate editor.

Broadblue 385 LOA 38′ 8″ (11.79 m.) LWL 35′ 9″ (10.90 m.) Beam 19′ 7″ (5.97 m.) Draft 3′ 5″ (1.04 m.) Sail Area 777 sq. ft. (72.2 sq. m.) Displacement 15,876 lb. (7,201 kg.) Water 125 gal. (473 l.) Fuel 132 gal. (500 l.) Engines Two 20-hp. Volvos with saildrives Designers Simon Davidson and Robert Underwood Price $356,000 Broadblue Catamarans Ltd. (252) 249-0358 www.broadblueusa.com

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The best bluewater multihulls of all time: a complete guide

• Toby Hodges
• October 6, 2021

Toby Hodges and François Tregouet consider the best bluewater multihulls and look at the options for sailing the oceans in spacious comfort

What are the best bluewater multihulls for long term cruising? The one you own, or the one you can afford is the simple answer.

There is a wealth of proven designs to suit bluewater sailing and a variety of budgets. While we have focussed here on the best bluewater multihulls in production, we’ve also included some cracking pedigree multihulls which tour the planet and might occasionally pop up on the brokerage market.

If you can afford to, then pushing towards the 45-50ft length will buy you space, pace and that extra payload capacity needed to take all the items you’d want on your home afloat.

When looking at the best bluewater multihulls, the choice will come down to that perennial balance between comfort/space and speed/weight. Choosing a lighter weight performance design will obviously help you cover distance voyages more rapidly and potentially allow you to outrun weather systems. It means you can sail faster, with less sail up and less load and stress. But you’ll have to sacrifice some luxuries and need to be quite scrupulous about keeping weight down and centralised in order to maintain high average speeds.

For the majority of cruisers, however, it is the amount of space multihulls offer once you’ve reached your destination that really appeals. As well as the non-heeling living area and real estate they provide, they’re well suited to typical tradewind sailing .

If you’re considering your first or next multihull, we hope the following will serve as a taster.

Best bluewater multihulls for performance cruising

Outremer 51/55.

When you think of multihulls designed for bluewater cruising, Outremer will likely be one of the first names that comes to mind. Its heritage lies in building catamarans that can sail fast and are built strong enough to do laps of the globe.

The 51, the current version of which launched three years ago, is an archetypal example of what to look for in terms of blending speed and space is a dream design for a family circumnavigation.

The French yard’s new 55ft VPLP design may look boldly different from its past models, but the philosophy behind it remains the same. It is designed to match windspeed up to 12 knots and Outremer reasons that its ability to sail in 5 knots of breeze will allow it to sail for 95% of the time on a circumnavigation.

Read more about the Outremer 51 and Outremer 55.

Photo: Diego Yriarte

Seawind 1600/1370

For nearly four decades the Australian Seawind brand and its founder Richard Ward have been gearing catamarans around safe bluewater sailing, including performance, protection and ease of handling. Its Reichel Pugh-designed 1600, which launched three years ago, is an elegant looking cat with relatively low, long lines and some smart solutions for fast bluewater sailing.

Seawind also launches its new 1370 later this year, a staggering 60 of which have sold on plans alone.

This first 50 is built from a composite sandwich of basalt fibre, a cloth made from volcanic rock, and PET foam from recycled plastic bottles, which helps to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 50% when compared with traditional glassfibre methods.

This new 50 footer is perhaps a more appealing and practical prospect than Rapido’s previous 60 (with its significant fixed beam), particularly as the amas on this new model can fold to reduce beam to 18ft.

Infused carbon foam sandwich construction is used, along with beams, daggerboards and rudder in pre-preg carbon to keep displacement to 8,200kg.

Read more about the Rapido 50

This OC50 is designed as a more affordable cruising alternative, than the HH models which have preceeded it. This model targets ocean sailing.

It’s still stiffened and strengthened by carbon, but built in vinylester composites with a gelcoat finish. This adds an additional 300kg or so over a full carbon HH50, but cost savings are in the region of $400,000.

Read more about the HH OC50

Balance 526

The 526 launched four years ago, designed to suit short-handed sailors and families looking to sail long distances, hence it can carry large payloads and promises easy maintenance. It looks good too.

Berman’s Versahelm design is a key feature. The wheel cantilevers, allowing the helmsman to steer from outboard with clear sightlines or from the hardtop protection of the aft cockpit.

Photo: Christopher White

Atlantic 47

The A47 suits short-handed fast ocean sailing at an approachable size. Lengthening it to 49ft allowed for an aft cockpit. It is available as a sloop or with White’s patented MastFoil ketch rig – rotating aerofoil masts designed for easy short-handed cruising without sacrificing performance.

Read more about the Atlantic 47

A combination of sharp design from François Perus and high build quality brings plenty of appeal to this sporty Italian-built cat. The first example launched three years ago with a light displacement of 10.5 tonnes, thanks to an E-glass epoxy-infused build with carbon strengthening. The yard offers semi-custom construction and full hybrid packages.

Catana 53/Ocean class 50

Catana’s performance model from 2017, sports twin aft helms (which may not suit ocean sailors), reverse bows and carbon daggerboards. The high topsides help create good bridgedeck clearance and plenty of accommodation. Its new Ocean Class 50 seems more in the shipyard’s bluewater DNA. The light weight, and dynamic and modern shape with slim hulls and a relatively short nacelle suggests a seaworthy nature and high speeds.

Read more about the Catana 53

Best bluewater multihulls for pedigree performance

Veteran multihull designers Morrelli & Melvin designed this smaller model for the Gunboat range. It was built to be more manageable for an owner-driver yet still capable of up to 300-400 mile days.

The Gunboat 48 is something of a rare breed, just six 48s were built between 2004 and 2009. Oh, to have a spare €1.3m right now… one of them is actually on the market.

Read more about the Gunboat 48

At the start of the Millennium, Catana offered fully equipped boats as standard for long distance cruising. The Catana 471 or 472 (one or two helms respectively), represented at the time the optimum in ocean-going catamarans.

Chincogan/Lightwave

Tony Grainger has been drawing fast multihulls for 35 years, including racing trimarans and the Lightwave and Chincogan cruisers. The popular Lightwave 38 has admirable performance and comfort, and the Chincogan 52 (pictured) has the length to clock high average speeds.

Outremer 45 G. Danson

With its characteristic roof, narrow hulls and daggerboards, the Outremer 45 is a standout design which has become somewhat iconic. Despite a rather spartan interior, it has been a great success with fast cruising enthusiasts. On board, family ocean crossings at an average of 10 knots are the norm.

Best bluewater multihulls for family cruising

Photo: Nicolas Claris

The Lagoon 450 remains the most popular model in Lagoons already popular range. It exemplifies the VPLP/Nauta design partnership which has made these the very definition of modern mid-size cruising catamarans which can appeal to families and charterers alike.

Indeed the 450 marked the modern look of Lagoon and was the first with interior styling from Nauta. It originally launched over a decade ago as a flybridge design with central helming position (450F), before this ‘sport top’ option (450S) was offered with a starboard helm station and lower boom.

Read more about the Lagoon 450

Photo: Guilain Grenier

Fountaine Pajot Saona 47

The 47 has a modern shape, with straight bows and a reverse sheer line. It incorporates significant volume in the hulls below the bridgedeck to create room for the optional athwartships cabins. Cabin space is a prime selling point, particularly the owner’s suite to port, where there is also abundant natural light and headroom.

Photo: Tui Marine

Leopard Catamarans, together with designer Simonis Voogd and builder Robertson and Caine, produce the archetypal dual-purpose owner-operator or charter boat in their modern catamaran range.

Key features of the 45 are the amount of light in the saloon and the incredible volume and space on offer in the cabins above the relatively narrow waterlines. Vast social living areas include the flybridge, saloon and dual cockpits.

Read more about the Leopard 45

Photo: www.jfromero.fr

Nautitech Open/Fly 46

During the 1990s and noughties Nautitech earned a good reputation for its elegant catamarans. The 441 is a timeless example and the 44 can be credited with the ongoing trend in hardtop biminis. While its acquisition by Bavaria seven years ago helped Nautitech implement industrial build techniques, the French brand has retained its DNA at its Rochefort sur Mer yard.

The modern Marc Lombard designs have tall rigs with generous square-top mainsails. Twin wheels in the aft quarters of the Open 46 offer a direct feel on the helm, however those spending long periods in the tropics may prefer the shade of the bimini-equipped flybridge option. The layout is also open, with a saloon more outside than in. Styling is clean, modern and simple, and the standard of build and finish are good.

Photo: Olivier Blanchet

First impressions of the Neel 51 are sure to centre on its sheer size and space inside. But as you’ll see from our review of the Neel 43 on page 83, when you sail one overriding impressions quickly centre on its performance.

These trimarans are becoming a popular mass production-built option.

Photo: Christophe Launay

The Excess 11 packs plenty of potential as the smallest yacht offered by the big production yards. A little like the Lagoon 380 of old, it presents a good value new entry-level boat for genuine cruising in a more sporty, modern and enticing design. Some may argue against aft helms for ocean sailing, but those coming from monohulls will appreciate the more direct steering they offer.

Broadblue 385S

Broadblue is a UK brand which offers a distinct line of cruising and Rapier performance catamarans. Its staple 385 packs a lot of cruising comfort into its length, including generous tankage, and has been sailed all over the world. Broadblue built its first electric drive catamaran 12 years ago and offers the only all-electric production sailing catamaran under 40ft in Europe.

Photo: Christophe Breschi

Bali Catspace

For those looking for maximum volume within 40ft, it’ll be hard to beat the Catspace – although it is more of a holiday apartment than a traditional bluewater cruiser. Bali’s garage style sliding aft door does help offer an enormous amount of enclosed (or open) living space.

Best bluewater multihulls for luxury cruising

Photo: Nico Krauss

Privilège 510 Signature

The 510 is designed to take a serious amount of cruising gear – up to six tonnes of it in fact. The excellent helm station now has a fixed windscreen and all lines lead to hand. Finish quality including the electrical installation is first class and Privilege’s trademark, an admirable full beam (26ft) forward cabin, is sumptuous.

Photo: Jérôme Houyvet

Garcia Explocat 52

Garcia Yachts has cornered the market for series-built aluminium monohulls and multihulls in the last decade and this new Explocat 52 is sparking real interest. We ran a full test report in our February issue, describing it as a go-anywhere cat with an enticing combination of space, pace and rugged construction.

Read our review of the Garcia Explocat 52

Built in Argentina, the Antares 44 is the ultimate evolution of a model launched 21 years ago. Entirely dedicated to bluewater cruising, it is the yard’s only model and is constantly being improved according to owner feedback.

Time seems to have no hold on this boatyard and, against the trend, the standard equipment of the Antares 44 is extremely complete

Photo: Richard Langdon

Discovery Bluewater 50

This luxury Bill Dixon design may be a decade old now and into its third iteration, but the concept behind its original appeal remains. For those used to sailing high-end thoroughbred monohulls, here is an option to consider for a comparative level of build quality and fit out when moving to a multihull.

Read more about the Discovery Bluewater 50

St Francis 50 MKII

With this latest version of its original model, this experienced South African builder has optimised a catamaran cut out for the unforgiving seas of the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic. The MKII allows for an increased load capacity, an important point in long distance cruising.

Xsquisite X5

Intelligent features on the X5 include the protected helm station with glass windscreen, integrated rainwater catcher, UV-protective glass and generous tankage.

Best bluewater multihulls for size & speed

Mcconaghy mc52.

The MC50 (now MC52) was the first and promises some high speed sailing, but it’s the open plan main living deck which will attract the majority. It incorporates an intelligent centreboard system, which hardly affects interior space, but arguably its exposed helms at the aft end of the flybridge will not suit serious ocean cruising.

Photo: Florian H. Talles

HH in Xiamen is building some really impressive large, luxury fast cats up to 90ft. This was its second model to launch, a high-end, high performance Morelli & Melvin design capable of rapid passagemaking speeds and enjoyable regatta sailing. Features include C-shaped boards and central or aft helms.

Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline Media

Ocean Explorer 60

If Nautor’s Swan made catamarans, they may look like this… The Ocean Explorer 60 uses the same designer in German Frers and some of the same builders who worked at the famous Finnish yard to produce this world cruiser. The resultant quality shines through. A new OE72 is due soon.

Kinetic KC54

A young company with plenty of experience, Kinetic produces custom fast ocean cruisers, which can occasionally race. Its 62 is a serious performance vessel with carbon hulls, rigs and rigging, daggerboards or centreboards. With fast bluewater cruising the goal, carbon is used to minimise weight so features/toys can still be added. The swim platform and hardware on the newly launched 54 weighs just 90kg, and the generous sized tanks are all in carbon too. Views from the saloon and forward cockpit also look special.

Best bluewater multihulls for ultimate performance

Marsaudon ts4/orc 42.

Few catamaran builders produce genuine performance cruisers at this ‘smaller’ size: this one is kept minimalist and light weight (around 6 tonnes) – the yard’s philosophy is ‘simplicity, then add lightness.’ The 42 is a cruiser-racer with the ability to outpace most yachts across the Atlantic, win a regatta and still offer some space for island hopping. Standard tankage is minimal however. Marsaudon recently rebranded its TS range to Ocean Rider Catamarans (ORCs) and has an ORC 57 in build.

Dazcat 1495

Dazcat builds fast, seaworthy cats from its Multihull Centre in Cornwall. The 1495 is a true ocean cruiser-racer, which is stiff and rewarding to sail, with direct steering linked to carbon rudders. The 1495 can hit 20+ knot speeds with relative ease, but it is the consistent high average speeds which will attract those looking to cover serious miles. Weight is centralised including engines, tanks, and systems all located amidships to help reduce pitching. Dazcat has a semi-custom build approach and creates all sorts of weird and wonderful craft for all abilities.

Dragonfly 40

Dragonfly trimarans are known for their high quality construction and ability to delight sailors with their ease of planing speeds. For those who can live without the space of similar length cats, the new flagship 40 is large enough to offer cruising space, while folding outriggers and retractable appendages mean you can dry out where others wouldn’t dare.

Looping 45/Freydis 48

These two designs by Erik Lerouge both offer a high-performance vision of ocean cruising. The Loopings were built individually and the Freydis in small series, and on both you can sail as fast as the wind in complete safety. Interior quality depends on whether finished by an amateur or by a shipyard.

Swisscat 48

An attractive combination of luxury, comfort and performance, the S48 is a stiff, go-anywhere premium cat that is easy to manage single-handed. The lightweight build (11t) is in epoxy infusion with carbon reinforcement.

Schionning Designs

Jeff Schionning has catamaran design in his blood. His designs exude performance and seaworthiness with flowing, even aerodynamic lines. On all tradewind routes you’ll find a G-Force (models from 12m to 23m) or an Arrow (12m to 15m) sailing more quickly than the rest. His latest venture is with Current Marine in Knysna, South Africa.

Best bluewater multihulls for pedigree cruising

The long-time best-seller from the world leader in catamarans, with more than 1,000 produced over almost 20 years from 1999. With its characteristic vertical windows, the 380 and its big brother the 410 made the purists scream when they were presented. But the 380 proved a pioneer of its kind. Safe bow volumes and light displacement (7,260 kg) helped its seaworthy behaviour. The high number of boats on the market makes this the most affordable bluewater cruising multihull for its size, even if price range is as wide as condition is variable.

Casamance 44/46

Between 44ft and 46ft depending on the year of construction and the length of its transoms, the Casamance was an impressive catamaran on launch in 1985. The design by Joubert/Nivelt offered good volume and load capacity. Of the 490 units produced, many joined the charter fleets. The exterior of the Casamance is dated, but the interior in grey ceruse oak has retained plenty of charm.

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Broadblue 435 – Boat Review

by BWS Staff – Blue Water Sailing – February 2007 English builders Broadblue evolved out of the venerable builder Prout several years ago and launched a much improved and revised line of cruising cats – the 385, 42 and now the 435. The 435 offers a Broadblue 435 high level of cruising comfort and elegance in a hull and rig combination that is suitable for extended cruising and living aboard. At 20,000 pounds displacement, the 435 is a moderately heavy cruising cat. Her hulls are solid glass below the waterline (cored above) and have a thickness of a half an inch or more. To read complete story – click here for Broadblue 435 Review on Blue Water Sailing website

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Rapier 550 Pioneering breakthroughs

Tube-type carbon mast without spreaders, with fiber rigging and anti-inversion lower shrouds; bowsprit coming out from the mast foot and rod-rigging bridle with no forward beam. All simple, pertinent and radical solutions from Darren Newton and Nick Bai

The marked step below the inverted bows, the deck-edge highlighted by the front of the coachroof and the black and white dress code is characteristic of the fine machine that is the Rapier 550.

The quality of the light from the coachroof is remarkable. All the windows (in toughened glass) and a section of the roof are sliding. The design of the carbon davits gives an idea of the level of requirements.

The sliding door aft and the opening side panels transform the R550 into a semi-convertible pioneer of a new generation of cruising catamarans.

The bowsprit incorporates the anchor locker, the bow roller and also the furling line, the spi or gennaker downhaul and the forestay chainplate! The absence of a forward beam is an important factor in reducing pitching.

Practical info

• Builder : BROADBLUE CATAMARANS
• Technical specifications

• Finance your Broadblue Rapier 550
• Articles about the Broadblue Rapier 550
• Available in issue # 137

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For several months now we have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Rapier 550. Broadblue entrusted the design to Darren Newton (and Nick Bailey) who also undertook the build, at the Multimarine yard. This fact, combined with a very advanced specification, has all the makings of an exceptional project. We set off for Portsmouth (UK) for a two-day test, including the famous Round the Island Race (round the Isle of Wight), with more than 1,500 boats on the startline.

Broadblue, re-emerging ambition!

England is part of a very close-knit club of countries pioneering the rediscovery of multihulls. Pat Patterson (Heavenly Twins), Tom Lack (Catalac), the Prout brothers (Snowgoose), James Wharram then Derek Kelsall and Nigel Irens have been the standard-bearers for this adventure, which has cleared the way for many architectural styles in both racing and cruising. By the late nineties this was starting to fizzle out a little, leading to a crisis: most of these “English cats” were running out of steam in the commercial world. Despite this, their replacements were there (Multimarine being one of the leading ones), but were probably overshadowed by the remarkable growth in French production. Mark Jarvis launched Broadblue in the mid-2000s, drawing on his background as a businessman, a sailor and a maritime professional. To begin with, the Broadblue 345 and 385 were built under license in China with technical assistance from Darren Newton, before production being moved to Poland. Next came the very successful and very capable Format 400, (a semi-open catamaran shown at the Multihull Boat Show and the La Rochelle Boat Show in 2009. See the test report...

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Pre-Owned Catamarans

2015 RAPIER 550 BY BROADBLUE

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