#11 - THE CATS* ARE BACK...

*and the trimarans too.

THE CATS ARE BACK…and so are we!

With three weeks to go until the International Multihull Show opens, MULTI.pedia takes a look at the new features on the horizon.

The first change to bear in mind before heading to La Grande Motte is a logistical one. Gone are the days of entering the show from the beach side and the technical area. From now on, entry is via the East, on the town side, from the harbour master’s office. But there will of course also be new features on the water - 71 multihulls (plus tenders) on display, including 52 sailing boats - and if they have one thing in common, it is their international flavour.

Rapido 40 Racer – The first boat in the series arrived by cargo ship late March in Genoa, Italy, having travelled from Vietnam via Thailand. With a light displacement of 4,500 kg and a 19.5m mast – 2 metres taller than the Cruising version – this new Rapido Trimaran promises to be extremely high-performing. This racing version is finished with paint instead of gelcoat to save weight. It also comes equipped with prepreg carbon spreaders, C-foil daggerboards, a T-foil rudder blade, and a low-profile coach roof. The length remains at 12m and the folding arms still allow the beam to be reduced from 8.80m to 5.8m.

Simbad 55 – A new shipyard (in Alicante, Spain), a new brand (Simbad Yachts), and therefore inevitably a new model: the Simbad 55. We look forward to discovering this catamaran, which aims to bridge the gap between production catamarans and high-end custom builds. Designed by Archi Delion and Darnet Design, this 17.59m catamaran aims to be luxurious and innovative in its commercial approach: the Simbad Leasing Club with a deposit limited to 10% of the purchase price, Simbad SplitSail for shared ownership, and finally Simbad Income offering charter management. Add to this the Simbad Care programme for preparation, maintenance and mooring management, and this is not just a new multihull but an entire commercial ecosystem rarely, if ever, seen at this stage of a new brand’s launch.

TRM43 – Two years after making a splash with the VPLP GP70 design ‘Catch Me’, the Portuguese shipyard Trimarine returns with a more affordable yet equally striking catamaran, the TRM 43. With its streamlined design and reasonably sized nacelle situated behind a vast trampoline stretched between two slender hulls, the signature of naval architect Christophe Barreau is immediately recognisable. If there were still any doubt, the centreboards, asymmetrical hulls, tiller steering and bucket seats confirm the new model’s lineage with his designs is obvious: multihulls that all champion simplicity, clean lines and lightness, guarantees of performance and thrills.

Outremer 48 – The only French model among these new releases, the Outremer 48, should be ready in time to make its debut at the start of the 2026 show. Built in Lorient (Brittany), like its predecessor, the Outremer 45, since the takeover of Marsaudon Composites (ORC catamarans) by the Grand Large Yachting Group. It follows in the footsteps of the Outremer 52 and 55. It is therefore unsurprisingly designed by the same trio: VPLP, Le Quément and Darnet Design. Whilst the deckhouse gains a little in volume, the other proportions remain true to the brand’s DNA, as does the promised lightweight of 10.65 tonnes. Comfort and ergonomics are, however, said to be improved, with a reassuring cockpit, an interior-exterior interface symbolised by a bar unit that has become a staple on an Outremer, and enhanced modularity with more possible layout options for the ‘My Free Space’ module on the port side forward.

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SPOTTED

The TF10 Thunder & Lightning wins the Performance Multihull category at the 2026 BVI Spring Regatta. After six races, it finished just one point ahead of a boat of a completely different calibre, the Gunboat 72 Layla. In the Cruising Multihull category, it was the Leopard 50 La Novia that took the honours. It is worth noting that 20 multihulls took part this year in this major event of the Caribbean season.

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IN SHORT

2026 Prices

Once the post-Covid buying frenzy has subsided, multihull builders have announced their intention to curb the sometimes dizzying price rises seen in recent years. That was before the Israeli-American strikes on Iran began and oil prices skyrocketed. As we await these new repercussions, we have analysed the 2026 prices of the three largest catamaran builders: Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot and Bali. The new models are close to the historical price curve and even sometimes slightly below.

Across all three manufacturers, we also note that whilst prices remain stable for entry-level models, they soar from around 50 feet upwards. This shift in the curve can be explained by an increase in interior volume that is proportionally greater than the increase in length, as well as by more luxurious finishes and fittings. Due to a lack of historical data, we do not present figures for Excess and Leopard, but their data has now been integrated and they will soon be included in our analyses.

Giants

Other very large, custom-built vessels are currently under construction, demonstrating the growing appeal of multihulls in the large yacht market. Nomad VII is a 125-foot (38m) full-carbon catamaran designed by Finot Conq and built by FC Cube in Lorient, France. The high-end Finnish shipyard Baltic Yachts is continuing the construction of its first multihull, the Baltic 107, a catamaran designed by Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design and expected in spring 2027. Finally, back in France, Anahita is a 100-foot (31m) VPLP Design trimaran currently being assembled at CDK under the leadership of Global Yacht Technology (GYT).

Brokerage

Based on data from Boats Group’s BoatWizard, a very interesting analysis of the 2025 second-hand multihull market by Uliana Tikhonova of Just Catamarans. After a sluggish start to the year, the second half saw the market recover significantly. And although the total number of transactions fell by 2% compared to the previous year, the total value rose by 8% to reach $337 million (€294 million)

Brokerage too

The 11th edition of the pre-owned multihull and refit boat show will take place this year from 22 to 25 October in Canet-en-Roussillon. In 2025, forty second-hand multihulls were on display. There could be even more this year, and, above all, it is the brokers who will be highlighted and take centre stage. The programme of events, conferences and exhibitions associated with the show will be unveiled shortly.

Foil

Luca Rizzotti (the foiling organisation) has published this magnificent infographic on the history of foiling boats from 1861 to the present day. We eagerly await a reprint with a 2026 update including the Gitana 18 and Ferrari Hypersail.

Electric

In a video dedicated to the FP55, Erwan Vuillefroy revealed that the ODSea+ hybrid electric propulsion system, shared by Fountaine Pajot and Dufour Yachts, has been installed on 45 vessels since 2022, accumulating 200,000 hours of operation to date.

Announcement

Lagoon Catamarans has ended the suspense surrounding its future Lagoon 47 by revealing the first digital images of this catamaran, which is expected at the 2026 Cannes Yachting Festival. The main trends identified include the integration of a door between the saloon and a forward cockpit featuring minimalist trampolines, a helm station at mid-height between the main deck and flybridge, and cockpit seating that extends laterally towards the fenders.

Announcement 2

Leopard Catamarans has also announced a new model, the Leopard 43, which will be unveiled in Cannes in September, followed by Annapolis in October. Replacing the Leopard 42, the new entry-level model in a range that also includes the 46 and the 52, incorporates the main features of the latter in a more compact format. Compared to the 42, the length has increased by 31cm (1ft), the sail area benefits from 12% more area when sailing close-hauled, whilst displacement increases by only 7.5%. More surprisingly, whilst the roof design allows for the integration of 1365W of solar panels without an unsightly rear arch, the Joool hybrid electric propulsion option – for which an agreement had been reached with Fountaine Pajot – does not appear to be offered on this model.

Cargo

Karver, specialist in high-end marine hardware for boating and offshore racing, is set to supply equipment for Vela’s, the first cargo trimaran, which is scheduled to be launched in the first half of 2026.

Billionaire

Catamarans builder Sunreef Yachts (Poland and the UAE) aims to achieve €1 billion in turnover by 2030. For comparison, the Bénéteau group achieved €849 million in 2025.

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RACE

The wrong way

Guirec Soudée, the first sailor to successfully circumnavigate the globe in reverse (East to West) on a multihull, arrived in Brest on Saturday 28 March. He beat the benchmark time of 122 days set by Jean-Luc Van Den Heede on a monohull 22 years ago (!), and set a new record: 94 days, 21 hours and 58 minutes. For those who might be tempted, a very good Ultim remains for sale: Actual Ultim 3 (formerly Macif). If Guirec Soudée, or even Alexia Barrier on Idec, are in Saint-Malo, there could be up to eight Ultims on the starting line of La Route du Rhum on 1 November. Furthermore, with Armel Le Cléac’h having announced the construction of a future Banque Populaire XV, the XI is expected to go on sale shortly. This does not seem to have deterred the American Jason Caroll, owner of the Mod70 Argo, from also ordering an Ultim, according to information from our colleagues at Le Télégramme. Meanwhile, Gitana 18 is undergoing its first sea trials, under sail but not yet with foils.

Ocean Fifty

The 2026 season sees the Ocean Fifty Series at full strength, with 11 trimarans on the starting line – the maximum number allowed by the class to ensure its appeal through the return on investment, the consistency of the fleet and visibility shared by all partners. With inshore regattas, offshore races and the legendary single-handed transatlantic race La Route du Rhum, the season promises to be a thrilling one.

Jules Verne

It would have been hard to miss the news, but as a reminder, Sodebo Ultim 3 and its seven-man crew led by Thomas Coville have broken the nine-year-old (!) round-the-world sailing record set by Francis Joyon and his crew aboard Idec. The new benchmark time for the Jules Verne Trophy is: 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 50 seconds.

A few hours later, the same Idec—now renamed The Famous Project—arrived, skippered by Alexia Barrier and Dee Caffari, completing the first round-the-world voyage on a multihull by an all-women crew in an excellent 57 days 21 hours 20 minutes 00 seconds, the sixth-fastest of all time.

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MEDIA CENTRE

In China, a tech giant is entering the mass-market yachting sector (FR)
No, this article in Le Monde isn’t specifically about multihulls. But the fact that Richard Liu, founder of JD.com—one of China’s leading online retail platforms—is interested in sailing and is personally investing 5 billion yuan (€619 million) in the electric yacht sector surely says something about the industry’s development.

“According to official figures, the total number of yachts registered in China has risen from around 4,500 to nearly 10,000 over the last three years. The Chinese yachting market, which includes marina construction, is estimated to be worth around $1.5 billion (€1.27 billion) by 2025 and is expected to continue growing at an annual rate of over 8% until 2034.” reports the French daily, noting that in ‘2012, a state-owned enterprise from Shandong acquired 75% of the shares in the iconic Italian manufacturer Ferretti for €374 million.’ It is also worth noting that ‘in 2013, property giant Wanda acquired 92% of the British luxury yacht builder Sunseeker for approximately £320 million (€365 million)’, a stake that was sold in October 2024. Similarly, “in 2022, the historic Dutch shipyard Balk Shipyard, specialising in the construction and renovation of superyachts – up to 80 metres in length – was acquired by the Chinese group Zhongying International. The latter already owned the Jinlong Mega Yacht shipyard, based in north-east China.”

Race Around Australia 2028, commemorating 40 years since the Bicentennial Race. (Sail - EN)

The Shorthanded Ocean Racing Association of Australia has opened Expressions of Interest for the Race Around Australia 2028, to be held 40 years on from and in the spirit of the 1988 Bicentennial race. The doublehanded Race Around Australia will cover more than 7,000 nautical miles and will start in Sydney in August 2028, with teams heading north to the Whitsundays, before continuing on to Darwin, Fremantle and Hobart, and finishing back in Sydney in November 2028. The 1988 Bicentennial Race was won by Sir Peter Blake and Mike Quilter aboard the 60-foot trimaran Steinlager 1.