Catana 40S

When I was a wee lad of sixteen, I landed as an exchange student in Bairnsdale, Australia.  It turned out that Bairnsdale was the home of Lock Crowther - a pioneering designer in the multihull renaissance that was soon to sweep the world.  The locals at the Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club were aghast about these new-fangled catamarans that were winning all of the races.  I kept quiet (as I was a guest aboard a stately monohull), but I was bitten by the multihull bug the moment I saw a Crowther cat glide effortlessly by.  They seemed like a better idea to me - and they have proven it time and time again!  Lock Crowther designed amazing catamarans.  His designs were so forward-thinking that they even impressed the French and he went on to become the preeminent designer for Catana Catamarans.

I'm jealous of those who can own and sail Crowther's Catana 40.  I'm no longer a wee lad (think NFL lineman instead) and I just don't fit within their sleek lines!  You can think of the Catana 40 as the Bathtub Porsche of catamarans.  it is a joy to be behind the wheel if you can find one and fit.  They are true classics that have windswept lines coupled with tremendously easily-driven hulls.  They are light and strong and they are fast.  They handle seakeeping as if born to it.  Crowther's designs point with the best due to their deep daggerboards and dampen a head sea with graceful tulip bows.  The Catana 40 is easy on the pocketbook too.  Alas, just like the Porsche 356 I drove in my youth, these are a slender man's roadster for traversing the islands.  This one is recently refit (see all of the 2022 upgrades in the specifications) and perched in the sailor's paradise of French Polynesia receiving its finishing touches.  If you are lean and limber and have a hankering to start exploring the South Pacific in style, you need to call Matthew and discuss this Catana!