Sailing cruising catamarans are twin-hulled sailing yachts designed for liveaboard comfort, coastal cruising, and charter use. They are the dominant multihull type in the bareboat and crewed charter market, where their stability, deck space, and accommodation volume relative to waterline length make them well suited to groups and families.
The wide beam — typically 40–50% of waterline length — provides a stable sailing platform with minimal heel and a large bridgedeck saloon connecting the two hulls. Accommodation is distributed between the two hulls, typically with one or two cabins and a heads compartment in each. Draft is shallow, as the hulls carry no ballast keel; this allows access to anchorages and inlets unavailable to keelboats of comparable size. The trade-off is marina access — standard berths are not wide enough for most cruising catamarans above 40 feet, and catamaran-specific berthing attracts higher fees. Upwind sailing performance is lower than comparable monohulls.
Hull construction is GRP sandwich with PVC foam or balsa core; performance-oriented builds use carbon reinforcement on structural elements. The bridgedeck and hulls are either laminated as a single structure or assembled from separate mouldings. Propulsion is one diesel saildrive per hull on most production cruising cats, giving independent engine operation for manoeuvrability under power. Folding propellers reduce drag under sail on performance-focused versions.
