With the Ocean Class (that's the name of this new 15 m catamaran), Catana wants to reach the couple who leaves for a long trip.
An open saloon or a closed cockpit?
The distinctive feature of this boat is the protection of the saloon/cockpit. To create the Open catamarans, the architects propose to move the deckhouse bulkhead forward to allow the cockpit to enter the saloon. At Catana, we have taken the opposite option, the bulkhead moves backwards and the saloon gains in the cockpit. Of course, all these glass doors are sliding and can be completely removed when the weather is fine or, on the contrary, form a large closed saloon when the weather is bad.
A unique and isolated helm station
The negative point of this installation is the helm station. No more 2 helm stations usually found on a Catana hull. Here, there is only one helm station located at half height of the deckhouse. This creates a protrusion that blocks the peripheral vision when you are inside. In addition, you have to go around the starboard hull to access it. The helmsman finds himself isolated from the rest of the crew while sailing.
Straight drifts
The boat is still equipped with daggerboards, but they are straight and inclined along the sides - no more curved daggerboards that were supposed to act like foils seen on the Catana 53. A solution that is less efficient than vertical daggerboards, but which does not lose too much volume inside the hulls. A particularity of these daggerboards is that they are equipped with electric lines. From now on, the pilot presses a button to maneuver them
A life inside
The lounge area at the front of the deckhouse has been particularly well thought out on the Ocean Class. This will be the living area during the navigation with a good view forward, comfortably seated in a sofa. On the port side, a chart table with a bucket seat worthy of an airliner faces the road. An ideal watch station!
Note the sponge in the center of this square, which shows the desire to move the mast back, a novelty on a Catana. This position offers a larger sail area for the self-tacking jib. The mainsail is positioned just above the bimini that protects the helm station, so it is not too high for easy storage. It is adjusted with a double sheet which avoids the always dangerous mainsail traveler at the back of the cockpit. This 2-sheet system is also effective for adjusting the leech.
From 2 to 4 cabins
No big surprise in terms of layouts with the possibility of 2 to 4 cabins with or without a separate toilet. A skipper's berth in the forepeak is also available. The overall finish is quite good and we want to put our bag on board to see how this boat behaves at sea.
A reasonable weight estimate
There remains the weight estimate, a very telling characteristic for a multihull. Catana announces the Ocean Class at 12.7 T empty. An interesting weight when compared to a Fountaine-Pajot or a Lagoon closer to 19 T, also a little higher than an Outremer (11.2 T). It remains to be seen whether this announced weight of the Ocean Class will be real and whether the numerous options available to future customers will not increase this figure too much.
