“We want to make our catamarans more energy self-sufficient.”
Xquisite is a young brand that has built up a loyal customer base in just ten years. Its catamarans, both sailing and motor, have all received excellent reviews in the international boating press. This success is no accident, as Tamas Hamor, the brand’s CEO, explained to us at the traditional owners’ gathering in the Bahamas.
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Publié le
31/07/2025
Par
Dominic Salander
Numéro :
203
Parution :
Oct.
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Nov.
2025
Tamas Hamor: My background is long and quite unique. I was born and raised in Budapest, then moved to Spain when I was 20. I started out doing various jobs, working for a construction company and even opening a bar. That’s also where I started sailing, and I bought a boat that I would sometimes take to Ibiza on weekends. When the 2008 crisis hit, Spain was hit hard and the economy was devastated. So I decided to leave Spain on my boat with more or less no plan other than to sail wherever the wind took me. To make a living, I started doing day charters, but I really wanted to sail around the world. That took me to Cape Verde, for example, where I stayed for several months. Due to its strategic location for blue water cruising, it’s a place where you meet lots of interesting people. That’s how I met a lady crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a catamaran. She owned a Privilège 49 and was looking for a crew. I liked the idea, so we set sail for the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the story didn’t end very well, as the catamaran sank in Tobago. I then spent a few months in Costa Rica until I met a woman who wanted to swim across the Atlantic and was looking for a support boat. I accepted and we did it with a Leopard 42 that served as a base for the crew. Over the next 10 years, she made several swims of this kind in different parts of the world, but remained completely anonymous, and each time I skippered the support boat. I also chartered the Leopard 42 for 11 years. I then changed boats and bought a Dean 5000 (50 feet) built in South Africa. The idea was to explore the most remote places on the planet, such as the Orinoco River, Panama, and the South Pacific. At the end, I stopped in more than 90 countries.
MW: How did you go from being a sailor to a multihull builder?
TH: Actually, when I sold the Leopard 42 to buy the Dean in 2011, the brand went bankrupt. I finally reached an agreement with them and moved to South Africa in 2012 to finish my catamaran in the factory. The hull and structures were already built, so all that was left to do was finish the interior and install the systems. During this experience, I really learned a lot about multihull construction and even improved things that weren’t originally planned for the Dean.
Once the catamaran was finished, I sailed it, crossed the Atlantic again as a support boat for the swimmer, and did a few trips around the Atlantic.
MW: When did you decide to create your own brand?
TH: During this whole process, I met Sara, my wife, and after a while, we decided to have a child. That also meant a change in lifestyle to something more stable so we could raise our son. As the Dean brand had gone bankrupt, I decided to create my own brand, inspired by the Dean 5000. In the end, I kept some of the design, the hull and a few bulkheads, but everything else was changed and it became the X5. We reached an agreement with Phoenix Marine in South Africa, which became our exclusive partner for the construction of the catamarans. Success came quickly: when we started in 2014, the shipyard employed 20 people; ten years later, 280 people work at Phoenix Marine building our catamarans. Today, we produce almost 20 boats a year and have just opened a second production site in Portugal for the powercat range, where we are already building the 40 and 60 power models.
MW: What makes Xquisite different from other brands?
TH: We design and build our catamarans with great attention to detail and listen closely to our customers to continuously improve our multihulls. However, what really sets us apart is our service. At Xquisite, customer service is our top priority. No matter what your problem is or where you are in the world, there is one number you can call when you need us, and we will do everything we can to solve the problem. It’s an after-sales service, but it’s also a concierge service dedicated to our customers.
In addition to this after-sales service, we also propose a charter management program for owners who want to rent out their catamaran and for those who want to charter an Xquisite. We also have a brokerage service to help owners to sell their boats and enable new customers to find a used boat that suits them. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, we have an inspection and certification program. This means that every Xquisite that is resold can be inspected and certified by our technicians, providing a real guarantee for the potential buyer. Above all, we are building a community. At events such as the annual Owner’s Gathering at our Bahamas base, customers meet and share their experiences, tips, and favorite spots. They get to know each other, and when they meet months later in an anchorage somewhere, it’s like a family reunion.
MW: What upcoming projects are there for Xquisite?
TH: Of course, I can’t tell you everything we have in the pipeline, but we have just launched the 60 Solar Sail and the powercat version of the 60, with the first model due to be delivered to the Bahamas. Regarding the size, we probably won’t go below 40 feet. We will probably move towards larger sizes, but above all, we want to make our catamarans increasingly energy self-sufficient and more environmentally friendly. This involves hybrid propulsion, but also the increasing use of solar energy.
The 60 Solar Sail is just one step towards the goal we want to achieve. The idea is to offer our customers the possibility of sailing with unlimited range and therefore making long passages, without sacrificing high-end comfort, all while respecting the planet.
The X5 is Xquisite’s first model. Launched in 2014, this catamaran was inspired by the Dean 5000.
