Catana 471

Mexico, our reference catamaran, was one of the last 471s built – no.83 of 86 in total. A very respectable score for a boat over 14 metres long: moreover it is the Canet en Roussillon-based builder's best-seller. It is also an emblematic model. The one that has the best trips to its name... "A lot of Catana 471s have sailed round the world, or carried out other big voyages, with a couple, a singlehanded sailor or a family with children aboard," Nicolas Pistre, the company's marketing director enthuses. "This is the boat which made the company's reputation and gave it the image of a safe round the world boat which is fast, comfortable and easy to handle. It is a boat which is still sought after for its exceptional seakeeping qualities." The most extraordinary voyage was without a doubt that of Bruno Nicoletti. After a first circumnavigation aboard a Catana 44, he sailed round the world again via the southern oceans aboard a Catana 471...at over 70 years old! Record sales and long voyages make this model a much sought after catamaran on the second-hand market. The typical profile of the purchasers? A family ready to set off! The 471's career cannot just be summed up by a nice slice of production from 1997 to 2006: this model was also available in an over-equipped private owner type version – the Catana 472 – with masses of interior comfort equipment, as well as adjustable helmsman's seats, and a gennaker on a carbon bowsprit... The 471 also quietly continued its career under the name 47 OC (Ocean Cruiser) until 2009, before being replaced for good by the present 47. Have you followed?

Catana's favorite

If Catana's staff still appreciate the 471 just as much, it is without a doubt because this model is a good compromise between the first quite rustic Catanas, and the trend which began in the early 2000s towards over-equipped catamarans – carbon rig, domestic appliances, latest electronic equipment. The company has recently repositioned the cursor further towards the 471, who knows why? Renaud Perrie, in charge of sea tests and deliveries is a 471 fan: "for me, 47 feet is the right size. You can still handle it singlehanded, without a crew. It's good in bad weather, and doesn't slam too much in the waves. At the yard, without boasting, we have seen a top speed of 29.6 knots in a surf on a very big wave – frankly, I don't advise you to try and do better – and a crossing of the Golfe de Saint Tropez on one hull... Nicolas Pistre prefers to share with us this amazing picture of seals settled on the sugar scoops of a 471: its owner finally fitted nets, an operation he repeated on his new Catana 50. You don't necessarily want to share your breakfast with a sea elephant!

A hard life: charter in the tropics!

At just under 7 years old, Mexico was not an old boat, but it had had hard treatment: five years' charter in the West Indies, more precisely in Martinique, at Dream Yacht Charter, in blazing sunshine, high temperatures and a lot of humidity... The boats don't like it at all! From the exterior, our 471 was as clean as a whistle. Of course, the exterior cushions in imitation leather had suffered from the UV, and were in poor condition, and the white paint on the davits was flaking. But these are details: the offset steering positions and the fittings – the control lines run under the bridgedeck and the mainsail is controlled by twin tackles – were operational; the boat was ready to sail. We appreciated the uncluttered side decks, the gentle slope of the coachroof, which makes it easy to climb up and zip the lazy bag. The only (slight) reproach: the cockpit is higher than the bridgedeck. Inside, the impression of volume is good, even though it is well below current standards – in any case those of Lagoon or Fountaine Pajot. With 1.95m headroom, a lengthwise galley close to the cockpit, a well fitted forward-facing chart table with lots of stowage and a comprehensive (but screwed) electrical panel – the general framework of the accommodation is convincing. The saloon table in two panels gives a surface measuring 144cm by 88. Six people can eat around it at a squeeze. Mexico has four cabins (and as many heads). This is the most-sold version, but you may discover a private owner's version – and the starboard hull is yours – or another six-cabin version dedicated to charter, of course. The cabins are of a good size, with twin berths aft which can be converted into two singles or a big double. More than the difficult access to the berths, the thing that let Mexico down was the condition of the woodwork: on the kitchen work top, the veneer on the saloon settee support, the foot of the freezer, the shower in the port forward cabin, the wood was often in poor condition. The builder was not hiding anything: it launched a refit programme – engines, generator, watermaker, cushions, woodwork, etc., which proved to be worthwhile: Mexico has just been sold, to experience new adventures... But above all, don't despair: another four-cabin 471 has just gone into Catana's yard!

The Pluses:

+ Fast boat, capable of over 200 miles a day at sea
+ Robust structure capable of resisting difficult sea conditions
+ Deep daggerboards allow excellent pointing to windward

The Minuses: 

- Woodwork sensitive to damp
- Deck portlights must be protected from the sun
- Slightly small saloon

The points to check

Rock-solid structure – the builder uses reinforcements and crash boxes in Twaron for the first time – validated by long voyages: this Catana can cer tainly be classified amongst the strong catamarans. The first carbon rigs (at the end of the 1990s) were less convincing: to be inspected closely if the boat you are after has one. Our test boat, after six years in the Tropics, showed its age inside: many parts of the wood furnishings – shower, galley – were already seriously damaged. On deck, the boat was still in good condition, as long as you didn't focus on the flaking white paint on the davits.

FICHE TECHNIQUE

Builder: Catana
Architect: Christophe Barreau
Overall length: 15.70 m
Hull length: 14.30 m
Waterline length: 13.80 m
Beam: 7.70 m
Draft: 1.20/2.50 m
Unladen weight: 12 t
Mainsail area: 78 to 91m²
Genoa area: 28 to 52m²
Gennaker: 82 m²
Engines: 2 x 50 or 55 hp
Production: 86 examples from 1997 to 2006
Second-hand price: 300,000 to 400,000 euros