Excess Catamarans, Groupe Beneteau's Sailor's Cat

Why Groupe Beneteau created a second catamaran brand

Groupe Beneteau already owned Lagoon, the best-selling cruising catamaran brand in the world, when it unveiled Excess at the 2019 Dusseldorf boat show with the Excess 12 and Excess 15, both derived from Lagoon designs. The logic was simple. Many buyers moving from monohulls disliked the flybridge helm and boxy feel of mainstream charter cats and wanted a boat that steered and felt like a sailboat. Excess answered with twin helms at the aft corners of the hulls, lower profiles and rigs tuned for more sail area.

The brand shares industrial resources, suppliers and much of its dealer network with Lagoon and Beneteau, which keeps prices competitive and parts supply reliable while giving Excess its own design language.

The Excess 14 and the current lineup

The Excess 14, which we cover in depth, premiered at Cannes in 2022 and made its US debut at the Miami boat show in February 2023. Designed by VPLP, it pairs twin aft helms with a modern hull and a large salon, and it serves as the flagship of a range that also includes the Excess 11 and Excess 13. Owners can choose a Pulse Line option with a taller rig and performance sails, and the brand has added Riders' Edition and Origins packages.

Excess boats are not racing catamarans. They are cruising cats with better steering feel, quicker response and a more connected helm position. Compared with an Outremer or Seawind, they are heavier and more volume-focused; compared with a Lagoon, they are lighter and livelier.

• Excess 11, the compact entry model
• Excess 13, the mid-size cruiser
• Excess 14, the VPLP-designed flagship

Resale, charter use and used-boat checks

Because Excess is young, the used market is thin and prices are still close to new. A recent Excess 14 typically lists from about $540,000 to $800,000. Some boats come from charter fleets that market Excess as a sailing-focused option, and those carry the usual charter caveats. Dealer support runs largely through Beneteau and Lagoon dealers, which gives the brand wide US coverage for a newcomer.

Look carefully at the parts of the boat that make Excess different.

• Steering linkages and cables between the twin aft helms
• Rig, sails and running rigging on Pulse Line boats
• Saildrive seals and engine hours
• Bridgedeck underside and forward crossbeam area
• Charter maintenance logs on ex-fleet boats