Lagoon Catamarans, the World's Largest Multihull Builder

A Jeanneau side project that became a multihull giant

Lagoon began in 1984 as a specialist multihull division of Jeanneau, building on work with the designers Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, the VPLP partnership that still draws every Lagoon. The division passed to Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB), and both came under Groupe Beneteau in the mid-1990s. Boats under 50 feet are built in the Vendée and launched at Les Sables-d'Olonne, while larger models come from the CNB yard in Bordeaux.

By 2021 Lagoon had built more than 6,000 catamarans, far more than any rival. Starting with the Lagoon 39 and 52 of 2012, the mast moved further aft, a layout that enlarges the self-tacking jib and makes the rig easier to handle. That remained the house formula for more than a decade, until the Lagoon 43 of 2024 shifted the mast forward again to clear the saloon, swapping the self-tacker for a furling genoa.

Eight Lagoons on our pages, from the 380 to the 55

Our coverage spans the range US buyers shop. The Lagoon 380, built from 1999 to 2019 and roughly 1,000 strong, is the best-selling Lagoon and the classic first cruising cat. The Lagoon 40 replaced both the 39 and the 400 in 2017 and has since handed the entry slot to the new Lagoon 38. The Lagoon 450, built from 2011 to 2021 with more than 850 hulls, introduced the flybridge concept to a mass audience. The Lagoon 46 (from 2019) and the Lagoon 50 (2018 to 2021, since replaced by the Lagoon 51) brought the aft-mast design to bigger boats, and the Lagoon 55 sits near the top of the sailing range below the SEVENTY flagships.

The mid-40 foot slot now spans two generations. The Lagoon 42, launched in 2016 and past 1,000 hulls by 2023, became one of the most common cruising cats anywhere and remains a charter favorite, with Lagoon still offering it as a Millenium edition. Its successor, the Lagoon 43, premiered at Cannes and Annapolis in the fall of 2024 and was named European Yacht of the Year for 2025. Drawn by VPLP with exterior styling by Patrick le Quément and an interior by Nauta Design, it trades the full flybridge for a raised semi-fly helm, adds boarding doors in both hulls, nearly doubles the fuel tankage of the 42 and can put the owner's bed at the forward end of the hull. A late 42 is the value play; the 43 is the choice for buyers who want the newer layout.

Most models come in charter and owner versions, and owner versions with a full-hull master suite carry a resale premium.

Charter-exit boats, resale and the used-Lagoon checklist

No catamaran sells faster in the US than a well-priced Lagoon. Dealers on both coasts, Groupe Beneteau's US operation and enormous production numbers make parts and know-how easy to find. The flip side is that many used Lagoons come out of charter, so documentation and condition matter more than the year on the listing.

Lagoons are not light or fast, and they carry a lot of windage on the flybridge models, but they are roomy and forgiving. Inspect these points.

• Bulkhead tabbing and furniture bonding in the saloon and near the mast compression post
• Forward crossbeam, bridle and trampoline attachments
• Saildrive seals, engine hours and engine room water ingress
• Rudder bearings and steering cables or hydraulics
• Saloon window and hatch seals, a common source of leaks
• Generator, watermaker and air conditioning service records