Bali 4.8 Catamaran Specs, Layouts and Buying Advice

Bali 4.8 catamaran, the gap-filler that became a charter favorite

When the Bali 4.8 arrived in 2020 it was the seventh model in a range that was barely five years old. Multihulls World described its job plainly: fill the wide gap between the 44-foot Bali 4.5 and the 55-foot 5.4, while a 4.6 was still being drawn. It measures 48 feet 9 inches overall with a 46 foot 2 inch waterline, 25 feet 10 inches of beam and a 4 foot 5 inch draft. Light displacement is 15.3 tonnes, about 33,700 pounds, and sailboatdata gives a maximum loaded figure of 22 tonnes.

The boat comes from the Catana Group yard at Canet-en-Roussillon in the south of France. By the time of the 4.8 the group had grown from around 100 employees to nearly 900 across Canet, La Rochelle and Tunisia, and had built some 350 Bali catamarans in under five years. That industrial pace is the context for this boat: it was designed to sell in volume to charter companies and owners who would put it into charter, and most of the boats now for sale have done exactly that.

Bali has since dropped the 4.8 from its range. Its model page now redirects to the Bali 5.2, launched in 2025, which makes the 4.8 a recently discontinued boat with strong factory and dealer support.

Five layouts, including six cabins in 48 feet

Sail magazine singled out the arrangement with six cabins and six heads as almost unheard of on a boat this size. Bali offered five layouts in total, from a three-cabin owner's version through four and five cabins to that six-cabin charter configuration. Listings we reviewed show how the market splits: crewed charter operators favor five cabins with five en suite heads and individually controlled air conditioning, while private buyers hunt for the three-cabin owner's boats.

The difference is large in daily life. The owner's version gives one hull to a master suite, which turns the boat into a genuine liveaboard for a couple with occasional guests. The five- and six-cabin boats are floating hotels with smaller cabins, more heads to maintain and more resale competition. Forepeak crew berths appear on charter boats and are worth having if you plan to hire a captain.

• 3 cabins: owner's version with full-hull master suite
• 4 cabins: two couples or a family with teenagers
• 5 cabins with 5 heads: the crewed-charter favorite
• 6 cabins with 6 heads: maximum charter capacity

Flybridge, forward cockpit and the doors that connect them

The 4.8 has the full set of Bali features. The aft wall of the saloon lifts like a garage door on hydraulic struts, a watertight door at the front of the saloon opens onto a forward cockpit with a fixed table and sunbeds on the solid foredeck, and stairs lead up to a flybridge with lounge seating. Sail noted that the raised helm sits just forward of the coachroof lounging pad, so the skipper always has company. A hard top over the flybridge was an option, and owners commonly add clear and canvas enclosures.

Aft, a removable bench can bridge the two sugar-scoop transoms to create another seating area, and some boats have a hydraulic aft platform for the tender. Inside, the galley has a full-height refrigerator, and the saloon table seats up to 12. Listings describe upright fridge-freezers of more than 600 liters on some boats, a reminder that this is a design built around feeding a crowd.

How the 4.8 is built

The hulls are foam-cored and infused in polyester, with an anti-osmotic vinylester layer below the waterline, and the deck is also infused over foam to keep weight down. Catana's practice of laminating bulkheads to the hull rather than simply gluing them in carries over, which Multihulls World cited as a reason Bali platforms stay stiff despite the huge openings in the saloon. The fixed stub keels replace the daggerboards of Catana's performance boats and give a draft of about 4 feet 5 inches, shallow enough for most Bahamas and Caribbean anchorages.

45, 57 or 80 hp, and how much fuel and water

Twin 45 hp Yanmars with saildrives were standard, with 57 hp Yanmars as the usual upgrade. Several later boats we saw advertised twin 80 hp Yanmars, including a 2023 owner's version delivered from the factory at Canet and a 2025 dealer demo. On a boat that can load to around 48,000 pounds, we would treat the 45s as a minimum and look for 57 or 80 hp engines, especially if you plan to motor-sail into the trades or push a full charter load.

Multihulls World and sailboatdata list 1,000 liters, about 264 gallons, each of fuel and water. At least one 2025 boat lists its 1,000-liter tanks as an option added to smaller standard tanks, so check the actual tankage on any boat you consider. Generators in the 9 to 13.5 kW range, watermakers and large lithium or AGM banks are the norm on charter-spec boats.

How the Bali 4.8 sails, and what nobody has measured

Sailboatdata gives 173 square meters, about 1,862 square feet, of sail area and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio near 28.7 at light ship, which is healthy on paper. The rig carries a square-top main and a self-tacking jib, and a Code 0 is the usual addition. We have not found a published test with measured speeds for the 4.8, so treat any claims in listings with caution. Based on tested figures for the smaller 4.6 and the larger 5.4, expect a comfortable 6 to 8 knots reaching in moderate breeze and noticeably slower progress upwind than lighter, trampoline-equipped rivals. Ask for a sea trial in at least 12 knots of wind before you buy.

Buying a 4.8 that is still earning

A distinctive part of the 4.8 market is boats sold as working crewed-charter businesses. In 2026 a 2021 boat in the BVI was offered at $799,000 with charters already booked for the following season. That can be attractive if you want the boat to cover its costs for a few years before you take it private, but it means buying a boat that has worked hard.

With any ex-charter 4.8, ask for engine and generator hours, the fleet maintenance log and records of any groundings. Thousands of engine hours are common. One 2022 boat we reviewed showed roughly 4,000 hours on each upgraded engine, which is not a problem if service has been rigorous but should be priced into your offer.

Running costs and the Bali 5.2 that replaced it

Owning a 4.8 privately costs roughly $50,000 to $95,000 a year in the US or Caribbean, before crew. A 26-foot beam needs an end tie or a catamaran slip, and haul-outs require a wide travel lift. The many moving panels, the garage door, the forward door and the sliding windows, all need seal and hinge maintenance.

The 4.8's replacement, the Bali 5.2, launched in 2025 with three to six cabins, a 750 square foot overlapping genoa, a roughly 1,000 square foot square-top main and twin 115 hp Nanni engines, according to Sail magazine. New 5.2s cost considerably more, which is one reason late 4.8s remain in demand.