Bali Catspace Review, Specs and Used Prices

The Catspace idea, more boat inside a 40-foot footprint

The Catspace is Bali's answer to a simple question: how much living space can you fit on a 40-foot catamaran without making it a 45-footer? Olivier Poncin, the Catana Group chief who launched the Bali brand in 2014, set out to give the Catspace 20 percent more living space than its competitors, according to Yachting World. Naval architecture went to Lasta Design Studio, interiors to Piaton Berco, and the first hulls were built in 2019. The boat reached North American buyers in force from fall 2022.

The recipe is the same one that defines every Bali. There are no trampolines; the deck runs solid from the stern to the bows and forms a lounge forward. The aft bulkhead is a pneumatic, tilt-up garage door that turns the saloon and cockpit into one room. And the Catspace adds something no other 40-foot production cat offered at launch, a flybridge helm with space for four people, reachable from either side.

Bali lists 757 square feet of usable deck area. That is the number buyers fall for, and it is why the Catspace has become a common sight in charter fleets in the BVI and the Mediterranean.

Hull length, overall length and why it matters

Read the specs carefully. Bali quotes 40 feet 5 inches overall, but the hulls are 38 feet 5 inches long and the waterline 37 feet 3 inches. Some magazines list it as a 37 or 38 footer for that reason, and marinas that charge by overall length will use the bigger number. Beam is about 21 feet 6 inches and yacht.de lists draft at 1.10 meters (about 3 feet 7 inches), though Bali's current spec sheet quotes a maximum of 1.19 meters, still shallow enough for the Bahamas.

Light displacement is 9,200 kilograms (about 20,300 pounds), with a maximum loaded displacement of 28,404 pounds. Standard sail area is 807 square feet from a 52 square meter mainsail and a 30 square meter self-tacking jib, and the maximum upwind area with a Code 0 is 1,087 square feet. Yacht.de measured the mast tip at 18.23 meters (59 feet 10 inches) above the waterline.

The honest truth about Catspace sailing performance

No reviewer has called the Catspace fast, and buyers should go in with clear expectations. Cruising World sailed it in about 15 knots of wind and saw roughly 4 knots close-hauled and just under 6 knots on a reach in the puffs. Yacht.de started in 8 to 10 knots, where it judged the boat clearly under-rigged on standard sails, but when the sea breeze built to 18 knots the boat made 6.4 knots upwind under jib alone with a tacking angle of about 100 degrees, and just under 8 knots over the ground with the Code 0.

The conclusion is consistent: the Catspace wakes up above 15 knots of true wind and needs a Code 0 or reaching sail to be enjoyable in lighter air. Cruising World recommended the same. On the plus side the self-tacking jib and winches near the helm make it simple to handle short-handed, and Multihulls World's week-long, 400-mile Mediterranean cruise with seven people aboard found it a relaxed, unhurried passage maker in winds from 0 to 21 knots.

Flybridge helm, garage door and foredeck lounge

The helm sits on the flybridge to starboard, surrounded by cushions, with the winches close at hand. Visibility of the sails is good, but yacht.de found the hydraulic steering unfeeling even in a breeze and noted that the main boom is mounted high for safety, which complicates handling the mainsail. Bow cameras or a crew member on deck help when docking.

The tilt-up aft door is the boat's party trick. Raised, it opens the saloon to the cockpit; lowered, it closes the whole space against weather or bugs. The foredeck lounge stays drier than a trampoline in rough conditions, but there is no direct door from the saloon to the foredeck, so you walk around via the sidedecks. Listing reviews also note the forward ventilation relies largely on one opening center window.

• Four-person flybridge, rare at 40 feet
• Pneumatic up-and-over aft door
• Solid foredeck with sunpads instead of nets
• No saloon-to-foredeck door

Three cabin owner's layout or four cabin charter boat

Two layouts are offered. The owner's version gives the port hull to a master cabin and places two guest cabins to starboard, with three heads. The charter version has four cabins and four heads. The forward cabins are the standout: the berths run athwartships, 1.50 meters wide at the shoulder, which makes them unusually roomy for a 40-footer, and bunks for children can be added. Aft berths are about 1.90 meters long, which taller owners may find short.

The saloon is airy with a full-size refrigerator in the forward starboard corner, a large center window and an L-shaped galley. Every cabin has its own head in the four cabin version, a rare luxury at this size. Yacht.de did criticize some interior finishing, including large gaps filled with sealant and toilet compartments with only a very small opening window.

How the Catspace is built and powered

Hulls are infused in one piece with polyester resin over closed-cell PVC foam, a process yacht.de reports is carried out in Tunisia, while the deck and coachroof are made by RTM injection. Bulkheads are laminated to hull and deck, and the stub keels are glued on so they can break away in a hard grounding without breaching the hull.

Standard engines are twin Yanmars of about 20 to 21 hp, with an upgrade of roughly 30 hp offered. Tankage is 400 liters (106 gallons) of diesel and 700 liters (185 gallons) of water, generous for a 40-foot cat. Air conditioning and a generator can be fitted, but a 20 hp engine pair is marginal for a heavily loaded boat in chop, so the bigger engines are worth seeking on the used market.

Prices, depreciation and running costs

When it launched, Yachting World quoted 298,500 euros excluding VAT, a sharp price for a 40-foot cat with a flybridge. Inflation and options have moved that a long way: Cruising World listed $550,000 and yacht.de 454,940 euros including VAT in 2023. On the used market, BVI listings in 2025 and 2026 ranged from $399,000 for a highly optioned four cabin 2022 boat to $549,000 for a lightly chartered 2023 owner's version.

Annual costs are moderate at roughly $26,000 to $50,000 including a catamaran slip, insurance, haul-out, engine service and canvas. The 21 foot 6 inch beam is narrow enough for many marinas, a real saving over 45-foot cats. Because so many Catspaces are in charter, expect a steady flow of five-year-old fleet boats, which will keep prices for ex-charter examples soft.