Catana 42 Review, a Daggerboard Cruiser That Sails Like It Means It
Christophe Barreau's 42 footer packs daggerboards, outboard helms and a carbon-infused structure into a cat sized for a couple.
- Length
- 41.3 ft12.58 m
- Beam
- 22.6 ft6.9 m
- Draft
- 8.9 ft2.7 m
- Cabins
- 3 (owner's version) or 4
- Used price
- $360K to $520K
On this page
- Overview
- From Catana 41 to Catana 42 to Catana 42 Carbon
- Carbon, Twaron and foam: a cat built to stay light
- Outboard helms and a single trimming station
- Daggerboards, test speeds and real-world pace
- An owner's hull to port and a forward-facing nav station
- Not to be confused with the 1990s Catana 42 S or the 431
- Buying a Catana 42 in 2026
- Specifications
- Price and value
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Used buyer checklist
- Rivals
- Our verdict
- FAQ
The Catana 42 is a 41 ft 3 in French performance cruising catamaran designed by Christophe Barreau, developed from the Catana 41 in 2010 and built at Canet-en-Roussillon into the mid-2010s. Carbon infusion arrived in 2011 and it won Cruising World's top multihull award under 50 feet.
- Experienced couples who enjoy sailing as much as arriving
- Ocean passages and trade-wind circuits
- Owners moving from performance monohulls
- Buyers who value windward ability
Catana 42 by the numbers
- Sail area to displacement
- 26.5Racing level power, needs active reefing as the breeze builds.
- Displacement to length
- 130Light displacement for its length, quick but sensitive to added cruising weight.
- Theoretical hull speed
- 8.5 knDisplacement hull speed for the waterline. Light catamarans regularly sail faster than this because their slim hulls do not make a large bow wave.
- Length to beam ratio
- 1.82 : 1Catamaran overall proportions. Wider platforms resist pitching and heel.
From Catana 41 to Catana 42 to Catana 42 Carbon
Catana has built performance cruising catamarans since 1984, first at Cogolin and from 1997 at Canet-en-Roussillon on the French Mediterranean coast. According to the yard's own history page, in 2010 the Catana 41 gained a foot and a new interior and became the Catana 42. In 2009 the yard had moved to infusion, and CatamaranSite records that the first carbon infusion Catana 42 was hull 19 in 2011, after which carbon infusion became standard.
The boat reached the US as the Catana 42 Carbon at the Annapolis show and was named Cruising World's Best Midsize Multihull Under 50 Feet in its 2014 Boat of the Year awards. Christophe Barreau, who has designed Catanas since the early days and who in 1986 sailed a Catana 40 beyond 80 degrees north, drew it. Sailboatdata dates the design to 2008, which reflects its Catana 41 roots; European listings show boats built up to 2015.
Carbon, Twaron and foam: a cat built to stay light
The Catana 42's selling point is low weight for a cruising boat with full accommodation. Catana lists the structure as infused foam sandwich with carbon and Twaron, an aramid fiber that resists punctures, and CatamaranSite adds that the hull is reinforced with Twaron in an impact process while bulkheads, roof, floor plates, chainplate areas and structural reinforcements use foam and carbon sandwich. Cruising World notes that even the furniture is foam-cored. The yard quoted a light displacement of 8.9 tonnes, about 19,600 lb, and offered a five-year structural warranty.
The hull shape follows a formula Catana has refined for decades: asymmetric hulls canted outward, tulip-shaped bows that add reserve buoyancy and reduce pitching, sterns that taper to the waterline and a sleek coachroof sweeping into a partial bimini. Cruising World's figures give a displacement to length ratio of 130 and a sail area to displacement ratio of 26.5, numbers that place it well beyond the charter-oriented cats of its size.
Outboard helms and a single trimming station
The feature that divides opinion is the helm position. The twin wheels sit well aft and outboard on each hull rather than on a bulkhead or flybridge. Cruising World's judges called them a sailor's choice: you are exposed to the weather, but you can see the sails, the telltales and both bows, and Ed Sherman found the location comfortable, with an opening in the elevated canopy for a view forward. Mark Schrader praised the steering, hardware and metalwork as excellent.
Sail handling is centralized on a pedestal at the aft end of the cockpit carrying two Harken electric winches and banks of clutches. Sheets, halyards and reef lines lead there, so one trimmer can run almost any maneuver without moving. The rig is a powerful single-spreader fractional with Diamond rod rigging and Kevlar cap shrouds, a square-top main, a furling jib on the headstay and a furling screecher tacked to a sprit ahead of the forward crossbeam. You must furl the screecher to tack it, but it gives effortless reaching without spinnaker handling. Solar panels are built into the coachroof and the hard bimini.
Daggerboards, test speeds and real-world pace
Two daggerboards drop from 2 ft 8 in to 8 ft 10 in and give the 42 a grip to windward that keel-fin cruising cats cannot match. Upwind sail area is 112 sq m, rising to 130 sq m downwind with the screecher, on a mast that stands 19.5 m above the waterline. Cruising World's 2014 test on Chesapeake Bay found only 6 knots of breeze yet still recorded 6 knots of boat speed close-hauled, and the judges came away convinced the boat would haul the mail in more wind.
Boards also add tactical options. Raised, they let the boat slide sideways in breaking seas rather than trip, and partly raised they help balance the helm downwind. They do add maintenance: trunks, bearings and the boards themselves should be inspected at every haul-out.
An owner's hull to port and a forward-facing nav station
Through a big sliding glass door, the saloon has a forward-facing navigation station to port, a dining table and settee to starboard and a rear-facing galley aft that opens to the cockpit through a sliding window. In the three-cabin owner's version tested by Cruising World, the port hull is the owner's suite with a large double aft and a roomy head forward, while the starboard hull has forward and aft guest cabins separated by a locker and sharing a head. A four-cabin version was also offered.
There is a big locker under the cockpit sole and three more forward housing the tanks and windlass. Side decks are wide. Headroom and hull volume are tighter than in a Lagoon or Leopard of similar length, which is the trade every owner of a performance cat accepts.
Not to be confused with the 1990s Catana 42 S or the 431
Searches for a Catana 42 for sale also turn up older boats. CatamaranSite lists a Catana 42 S built from 1990 to 1992 to a Lock Crowther design, about 13 m long with Kevlar sandwich construction, twin 28 hp Volvo MD2030 saildrives and a 6 ft board-down draft. It shares the brand's DNA but is a completely different, much older boat and prices far lower.
The Catana 431 of 1998 onward is also sometimes listed as a 42 or 43. It is a 43 ft Barreau design from Catana's second generation, heavier on equipment and with a different interior. Always check the build year and the hull identification number, because the three boats differ in value by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Buying a Catana 42 in 2026
Most Catana 42s are in Europe and the Caribbean, so US buyers should budget for a survey trip, import formalities and delivery. CatamaranSite records seven sales and notes there are rarely any for sale; current European listings run from about 339,000 euros for a 2015 four-cabin boat to 460,000 euros for a 2014 Carbon Infusion. We put US-equivalent values at roughly $360,000 to $520,000.
Annual costs of $35,000 to $70,000 are realistic for a 42 ft cat with a 22 ft 8 in beam, which often needs an end tie or a multihull slip. Sails are a significant line item on a performance cat that is sailed hard, and composite repair work needs a yard familiar with infused foam and aramid laminates.
Catana 42 specifications
| Length overall | 41.3 ft12.58 m |
|---|---|
| Waterline length | 40.7 ft12.4 m |
| Beam | 22.6 ft6.9 m |
| Draft | 8.9 ft2.7 m |
| Air draft | 64 ft19.51 m |
| Displacement | 19,62 lbs8,9 kg |
| Sail area | 1,205 sq ft112 m² |
| Fuel capacity | 114 gal43 L |
| Fresh water | 177 gal67 L |
| Cabins | 3 (owner's version) or 4 |
| Berths | 6 to 8 |
| Heads | 2 |
| Standard engines | Twin 30 hp Volvo Penta diesels on saildrives |
| Optional engines | Twin 40 hp Volvo Penta diesels are common on brokerage boats |
| Hull type | Asymmetric, outward-canted catamaran hulls with tulip-shaped bows and daggerboards |
| Keel | Twin daggerboards: 2 ft 8 in draft boards up, 8 ft 10 in boards down |
| Rig | Fractional single-spreader sloop, square-top main (70 sq m), furling jib and furling screecher on a bowsprit; 130 sq m downwind |
| Hull construction | Infused foam sandwich with carbon and Twaron aramid reinforcement |
| CE design category | A |
| Builder | Chantier Catana, Canet-en-Roussillon, France |
| Naval architect | Christophe Barreau |
| Production | 2010 to 2015 |
| Status | Discontinued |
Figures come from builder documentation and independent tests where available. Displacement is usually quoted light, so a loaded cruising boat will weigh more. Compare these specs with another model.
How much does a Catana 42 cost?
Cruising World quoted the Catana 42 Carbon at about $600,000 in 2014. European listings in 2026 show a 2010 boat at 389,900 euros, a 2013 boat at 399,500 euros before VAT, a 2014 Carbon Infusion at 460,000 euros and a 2015 four-cabin boat reduced to 339,000 euros. Carbon infusion hulls from 2011 onward, owner's version layouts, sail inventory and whether the boat has been in charter are the main price drivers, and buyers in the US should add import and delivery costs for most boats.
Estimate your yearly cost
A planning estimate using common rules of thumb: insurance near 1.5 percent of value, maintenance near 3 percent, haul out and bottom paint by length. Your marina, region and use will move these numbers. Open the full cost calculator.
Versions and options
- Catana 42 (2010)
- Developed from the Catana 41 with an extra foot of length and a new interior.
- Catana 42 Carbon Infusion (from 2011)
- Carbon added to the infused structure from hull 19, later standard; marketed in the US as the Catana 42 Carbon.
- Owner's three-cabin layout
- Port hull owner's suite with large aft double and head forward; two guest cabins sharing a head to starboard.
- Four-cabin layout
- Two cabins per hull, popular with families and charter.
Catana 42 timeline
- 1984Catana founded at Cogolin, France
- 1997Yard moves to Canet-en-Roussillon
- 2009Catana switches to infusion construction
- 2010Catana 41 becomes the Catana 42
- 2011First carbon infusion Catana 42, hull 19
- 2013Named Cruising World's Best Midsize Multihull Under 50 Feet for 2014
Strengths and weaknesses
What owners like
- Genuine performance with daggerboards and a light infused structure
- Excellent visibility and feel from the outboard helms
- Single trimming station with electric winches
- Puncture-resistant Twaron laminate
- Good tankage for a light cat: 670 liters of water and 430 of diesel
- Award-winning design with a strong reputation among sailors
What to weigh up
- Helms are exposed to the weather
- Less interior volume than charter-style cats
- Daggerboards add maintenance
- Most boats are in Europe, so import costs apply
- Specialist composite repairs needed
Used Catana 42 buyer checklist
Take this list to a viewing. Your ticks are saved in this browser so you can come back to it.
Always commission an independent marine survey and an engine survey before you buy. How a marine survey works.
Rivals to consider
Outremer 45
The other French performance cruising benchmark with daggerboards and light construction; slightly bigger and usually pricier.
Compare side by sideLagoon 42
Far more volume and flybridge comfort, but much heavier and slower, with fixed keels.
Compare side by sideNautitech 40 Open
A cheaper sporty French cat with aft helms and an open cockpit, using fixed keels rather than boards.
Fountaine Pajot Helia 44
Popular cruising cat of the same era with a bulkhead helm and more interior space.
Our verdict on the Catana 42
The Catana 42 is for people who want to sail their catamaran, not just live on it. The daggerboards, light carbon and Twaron structure and outboard helms give it a feel and windward ability that mainstream cats of its size cannot match, and the single trimming pedestal makes it manageable for a couple. You give up some interior volume and must accept exposed helms and the upkeep of boards. If those trade-offs suit you, a well-maintained carbon infusion boat from 2011 onward is one of the most rewarding 42 ft cruising catamarans on the used market.
Catana 42 questions answered
How much is a Catana 42 worth?
Recent European listings range from about 339,000 euros to 460,000 euros, roughly $360,000 to $520,000. Cruising World quoted about $600,000 new in 2014.
When was the Catana 42 built?
Catana renamed the Catana 41 as the Catana 42 in 2010 after adding a foot and a new interior, and boats were built into the mid-2010s. Carbon infusion started with hull 19 in 2011.
Does the Catana 42 have daggerboards?
Yes. Twin daggerboards give a draft of 2 ft 8 in raised and 8 ft 10 in lowered.
What engines does the Catana 42 have?
Catana specified twin 30 hp diesels on saildrives, and many boats on the market carry twin 40 hp Volvo Penta engines.
Is the Catana 42 the same as the Catana 431?
No. The 431 is a different, older 43 ft Catana from 1998 onward, and the Catana 42 S is a 1990 to 1992 Lock Crowther design.
What awards did the Catana 42 win?
Cruising World named the Catana 42 Carbon its Best Midsize Multihull Under 50 Feet in the 2014 Boat of the Year awards.
More sailing catamarans to explore
Lagoon 42
Sailing Catamarans, 42 ft
Used $340K to $600K
Bali Catspace
Sailing Catamarans, 40 ft
Used $380K to $560K
Bali 4.2
Sailing Catamarans, 42 ft
Used $400K to $620K
Leopard 44
Sailing Catamarans, 43 ft
Used $300K to $430K