Catana 47 Review, the Carbon Infusion Cat and How to Buy One

Which Catana 47 is in front of you

Search for a Catana 47 and three different boats come back. The first is the Catana 471, a 1997 to 2003 design that sellers often shorten to 47. The second is the new Catana 47 that Christophe Barreau drew to replace it, introduced on Catana's website around 2010 with the line that it would be worthy of its now legendary predecessor. The third is the same model after Catana changed how it was built: Cruising World reported that six non-carbon boats left the yard before Catana began infusing carbon fiber into the laminate, cutting roughly 1,500 lb from the earlier hulls.

This page is about the second and third boats, the 14.03 m (46 ft) Catana 47 sold from 2010. The fastest way to tell them apart from the 471 is the hull length and the engines: the newer boat lists 40 hp engines and a 14.03 m hull, the 471 had 50 hp engines on a 14.30 m hull. Later brokers often add the word Carbon to the name, which is a useful clue but not proof, so ask for the hull number and build date.

What the carbon infusion rebuild changed

Catana always built light, but the 47's second iteration took it further. According to Cruising World's 2013 review, the hulls are an infused sandwich of Airex closed-cell foam and glass with polyester and vinylester resins, the vinylester there for osmosis protection. Twaron aramid goes forward for collision resistance and below the waterline for strength, and carbon fiber is placed where chainplate and structural loads arrive. The deck is also an infused foam sandwich, and the bimini top's inner skin, the cabin top and the structural bulkheads are carbon and foam to keep weight out of the upper boat.

SAIL's 2012 test described the same idea from the inside: even the joinery that looks like solid maple is a cored laminate, and the weight saving allowed 40 hp engines instead of the twin 50s of the earlier 47 footers. The practical result is more payload for the same performance, which matters on a cruising cat that will carry a watermaker, a generator, dinghy and stores.

Nine knots in twelve knots of breeze

Two American magazines sailed the carbon boat and recorded similar numbers. SAIL's tester, off Miami in a light ship condition, saw 7 knots on a close reach in 9 knots of wind and 9 knots when a 12 knot gust arrived, tacking through about 90 degrees as long as the turn was brisk. Cruising World's Boat of the Year team on Chesapeake Bay logged nearly 9 knots on a beam reach in just over 12 knots of breeze and speeds in the high 7s close-hauled. Catana told SAIL the boat had exceeded 20 knots in ideal conditions with plenty of wind.

The sail plan does the work: a square-top main and a 145 percent genoa per Cruising World, with factory figures of 86 m2 (926 sq ft) of main, 53 m2 (571 sq ft) of genoa and an 84 m2 (904 sq ft) gennaker. The tulip bows give a fine entry upwind and buoyancy when running. The daggerboards draw about 8 ft 2 in down and 3 ft 7 in up, and SAIL notes they are normally sailed half down, then raised for running in the trades.

The trade-off is motion. SAIL found the boat quick and lively in a seaway, especially in the cockpit, and rated a quick motion as one of its cons. Anyone coming from a heavy charter cat should expect a boat that rewards trimming and responds sharply to waves.

Under power, and why one helm has the throttles

Under power the 47 is economical with its small engines. SAIL measured 7.4 knots at 2,200 rpm with a saloon sound level of 66 dBA, and a little over 9 knots at 3,000 rpm wide open. The boat turned in about one and a half lengths with both engines ahead and spun in its own water on opposed throttles.

Both reviews flagged the same ergonomic issue. The engine controls sit only on the starboard binnacle, and the cabin house creates a blind spot to the opposite bow, so docking to port needs a crew member on watch. Cruising World's judges also wanted controls at both helms and noted an exposed electrical panel. Check whether a boat you are viewing has had a second set of controls added, and look at the electrical installation critically.

A tweaker's deck with a single central winch

The helms are set outboard on each hull with good seats and engine instruments in plain view, and Cruising World praised the smooth Lewmar rack-and-pinion steering. Control lines lead aft through a bank of clutches to winches amidships. SAIL found the lines grouped closely enough that you must clear the winch and then hunt for the right tail, and the main is trimmed through a bridle with two separate sheets, both of which have to be adjusted for a course change. Owners who race or simply enjoy trim love it; couples who want push-button cruising should budget for labeling, electric winches and practice.

Owner's hull or four cabins

Catana's 2011 site showed two arrangements, an owner version and a charter version, with interior design by Linea Concept, wenge floors and pale paneling. In the owner's boat SAIL tested, the entire starboard hull belongs to the owner, with a double berth aft, a vanity, generous lockers and a large head with a separate shower forward behind a curved sliding door. The port hull has a single berth forward and twin berths aft that are easy to make up from the central passage; those two guest heads have no showers.

Four-cabin boats exist too. A 2010 example listed in South Carolina in 2026 has four cabins and four heads, with two double guest cabins and two cabins in the owner's hull. Headroom is about 6 ft 11 in throughout according to SAIL. One complaint worth checking on any boat: the open saloon needs more grab points at sea, and shorter crew may struggle to reach the overhead rails.

Repowers, Starlink and what a 2026 listing looks like

The original engines were Volvo Penta 40 hp units on saildrives, with 158 gallons of fuel and 177 gallons of water per SAIL. Many boats are now at the age where repowering makes sense. The South Carolina boat shows what a fully sorted example looks like: new 2025 Yanmar 4JH57 57 hp engines and SD-60 saildrives, new thru-hulls, a 2019 Cummins Onan 7.5 kW generator, 800 W of solar, an Aqua-Base watermaker, Starlink, new radar and more than $200,000 of recent upgrades, at an asking price of $549,000.

That number is a useful anchor. A carbon infusion boat with original engines, original electrics and no major refit should be priced below it, while a late boat in owner's layout with a recent engine and electrical refit can ask more. European prices for comparable years run from roughly 495,000 to 595,000 euros before shipping or VAT considerations.

Ownership costs on a 25 ft wide performance cat

The biggest single cost in North America is space. A 25 ft beam limits marina choices and pushes slip fees toward the catamaran rate in most of Florida and the Caribbean. Budget also for saildrive diaphragm replacement on schedule, sail replacement for a boat that is meant to be trimmed, and the electronics and battery upgrades most 2010s boats now need. A realistic annual budget for a US-based owner runs from about $35,000 to $70,000 before depreciation, depending on dockage and how much sailing you do.