Excess 14 Catamaran, Specifications and Sailing Review

Why Beneteau created Excess and where the 14 fits

Groupe Beneteau already owned Lagoon, the biggest catamaran brand in the world, when it presented Excess at the Dusseldorf boat show in 2019 with the Excess 12 and 15, two models SAIL describes as modified Lagoon designs. The pitch was simple: catamarans for people who enjoy sailing, with aft helms, lower booms and livelier rigs, aimed at owners who found Lagoons too much like floating apartments. Multihulls World describes the brand as deliberately more performance and sailing focused than its sister company.

After Beneteau revamped the brand's management and messaging, the all-new Excess 11 arrived, and the Excess 14 catamaran followed at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2022 with a from-scratch VPLP hull. The design team was led by Thibaut de Montvalon, with product manager Herve Piveteau, who previously worked on the Sun Fast range of offshore racers. Today the 14 is the flagship of a range that also includes the Excess 11 and 13.

Excess 14 catamaran specifications, explained

The headline numbers are 45 feet 9 inches overall on 43 foot 9 inch hulls, 25 feet 9 inches of beam and 4 feet 10 inches of draft. Light displacement is 12,800 kilograms (28,219 pounds), roughly 2,500 to 10,000 pounds lighter than many 45 to 47 foot charter cats. With the optional bowsprit and platform extensions, maximum length grows to 16.46 meters (54 feet), which matters for marinas that measure every inch.

The standard rig carries an 83 square meter square-top mainsail and a 40 square meter overlapping genoa, 1,323 square feet upwind, with a 72 square meter Code 0 optional. The Pulse Line adds about 6 feet of mast and 130 square feet of upwind area for 1,453 square feet, and extends the profile by 1.7 meters with a bowsprit a meter longer. Mast clearance is listed at 64 feet 11 inches standard and 70 feet 8 inches with the Pulse rig. East Coast owners should note that the Pulse rig rules out the 65 foot fixed bridges of the Intracoastal Waterway, and even the standard rig leaves almost no margin once a masthead antenna is fitted.

• Fuel 2 x 200 liters (106 US gal total)
• Fresh water 300 liters (79 US gal), per builder data
• Black water 2 x 80 liters
• CE Category A for 10 people

Asymmetric hulls and deeper rudders from VPLP

VPLP gave the Excess 14 asymmetric hulls, fuller on the outboard side and flatter inboard. SAIL explains that this moves the center of buoyancy outboard for more stability and reduces interference drag between the hulls. The bows are inverted and stand clear of the surface, the bridgedeck is raised for clearance, and the rudders are 8 inches deeper than on earlier Excess models for better grip and pointing. The mast is stepped well forward.

The raised bridgedeck helps, but it does not eliminate slamming. Owner and review summaries mention wave slap under the bridgedeck in short, steep chop, which is typical of catamarans in this size range and worth feeling on a sea trial in real conditions.

Twin aft helms and the low boom

The Excess 14's defining feature is its pair of helm stations at the aft end of each hull, a layout the builder calls new to the market at launch. The wheels sit right above the rudders with direct cable steering, so the boat feels like a big performance cat rather than a condominium steered by hydraulics. SAIL found visibility excellent forward and aft and fair when sighting through the saloon windows to the opposite bow.

The boom is low, so reefing and sail handling happen from the cockpit roof without climbing, though the low boom also limits use of the sky lounge on top while sailing. The one oddity SAIL flagged is the absence of a fixed compass at either wheel or at the nav desk, so you will want a hand-bearing compass or a retrofit.

Measured speeds from Biscayne Bay to a Cannes delivery

Yachting World sailed the boat across three sessions. In 12 to 14 knots it made 7.4 to 8.0 knots upwind, 7.3 knots under Code 0 in 8 to 12 knots, and 7 to 8.5 knots under asymmetric spinnaker, with a best of 10.3 knots. The delivery crew reported 16.5 knots. Testers also noted that it is not a boat for sustained upper-teen speeds, and that in light air it lags slightly behind comparable performance monohulls. Listing summaries add that it loses speed fast if pinched below about 10 knots of breeze.

SAIL's Miami test in a 6.6 knot true breeze on flat water saw 5.5 knots at 70 degrees apparent, and the boat pointed to 40 degrees apparent, encouraging the reviewer to suggest it would sail at wind speed in 10 knots or more. Under power with the optional 57 hp Yanmars, SAIL logged 7.9 knots at 2,300 rpm and 8.4 knots at wide open throttle of 2,860 rpm. Multihulls World's 36-hour delivery from Cannes to Genoa in 8 to 25 knots added confidence in its offshore manners.

Owner versions, charter boats and the transformer cabin

The charter configuration has four cabins, four heads and four separate showers. Owner versions give the starboard hull to a master suite with a large aft stateroom, desk or dressing table and a midships washroom, and Excess offers a so-called transformer cabin in the forepeak with fold-up twin bunks and folding platforms, so the space can switch between guest berths and storage.

Water is the one capacity to watch. Builder data shows just 300 liters (79 gallons) of fresh water, so a watermaker is essential for anyone cruising beyond a weekend.

Price, resale and running costs

Yachting World quoted a UK base price of 436,153 pounds excluding VAT, with the test boat at 615,019 pounds. In the US, expect sail-away figures roughly between $700,000 and $950,000. Used boats are still scarce; the one 2023 owner's version on the market at the time of writing asked $569,000, a price that reflects the thin market as much as depreciation.

Annual costs of $40,000 to $75,000 cover a catamaran slip for a 25 foot 9 inch beam, insurance, a yearly haul and engine service. Beneteau's dealer network gives Excess owners good parts support for Yanmar engines and rigging, an advantage over smaller performance cat builders.