Lagoon 50 Review, the 50 Feet Catamaran Benchmark

What changes when you move up to a 50 feet catamaran

Every catamaran buyer eventually asks whether to stop at 45 feet or keep going to 50. The Lagoon 50 is the most useful boat to answer that question with, because it was built in large numbers, it sold to both private owners and charter fleets, and its specifications sit right in the middle of the 50 foot catamaran class. If you understand what the Lagoon 50 does well and where it gets expensive, you understand the whole segment.

The headline gains over a 45-footer are volume and flexibility. At 48 feet 5 inches overall and 26 feet 7 inches of beam, the Lagoon 50 can be ordered with anywhere from three to six cabins and the same number of heads. That means a couple can have a full-hull master suite and two guest cabins with an office, or a charter operator can sleep twelve. The cost of that flexibility is weight. At about 44,000 pounds light, the Lagoon 50 is roughly a third heavier than a Lagoon 450, and every system, sail and haul-out scales with it.

An aft mast and a central flybridge helm

Lagoon introduced the 50 for the 2018 model year with the design team that shaped the modern range: VPLP for the hulls and rig, Patrick le Quément for the exterior and Nauta Design for the interior. As on the Lagoon 42 and Lagoon 40, the mast is stepped well aft, which reduces hobby-horsing, shortens the boom and creates room for a self-tacking jib. A high-aspect mainsail with an electric traveler drum keeps the main manageable for two people.

The flybridge is the defining feature. The helm sits on the flybridge, dead center behind the mast, rather than offset to one side as on most flybridge cats. It puts the skipper in the middle of the action with all lines and electric winches at hand, and the flybridge doubles as a lounge at anchor. The catch is visibility astern when backing into a slip, which reviewers called out, and the fact that the helm is a long climb from the transom when you need to handle lines. Many owners fit cameras and use a remote for the bow thruster.

Air draft is about 87 feet, so this boat stays outside on the US East Coast. Forget the Intracoastal Waterway, and check bridge clearances in any marina you plan to use.

Test speeds under sail and power

Two US tests in Miami give a realistic picture. In 12 to 16 knots of true wind and lumpy seas, one boat made 5.1 knots at 60 degrees off the wind and 7.4 knots at 140 degrees, then jumped to 11.4 knots on a beam reach with the Code 0 set. Another test in about 15 knots with a reefed main and self-tacking jib saw 5.6 to 6.2 knots upwind and better than 9 knots reaching with the optional genoa.

The conclusion is that the Lagoon 50 needs off-wind angles and a big reaching sail to shine. Upwind it is a comfortable but unspectacular performer, which is typical of a heavy, fixed-keel cruising catamaran. Buyers who plan long trade-wind passages will be happy; those who need to beat to windward often should look at lighter performance cats.

Under power, the optional twin 80 hp Yanmars gave 9.5 knots at 3,000 rpm and a more economical 7.5 knots at 2,200 rpm. Standard engines are 57 hp, which is adequate but leaves less in reserve on a boat of this weight.

50 foot catamaran interior, from three cabins to six

The most common private layout puts the owner's suite in the starboard hull, with an island double aft, a walk-in dressing area, a desk and a large head with separate shower forward. Two guest cabins with their own heads fill the port hull. A six cabin, six head layout serves charter fleets, and five cabin versions sit between the two.

The saloon has a full-beam settee forward, a proper navigation station with a multifunction display, and a split galley with a three-burner Eno stove and two Isotherm refrigerators under the counter. Outside, the aft cockpit includes a second galley module with sink and fridge, a table that seats eight, and twin lounges, while a U-shaped forward cockpit gives a sheltered spot at anchor. Optional extras include a hydraulic swim platform that doubles as a tender lift.

This is where a 50 foot catamaran pulls away from a 45. Guests and owners can be in completely separate spaces, the galley can feed ten people without chaos, and storage is plentiful enough for long-term cruising.

• 3 cabins: owner's suite plus two guest doubles
• 4 cabins: owner's suite or four equal doubles
• 5 or 6 cabins: charter configurations sleeping up to 12

Systems, tankage and engine rooms

Fuel capacity is about 275 gallons and fresh water about 127 gallons. For a boat that may sleep eight or more, water is the constraint, so nearly every cruising Lagoon 50 carries a watermaker. A generator, commonly an 11 kW Onan, is needed to run air conditioning, and most boats have one.

Engine room hatches open aft, which lets you check the engines safely at sea, a small detail that serious cruisers appreciate. Bow thrusters, electric winches and networked electronics with autopilot were common options and are worth looking for on a used boat.

The true running cost at 50 feet

Plan on roughly $60,000 to $120,000 per year in the US for a privately operated Lagoon 50, excluding depreciation. The beam of more than 26 feet means a large end tie or a mega-yacht slip in most marinas, and those are scarce in Florida and New England during peak season. Haul-outs require a travel lift wide enough for the beam, which limits yard choices.

Everything is bigger: two four-cylinder diesels, a generator, air conditioning, a watermaker and a sail wardrobe that easily tops 1,700 square feet. Many owners of boats this size employ a part-time captain or a management company, which adds cost but keeps systems healthy between visits.

The used market and the Lagoon 51 that followed

Lagoon built the 50 from 2018 to 2021 and replaced it with the Lagoon 51, which remains in the current range. Some later Lagoon 50s carry 2022 or 2023 model years on brokerage listings because of delivery and registration timing, so check the hull identification number before you compare prices.

Asking prices currently range from about $540,000 for early ex-charter boats to around $1.17 million for late, privately owned boats. Charter fleets bought the boat in numbers, so there is a steady flow of ex-fleet boats, many of them five or six cabin versions. Those make excellent value if you want space for a big family and are prepared to refresh the interior.

If you are shopping 40 to 50 ft catamarans for sale on a budget, the Lagoon 50 sits at the upper end. It costs a premium over a Lagoon 450 or Leopard 45, but buys an entirely different level of space and separation.