Leopard 40 Catamaran, Specs, Cabins and Used Buying Advice

Which Leopard 40 catamaran are you looking at

Before comparing prices, make sure you know which boat a listing describes, because three quite different Leopards have used the number 40. The first was a Morelli and Melvin design built by Robertson and Caine in Cape Town from 2004 to 2009, with 136 boats completed before it gave way to the Leopard 39. The second, and the subject of this guide, is the Simonis Voogd design built from 2014, first shown at the Miami boat show in February 2015 and then to the European public at the multihull show in La Grande Motte that April. The third is the Leopard 40 PC, a power catamaran with no mast at all.

If you landed here looking for the Leopard 40 powercat, its price and layout are a separate story; it is still in the Leopard range while the sailing 40 is not. Everything below concerns the sailing Leopard 40 catamaran, which is the boat most buyers find on the brokerage market and in charter fleets in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and the Mediterranean.

• 2004 to 2009: first generation, Morelli and Melvin design, 136 built
• 2014 onward: second generation, Simonis Voogd design, more than 200 built
• Leopard 40 PC: power catamaran, unrelated hull and no rig

The brief, a big Leopard shrunk to 39 feet

Robertson and Caine asked Simonis Voogd to carry the forward-door concept of the larger Leopard 44 and 48 down to a much smaller platform. The result measures 39 feet 4 inches overall with a 38-foot waterline and 22 feet of beam. The bows are bluff to carry the waterline length well forward, while the hulls stay fine at the waterline and gain volume higher up. That shape, combined with a bridgedeck clearance of about 78 centimeters (roughly 31 inches), lets the boat stay comfortable in a choppy sea even upwind.

Construction is vacuum-infused GRP with balsa cores, and the boat benefits from the experience of more than a thousand Leopards built before it. The rig is a deck-stepped aluminum mast with a square-top, fully battened main and a furling genoa, and the hulls have fixed keels with a draft of about 4 feet 5 inches.

The forward door, the corner galley and other layout ideas

Two features define the layout. First, a door at the front of the saloon opens straight onto the foredeck, so air flows through the whole boat at anchor and you can walk from the cockpit to the bow without using the side decks. Unlike its bigger sisters, the 40 has no full forward cockpit, just a cushioned lounge Leopard calls the cocoon on the starboard side of the foredeck, which sits over a large locker that houses the optional generator. Second, the galley moved to the forward starboard corner of the saloon, which is unusual and gives the cook a view forward through a big fixed window, while the settee shifts aft and to port.

A drawer-style fridge and freezer opens from the cockpit, which is handy for drinks without tracking through the saloon. Above the cockpit, a rigid targa hardtop provides proper weather protection, and a dinghy davit system that lowers to the water is standard.

There are two main layouts. The four cabin charter version has a double in each corner and two heads, sleeping eight. The three cabin owner's version gives the full starboard hull to a master suite with a large head, leaving two cabins and a head in the port hull. Both have two heads, which is less than many rivals and worth noting if you sail with a full crew.

Leopard 40 catamaran number of cabins, explained

Buyers often ask how many cabins the Leopard 40 has because listings mix the two layouts. The answer is three or four double cabins, always with two heads. Ex-Moorings and other charter boats are almost always four cabin versions, while privately ordered boats are usually three cabin owner's versions.

For a cruising couple who host guests occasionally, the owner's version is far more pleasant to live aboard. For families with three children, or buyers planning to put the boat back into charter, the four cabin version is the practical choice and the easier one to resell.

Under way, with 14 people aboard

SAIL magazine tested the Leopard 40 in about 16 knots of breeze with 14 people aboard, a heavier load than most owners will ever carry. It made 8.3 knots at 70 degrees apparent, 8.5 knots on a beam reach and 5.9 knots at 120 degrees apparent in 4-foot seas. Those are good numbers for a fully loaded 39-foot cruising catamaran with fixed keels.

Under power, the twin 29 hp Yanmar saildrives cruised at about 7 knots and reached 8.4 knots in calm water. Those engines are on the small side when punching into chop, but they are economical and simple to service.

The weaknesses the testers found are practical rather than serious: eight rope clutches create a tangle of tails at the helm, the angled steps onto the cabin top are awkward, the cutout in the hardtop limits the view of the mainsail, and engine compartment access is tight.

Water tanks that change the cruising equation

One spec stands out: about 206 gallons of fresh water, more than double what most 40-foot French catamarans carry. For a cruising couple that means weeks between water stops, or a much smaller watermaker. Fuel capacity is about 95 gallons, which is adequate given the boat's economical small diesels.

Typical charter-fleet equipment includes a 6 kW generator, two air conditioning units, modest solar and Raymarine electronics. Private buyers usually add lithium batteries and more solar to cut generator hours at anchor.

Buying an ex-charter Leopard 40

Most second generation Leopard 40s for sale have charter history, many from The Moorings, whose brokerage arm sells the boats as they rotate out of the fleet. A 2020 three cabin boat in Saint Lucia, for instance, was listed at about $319,000 with roughly 2,100 hours on each engine. That is typical: high hours but documented maintenance.

Expect to refresh cushions, canvas and sails, and plan a careful survey of saildrives, rudders, steering, hatches and the forward crossbeam. The median recorded sale is roughly $295,000, with asking prices from about $250,000 to $400,000. A boat that has already been refitted after leaving charter is often worth the premium.

Annual costs in the US typically run $22,000 to $45,000 excluding depreciation. The 22-foot beam sometimes fits a wide single slip, which helps.

Successors and how the Leopard 40 holds value

The sailing Leopard 40 has left the range, which now starts at the Leopard 43 for sailing catamarans. That keeps demand for good used 40s steady, because buyers who want a sub-40-foot Leopard have no new option. Values have been remarkably stable since 2020, and a well-maintained boat bought today should resell close to its purchase price within a few years, assuming the market holds.