Leopard 45 Review, Forward Cockpit, Prices and Survey Checklist

The forward cockpit bet that made the Leopard 45

Most cruising catamarans of the late 2010s still carried trampolines between the bows and treated the foredeck as a place for anchors and sail handling. The Leopard 45, which debuted at the Annapolis boat show in October 2016 and was tested by SAIL off Annapolis that month, turned that space into a large, solid forward cockpit with seating, connected to the saloon by a door. It became the boat's signature and the main reason buyers chose it over Lagoons of the same size.

Conventional wisdom says weight in the bows of a catamaran is a bad idea. Alex Simonis of Simonis Voogd answered that criticism with the hull shape: the Leopard 45 hulls flare rapidly above the chine, adding reserve buoyancy forward so the bows lift rather than dig. Under way on a reach the big foredeck can look like it is plowing, but owners report the design carries the extra weight without obvious vice.

Robertson and Caine built the boat in Cape Town, South Africa, and Leopard Catamarans sold it through its US base in Clearwater, Florida. It evolved from the 2012 Leopard 44, was also sold into charter as the Moorings 4500, and ran to 379 hulls, with the last delivered in 2024. The Leopard 46 has since taken its place, which Leopard describes as a significant upgrade from its predecessor.

Dimensions, weight and why 206 gallons of water matter

The Leopard 45 measures 45 feet overall with a waterline of 42 feet 11 inches and a beam of about 24 feet 1 inch. Draft is 4 feet 11 inches and light displacement roughly 32,000 pounds, about 1,300 pounds lighter than a Lagoon 450F. Upwind sail area is about 1,328 square feet, split between a 786-square-foot square-top main and a 543-square-foot genoa.

Tankage is where the Leopard pulls ahead of most French rivals. It carries about 185 gallons of diesel and about 206 gallons of fresh water, more than double the standard water capacity of a Lagoon 450. With a modest watermaker, a cruising couple can stay at anchor for weeks. A 45-gallon holding tank is also generous for the size.

The mast rises about 70 feet above the waterline, which rules out the Intracoastal Waterway's 65-foot fixed bridges.

Three, four or five cabins, and the forepeak bonus

The three cabin owner's version gives the starboard hull to a master suite with a large head and storage. The port hull holds two guest cabins with their own heads and showers, plus a berth in the forepeak that is useful for a child or occasional crew.

Four cabin versions put a double in each corner and are the backbone of the charter fleets that ran the Leopard 45. A five cabin version adds another cabin for maximum capacity. If you plan to cruise privately, the three cabin boat is clearly the one to buy, but expect to pay for it and to wait for one to come on the market.

In the saloon, Leopard moved the galley forward with a basic chart table to port, which leaves the rest of the saloon as pure living space. SAIL described the traffic flow as outstanding. The trade-offs are limited grab handles in the saloon for use at sea and seat cushions sized for taller people.

• 3 cabins: owner's starboard hull, two guest cabins and a forepeak berth
• 4 cabins: the classic charter layout
• 5 cabins: maximum capacity for large families or charter

Handling, helm and what it does under power

The helm puts electric winches within easy reach, with good storage for line tails and tachometers placed where the skipper can see them, details that matter on a boat sailed by two people. Twin 45 hp Yanmars with saildrives drive the boat at 7.3 knots at 2,400 rpm, and close to hull speed at full throttle. In tests the boat turned in roughly its own length, which makes docking in tight marinas far less stressful than the 24-foot beam suggests.

Under sail, the Leopard 45 is a comfortable cruiser rather than a performance cat. Its sail area and weight put it in the same bracket as the Lagoon 450, so expect similar real-world passage speeds, solid on a reach and ordinary to windward. Like most fixed-keel production cats it needs a light-air reaching sail to keep moving in under 10 knots of breeze, and one is well worth having.

Ex-charter boats and how to judge them

A large share of Leopard 45s went into charter, and that is where many of the used boats come from. Charter boats bring documented maintenance and reasonable prices, but also high engine hours, tired interiors and sails at the end of their life. Budget $30,000 to $60,000 to refresh a typical ex-charter boat with new canvas, cushions, sails and battery upgrades.

Watch for boats sitting in remote locations. A 2018 boat in Belize listed recently at $385,000, while a similar boat in Fiji was listed in euros. Shipping or delivering a boat home from the South Pacific can wipe out the price advantage, and import duties apply to boats not already duty-paid in the US.

What it costs to keep a Leopard 45

Plan on about $38,000 to $75,000 per year in the US excluding depreciation. The 24-foot beam generally means a double slip or end tie. Insurance in hurricane zones is the most volatile cost, and some insurers require a named-storm plan.

Two 45 hp diesels, saildrives, a generator and air conditioning are the main mechanical items, and they are standard across Leopards, so parts are easy to source in Florida, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Saildrive seals and diaphragms need replacing on a fixed time schedule, so ask for dates rather than hours.

Values, the Leopard 46 and when to buy

The Leopard 45 sold new for about $555,000 sail-away in 2017. Today, asking prices run from about $380,000 for early ex-charter boats to roughly $760,000 for 2020 and 2021 privately owned boats, with recorded sales around a median of about $549,000. Those numbers show how well the model has held its value through a period of rising new-boat prices.

The Leopard 46 replaced it, adding stepped hulls, an overlapping genoa, an optional lifting platform and a hybrid electric drive option. Interestingly, the 46 lists slightly less fuel and water than the 45, so the older boat keeps its tankage advantage. The newer boat is considerably more expensive, which keeps good used 45s in demand. A privately owned three cabin Leopard 45 with a generator, watermaker and upgraded batteries is one of the best values among 45-foot cruising catamarans.