I’ve sold monohulls for most of my career. But the boats I get the most calls about now are catamarans.
A catamaran for Asian waters just makes sense once you’ve cruised these coastlines. The reasons come down to draft, stability, and space.
Most cats sit in 0.75m to 1.5m of water. That’s shallow enough to tuck into lagoons, river mouths and reef-fringed bays. A deep-keeled monohull can’t follow you there. Around Phuket, the Riau Islands or the Anambas, that shallow draft matters. It’s the difference between anchoring where everyone else does and finding somewhere quiet.
A catamaran gets its stability from beam, not ballast. It doesn’t heel the way a monohull does. The Java Sea and the Gulf of Thailand both build short, choppy chop fast. That flat ride matters here. Guests who’d normally feel queasy on a heeling sailboat stay comfortable on a cat. Less fatigue, less seasickness, more time actually enjoying the trip.
Twin hulls free up a wide bridge deck. A 48-footer like the Cora 48 lives more like a 60-foot monohull inside. The Fountaine Pajot MY6 and Bali 4.4 in our current listings carry that same idea through the layout. Cabins sit separated. The saloon opens straight onto the cockpit. The flybridge is built for entertaining, not just steering.
This isn’t just our own read on the market. Catamaran charters in the region climbed 15% year-on-year in 2024. Operators find island-hopping easier on a stable, shallow-draft platform. Asia-Pacific is now the fastest-growing region in the yacht charter market overall. If you’re buying with resale or charter income in mind, that demand curve is worth factoring in.
A cat does ask for one trade-off: marina space. The wider beam can mean higher berthing fees at some marinas. It’s worth checking that before you commit to a specific harbour.
Weighing a catamaran against a monohull for your own use? Browse our current pre-owned fleet or look at what’s available in brand new models. I’m happy to walk you through which layout fits how you’ll actually use the boat — get in touch here.
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