Construction and Design
Catana builds the Bali 4.0 in La Rochelle, France, using vacuum-bagged, foam-cored sandwich laminate that contains no wood and therefore cannot rot. The solid foredeck is more than a walking surface: built from light box sections, it also serves as a structural member. Beneath it, the nacelle is shaped to deflect waves and reduce slamming.
Writing in Multihulls World, testers singled out the ski-shaped forward sections as a noteworthy piece of design and construction. They also noted the combination of fine-entry bows and reasonable weight loading.
The interior joinery is Alpi, an Italian composite made from thin African woods laminated with an attractive face. On the test boat, the cabinetry was tabbed into the main structure and fit perfectly. Plumbing, wiring, and European-type alloy through-hulls were neatly installed, with double clamps. The boat meets CE Class A Ocean standards for ten people.
Rig, Sailing, and Handling
The Bali 4.0 has a simple, powerful rig built around a VMG aluminum mast. A large, square-topped mainsail of about 538 square feet works with a self-tacking Solent jib on a traveler that makes coming about almost trivial.
Multihulls World found that the rig was set farther aft. Its useful-size, self-tacking solent proved easy to trim and powerful, contributing to excellent balance under sail. However, the large mainsail produces plenty of weather helm when used alone, so a headsail must always be flown, with the pair reefed together as conditions build.
The mainsail is heavy, and the boom sits too high to reach without a step stool. All lines lead to the raised helm station, though the reviewer recommended electric winches for the halyards and sheets.
In 8 to 10 knots of breeze, the boat made about 6 knots on a close reach and nearly 8 knots on a beam reach in the puffs. It tacked without effort through 80 degrees. The helm is light and responsive, with excellent tracking. Under power, the turning circle was less than one boatlength with both engines running.
Accommodations
The eye-catcher is the cabin “Garage Door,” a full-width panel on hydraulic lifts. When raised, it joins the saloon and aft cockpit into one large living level. The builder has since dropped the door’s electric mechanism in favor of simplification.
In the version sailed, the entire port hull forms an owner’s suite, with a big aft double and a forward head with a separate shower. The starboard hull is divided into two cabins, each suitable for a couple, sharing one head. Bali also offers a starboard arrangement with two ensuite heads, as well as a four-cabin charter model.
Forward, a sun deck replaces the trampoline. The center section of the windshield drops school-bus style to provide foredeck access. The galley is equipped with an Eno stove and a Liebherr fridge.
One significant shortcoming is the lack of overhead grab rails in the saloon for use in rough water—a serious oversight.
Deck and Equipment
The side decks are wide, with good nonskid and a molded handrail along the cabintop. The raised helm provides excellent visibility, apart from the stern of the port hull. A tubular bimini raises the gooseneck higher.
Deck hardware is by Antal, with a Profurl headsail furler and Raymarine navigation electronics. The reviewer called the dinghy davit system one of the best seen: the afterdeck transom lowers from husky steel supports to form a boarding platform.
The Verdict
The Bali 4.0 brings the range’s convertible living concept to a manageable 39-footer. Its solid foredeck and wave-deflecting nacelle show genuine structural ingenuity, while the balanced sailing manners and self-tacking headsail make short-handed maneuvering easy.
The tradeoffs are the large mainsail’s persistent weather helm and a boom that can’t be reached without a step stool. The missing saloon grab rails also deserve correction for offshore use.
Pros
- Foam-cored, wood-free laminate and a structural solid foredeck
- Self-tacking Solent and a simple, powerful rig that makes tacking easy
- Hydraulic “Garage Door” joining the saloon and cockpit
- Flexible hull layouts
- Light, responsive helm with excellent tracking
- Tight turning circle under power
Cons
- Large mainsail produces persistent weather helm when used alone
- Heavy mainsail and a boom that’s out of reach without a step stool
- No overhead grab rails in the saloon for rough water
