Design and Construction
The 4.3 is a catamaran with traditional fixed keels rather than daggerboards, a deliberate compromise between performance, cost, robustness, and protection of the rudders and propellers. The hulls have balsa cores above the waterline, while the broader structure is realized in PVC foam sandwich and polyester resin with a special anti-osmosis gelcoat, and the deck bracing is in plywood and monolithic resin with bulkheads in glued or laminated plywood. On the construction side, the yard went for molds in three sections, with a join in the bottom of the hull, interior half-hulls, and the nacelle, for greater rigidity. Left behind are the Catana specifications: on the Bali you won’t find carbon at every stage of the build, nor load-carrying daggerboards. A solid foredeck anchors the structure, and the hulls incorporate gray-water holding tanks in their stub keels, an interesting solution for discharge-restrictive waterways.
The designer made the hulls flare to distinct chines just above the waterline, so that the underwater sections would remain narrow and efficient. This shaping, paired with the 42.98ft LOA and 23.36ft beam, underpins a boat whose entire premise is open volume: the idea of blending the nacelle and the cockpit into a single, and therefore enormous, volume has been implemented completely aboard the Bali 4.3.
Rig and Handling
The sleek rig is set further aft, allowing for a good sail area despite the use of a self-tacking jib. The mast is stepped at the 40 percent station, giving space for a large, self-tacking Solent jib, and the presence of a flybridge on a boat this size necessitates a high boom and small mainsail, so the jib is a significant source of power under sail. From the raised helm station — which offers a clear view over the water and from which all sail handling is done — the sailor works a rig that reviewers described as more responsive than most cats this size, with a turning circle under one boatlength and unusually good rudder control in reverse.
Under modest airflow the boat proved docile rather than quick: in a true wind of 6 to 7 knots with main and asymmetric reaching headsail deployed, boat speed was just over 5 knots. Motoring tells a different story, with the twin Kubota diesels mated to saildrives at their forward ends pushing the hulls at better than 8 knots at 2,500rpm and a recorded saloon sound level of 75 dBA. Test sailors saw the 4.3 as a coastal cruiser, not a voyager.
Accommodations
The combined salon/cockpit area gives an astonishing amount of space, and the aft part of the coachroof pivots upwards and is housed under the roof itself, while the “garage door” — a removable bulkhead enclosing the aft end of the saloon — rises electrically into the overhead to create a huge open space. The forward end of the saloon is all windows, and the big central pane lowers and rises on pneumatic lifts in the bulkhead, giving easy communication with the forward cockpit while offering excellent ventilation; loungers occupy that foredeck cockpit.
The galley sits at the forward end of the salon, an original and agreeable position especially thanks to the ventilation offered by the forward opening panel, though the test boat showed an unusual division of the galley space, with the cooktop and sink forward and the household-size fridge and microwave to starboard and aft. An L-shaped chart table faces forward. The three-cabin version sailed by the reviewer included plenty of privacy, with owners’ accommodations in the port hull that reminded the tester of a compact urban apartment; a four-cabin charter version is also offered. A slot molded into the cabintop serves as a grab rail, so moving along the side decks feels secure.
Known Issues
The steering on the test boat felt springy and imprecise, and under load there were even times when the steering system bound up to a point where the reviewer was unable to hold an accurate course. The Solent jib needed a pennant at its tack to make it set properly, so the boat could not point as well as it should into the wind, and the jib sheet winches were installed incorrectly and therefore difficult to use. These were test-boat specifics rather than necessarily fleet-wide design faults, but they are worth noting for any sailor evaluating a used example.
Refits and Ownership
Engine access is a genuine strength. The twin Kubota diesels are mated to saildries at their forward ends, providing excellent engine maintenance access, and the test boat carried a genset on a shelf in the starboard hull with a large watermaker scheduled for the same space to port. A folding aft platform is a real bonus: neat stowage for the dinghy, and when opened up at anchor it offers an area entirely open to the sea.
The Verdict
The Bali 4.3 is a coastal-minded catamaran that trades voyaging pedigree for enormous, well-organized living space and easy mechanical access. Its narrow-efficient-underbody chines and fixed-keel pragmatism make it a straightforward owner’s boat, while the electrically operated indoor-outdoor openings redefine the salon-to-cockpit relationship. The steering and rig-tuning gremlins seen on the test boat are themain caveats, but the platform’s rigidity and volume remain its signature achievements.
Pros
- Solid foredeck and three-section molded construction for rigidity
- Enormous blended nacelle/cockpit volume with electrically rising aft bulkhead
- Excellent engine maintenance access via forward-ended saildrive installs
- Responsive handling with under-one-boatlength turning circle and good reverse rudder control
- Gray-water tanks in stub keels aid discharge-restricted cruising
Cons
- Test-boat steering bound up under load and felt imprecise
- Solent jib needed a tack pennant to set properly and winches were misinstalled
- Small mainsail and high boom limit upwind sail-power balance
- Reviewer classed it a coastal cruiser rather than a voyager
