Built in Cogolin in the south of France, the Catana 40 was never a commercial success. Only 16 examples left the mold, and perhaps 11 or 12 remain afloat today. Two versions emerged: the 40C and the later 40S. The original 40C hulls eventually evolved into the Catana 42.
Design and Construction
Crowther’s brief produced a light performance cruiser. The Catana 40 measures 39.92 feet overall, with a beam of 19.69 feet, and displaces just 5.8 tonnes. That low displacement helps it sail well even in light winds.
Its fine catamaran hulls carry daggerboards, while the bridgedeck clearance was high for the period. The extra clearance reduced the slamming that affected contemporary cruising catamarans such as the Prout range.
The 40S was built by splicing a C39 deck mold to a 42 cockpit mold. It also carried a narrower beam than the 40C hulls that became the Catana 42.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The 40S is a fractionally rigged sloop. Its daggerboards are central to its windward ability: they provide lift and help the boat track to weather where a fixed-keel catamaran would skid. Rounded hull sections contribute to its speed, while the fine entry makes it a strong upwind performer.
Owner-reported runs aboard the hull named Shaman give a sense of the boat’s pace: 19.5 knots under spinnaker, 17.5 knots on jib alone, and 14.5 knots on a beam reach.
In 1991, a single owner who had bought out his partners refitted one boat, moving the engines aft and adding a cockpit extension for easier, safer handling.
Accommodations and Tankage
The Catana 40 came with four double cabins, a layout suited to two couples or a family without compromise.
The 40S example Shaman illustrates the practical version of that plan. It has a four-berth, two-head arrangement, sleeping space for at least six, and 6 feet 2 inches of headroom. One head was electric and the other manual; both were renewed during its refit history.
Tankage on the 40S amounted to 70 gallons of fuel and 120 gallons of water.
Refits, Ownership, and Build History
Owning a Catana 40 has always been a minority pursuit. Hull #1, Pêcheur de Lune, was registered in Toulon in July 1985. Alberto Machado restored it in 2019, after which it was renamed Oceanus or Oceanus II according to the model history.
The 1991 owner refit extended one boat’s sugarscoops to 44 feet and moved its engines aft, showing the kind of structural modification these boats have sometimes absorbed.
Later S-hull examples include Avighna (hull #16, 1992) and Shaman (hull #17, 1992), which demonstrate the model’s build history.
Known Issues
The production history is itself the main caveat. With only 16 boats built and a handful still afloat, an owner looking for parts or a surveyor familiar with the model faces a scarce-commodity problem.
The 40S also has a construction quirk: its deck and cockpit molds came from different hull programs and were spliced together. The area where those molds meet deserves close inspection because the joint isn’t a standard production seam.
On the particular boat refitted in 1991, moving the engines aft improved cockpit safety but shifted the machinery away from its original position. The bedding and alignment should therefore be checked on that hull.
The Verdict
The Catana 40 is a founding design that still offers the light-air speed and upwind bite Crowther built into it. Its high bridgedeck and fine hulls were ahead of their time, but the tiny production run makes it more of a collector’s cat than a practical cruiser for most buyers. Rarity is the price of its distinction.
Pros
- Light 5.8-tonne displacement performs well in light winds
- Daggerboards provide genuine upwind ability
- High bridgedeck reduces slamming compared with period catamarans
- Four double cabins in a 40-foot hull
Cons
- Only 16 built, with perhaps 11 or 12 still afloat
- Spliced molds on the 40S require careful inspection at the joint
- Aft-engine refits depart from the original layout
