Design and Construction
Crowther's brief produced a light performance cruiser, and the numbers tell the story — the 40 displaces just 5.8 tonnes, which is why she sails so well even in light winds anchor. At 39.92 feet overall with a 19.69-foot beam and a catamaran hull carrying daggerboards, the boat combined fine hulls with a high bridgedeck for its era; that raised clearance cut the slamming that plagued contemporary cruising cats such as the Prout range anchor. The 40S variant was built by splicing a C39 deck mold to a 42 cockpit mold, and it carried a narrower beam than the 40C hulls that became the 42 anchor.
Rig and Handling
The 40S is a fractionally rigged sloop, and the daggerboards are the key to her windward ability — they bite and lift her to weather where a fixed-keel cat would skid anchor. Rounded hull sections add to the speed, and the fine entry makes her a real performer upwind anchor. Owner-reported runs on the hull named Shaman show the pace: 19.5 knots under spinnaker, 17.5 knots on jib alone, and 14.5 knots on a beam reach anchor. A 1991 refit of one boat by a single owner who bought out his partners moved the engines aft and added a cockpit extension for easier and safer handling anchor.
Accommodations
Below, the 40 came with four double cabins, a layout that suited two couples or a family without compromise anchor. The 40S example Shaman shows the practical end of that plan: a 4-berth, 2-head arrangement with sleeping for at least six and headroom of 6 feet 2 inches anchor. One head was electric and one manual, both renewed in that refit history. Tankage on the S ran to 70 gallons of fuel and 120 of water.
Known Issues
The production story itself is the caveat: with only 16 built and a handful afloat, any hull needing parts or a knowledgeable surveyor is a scarce-commodity problem anchor. The 40S's spliced deck and cockpit molds from different hull programs are a construction quirk worth a close look where the molds meet, since that joint is not a standard production seam anchor. The 1991 aft-engine refit, while improving cockpit safety, moved machinery away from the original layout and should be checked for bedding and alignment on that specific hull anchor.
Refits and Ownership
Ownership of a Catana 40 has always been a minority pursuit. Hull #1, Pêcheur de Lune, was registered in Toulon in July 1985 and restored in 2019 by Alberto Machado, then renamed Oceanus or Oceanus II anchor. The 1991 owner refit that extended sugarscoops to 44 feet and moved engines aft shows the kind of structural modification these boats have sometimes absorbed anchor. Later S-hull examples like Avighna (hull #16, 1992) and Shaman (hull #17, 1992) demonstrate the model's build history anchor.
The Verdict
The Catana 40 is a founding design that still delivers the light-air speed and upwind bite Crowther built into it, but its tiny production run makes it a collector's cat rather than a practical cruiser for most. The high bridgedeck and fine hulls were ahead of their time; the rarity is the price of that distinction.
Pros
- Light 5.8-tonne displacement sails well in light winds
- Daggerboards give genuine upwind performance
- High bridgedeck reduces slamming versus period cats
- Four double cabins in a 40-foot hull
Cons
- Only 16 built; 11 or 12 afloat — very rare
- Spliced molds on 40S need careful survey at the joint
- Aft-engine refits depart from original layout
