Catana 40 Sailboats for Sale

Hull Type

Catamaran · daggerboard

Rig

Fractional Sloop

LOA

39.92' · 12.17 m

Disp.

12,320 lbs · 5,588 kg

First year

1984

In 1984, the brandnew Catana shipyard in Cogolin, France, set out to redefine offshore multihull cruising. Founded by JeanPierre Prade and Thierry Goyard, the yard commissioned legendary Australian naval architect Lock Crowther to pen their inaugural vessel, the Catana 40. Crowther’s blueprint, known in his archives as Design 106, established the core DNA for what would eventually become one of the premier performance catamaran brands in the world. Rather than prioritizing the cavernous, apartmentstyle spaces that characterized the era's cruising catamarans—such as those produced by British builder Prout—Crowther designed a fast, light, and oceanready platform. With fine bows, highly efficient asymmetrical hulls, and lifting daggerboards, the Catana 40 was designed for sailors who demanded doubledigit speeds, pointing capability, and active feedback at the helm. Production ran from 1984 to 1992, and despite being highly praised by contemporary yachting journalists, the model remained a confidential, semicustom success. Only 16 to 18 hulls were ever produced (comprising both the original standard version and the modified Catana 40S), and only a dozen or so remain afloat today, making them highly prized and rare gems on the secondary market.