With only about nine hulls constructed between 1992 and 2002, the Conser 47 remains a rare, cult-classic vessel among performance-minded sailors. Built primarily by Conser Catamaran in Newport Beach, California, and through select semi-custom arrangements, production came to an end in 2002 when the molds were shipped to South Africa and subsequently damaged. Today, the Conser 47 is revered as a purist’s catamaran, capable of effortless double-digit cruising speeds and highly efficient ocean crossings.
Design Brief & Intent
The primary objective of the Conser 47 was speed. John Conser designed the boat to appeal to experienced sailors who found mainstream production catamarans too sluggish, heavy, and unresponsive. Unlike its contemporaries, which relied on high-volume, wide-beam hulls to maximize interior accommodation, the Conser 47 utilized slender, high-aspect hulls with a 13:1 length-to-beam ratio. This narrow footprint drastically reduced wave-making resistance, allowing the boat to slip through the water with minimal drag.
To complement this slippery underwater profile, the construction utilized advanced materials for the era. The hulls were built using vacuum-bagged, vinylester resin with triaxial fiberglass and a Corecell foam core. Bulkheads were constructed out of the same high-end composite laminate and integrally bonded to the hull and deck, ensuring an incredibly rigid and lightweight monocoque structure.
This emphasis on weight saving dictated the nature of the interior. While comfortable enough for a solo circumnavigation—as demonstrated by David Pollitt aboard Shearwater—the interior finish was deliberately kept minimalist and lightweight. Rather than heavy, solid-wood joinery, Conser utilized lightweight composite panels with select wood veneers to maintain an organic feel without adding unnecessary pounds. The layout typically features a centralized bridge deck salon with a large U-shaped dining settee and a navigation station. The galley is integrated into the bridge deck area, ensuring the cook remains part of the social action while keeping the hulls dedicated to accommodations.
Variations & Configurations
Because the Conser 47 was built on a semi-custom basis, individual boats exhibit considerable variation in their rigs, accommodations, and cockpit configurations.
The most significant variation lies in the rig. High-performance examples, such as Shearwater, were equipped with a rotating carbon fiber wing mast. This teardrop-shaped spar, engineered by companies like Forespar, acts as an aerodynamic extension of the mainsail, dramatically improving airflow and lift. Other hulls were launched with more conventional, fixed or rotating aluminum fractional sloop rigs to simplify handling and reduce initial build costs.
Accommodation layouts were tailored to the original owner's requirements. The standard "Owner's" layout typically features two staterooms in each hull. In these configurations, the aft cabins house queen-size berths positioned mid-ships over the engine compartments, while the forward cabins contain double berths. Separate companionway entries from the cockpit into the individual cabins were common, a design choice that maximized privacy and structural deck integrity. Charter-oriented configurations, such as the commercial day-charter models operating in Hawaii, modified these spaces to accommodate higher passenger volumes and simplified amenities.
Draft configurations were kept uniform through the use of high-aspect twin daggerboards. With the daggerboards fully retracted, the boat draws a mere 1.2 feet, allowing it to navigate shallow coastal waters and beach easily. When fully lowered to 3.75 feet, the boards provide the lift necessary for exceptional windward performance.
Sailing Performance & Handling
The sailing physics of the Conser 47 are defined by its remarkable power-to-weight ratio. Sporting a sail area-to-displacement (SA/Disp) ratio of 32.5, the boat is heavily powered and highly responsive in light air. With a dry displacement of just 12,000 pounds, it is an exceptionally light 47-footer. This light weight is reflected in a comfort ratio of 5.91, which indicates a fast, active motion in a seaway rather than the slow, heavy dampening of a cruising keelboat. However, because the narrow hulls slice cleanly through waves, the boat avoids the violent, hobby-horsing pitching motion common to high-volume catamarans.
At the helm, the Conser 47 feels more like an oversized racing dinghy than a cruising multihull. Helm feedback is direct, and the boat accelerates instantly in gusts. Under sail, passage-making speeds of 12 to 15 knots are easily sustained in moderate breezes, and the boat routinely logs 240- to 250-mile days. In flat water and strong breezes, top speeds can exceed 20 knots, with highly tuned, lightly loaded variants having clocked speeds over 30 knots.
Upwind performance is far superior to standard cruising catamarans. The combination of deep, efficient daggerboards, narrow hulls, and close sheeting angles allows the Conser 47 to point higher and tack through narrower angles than almost any fixed-keel catamaran of its era. Downwind, the boat's light displacement allows it to surf easily down ocean swells, though the highly powerful rig demands active sheet management and early reefing to keep the boat sailing safely within its limits.
Market Snapshot & Economics
Given that only nine hulls were ever built, the Conser 47 is an incredibly scarce vessel on the brokerage market. When an example does become available, it commands a premium among a niche audience of performance catamaran enthusiasts who value raw speed and structural integrity over condominium-style interior volume.
Buyers looking at a Conser 47 must evaluate the boat's history carefully. Some hulls have spent decades as hard-charging blue-water cruisers, while others have been modified for commercial day-charter operations. Because of this, refit economics can vary wildly.
Prospective owners should budget for specialized maintenance. The rotating wing masts, composite daggerboard trunks, and high-load deck hardware require specialized rigging knowledge that is more akin to grand-prix racing than standard cruising service. However, because the hulls were constructed using high-quality vinylester resins and Corecell foam, they are highly resistant to osmotic blistering and core rot, making the fundamental platform structurally long-lived if spared from collision damage.
Known Issues & Triage
While structurally robust, the Conser 47 has several design compromises that owners must monitor and manage.
- Low Bridgedeck Clearance: With a bridgedeck clearance of approximately 24 inches (600 mm), the boat is prone to bridgedeck slamming when beating into short, choppy head seas. This slamming does not typically compromise the structural integrity of the heavily engineered bridge deck, but it can create significant noise and discomfort for the crew.
- Low Forward Freeboard: The forward freeboard is relatively low, measuring around 42 inches (1,100 mm). While the narrow, wave-piercing bows cut cleanly through waves rather than slamming into them, this low-freeboard design makes for a very wet ride on deck when sailing hard upwind, requiring high-quality foul weather gear for the helmsman.
- Bulkhead Secondary Bonding: Because of the extreme rigging loads imposed by the powerful sail plan and rotating mast, the secondary bonds where the main structural bulkhead meets the hull sides should be thoroughly inspected. Over decades of hard ocean sailing, micro-flexing can stress these joints, occasionally requiring professional composite reinforcement.
- High Capsize Risk in Extreme Gusts: With a capsize screening formula of 4.19 and a highly powerful rig, the Conser 47 has a lower margin for error than heavy cruising catamarans. Proper seamanship, including conservative reefing schedules and a quick-release mainsheet system, is mandatory, as overloaded rigs on these models have historically contributed to high-speed capsizes in extreme conditions.
Modernization & Upgrades
Modern owners of the Conser 47 focus their refits on optimizing the boat’s weight sensitivity.
- Lithium (LiFePO4) Conversions: Replacing heavy lead-acid house batteries with lithium-ion banks is one of the most effective upgrades for this model. Removing hundreds of pounds of battery weight from the hulls directly improves light-air performance and bridge deck clearance.
- Transom Extensions: Several owners have executed professional transom extensions, lengthening the hulls to 50 feet. These "sugar scoop" extensions add buoyancy aft, which helps support the weight of modern outboards or dinghy davits, increases the boat’s theoretical hull speed, and provides a safer platform for boarding.
- Rig and Running Rigging Modernization: Replacing older wire or heavy rod rigging with modern synthetic standing rigging (such as Dyneema or carbon fiber) further reduces aloft weight, decreasing the boat's rolling momentum and improving overall stability.
The Verdict
The Conser 47 is an uncompromising, thoroughbred cruising catamaran built for those who prioritize the joy of sailing and raw, open-ocean speed above all else. It is not a floating condo; it is a highly engineered, wave-slicing machine that demands respect, active piloting, and a disciplined approach to weight management. For the sailor who wants to easily cover 250 miles a day in comfort, few boats of this vintage can match its pedigree.
Pros:
- Exceptional sailing speed, easily sustaining 12–15 knots and capable of exceeding 20 knots under the right conditions.
- High-quality, vacuum-bagged Corecell and vinylester composite construction that remains stiff and durable.
- Excellent pointing ability and shallow-draft capability thanks to efficient twin daggerboards.
- Wave-piercing hull design that eliminates uncomfortable hobby-horsing.
Cons:
- Low bridgedeck clearance leads to noisy, uncomfortable slamming in choppy head seas.
- Low forward freeboard results in a wet deck and cockpit when sailing upwind.
- Extreme scarcity on the market makes finding a well-maintained example difficult.
- Demands highly active sail management and early reefing to prevent overpowering the light platform.
