Cougar Mk III Sailboats for Sale

Hull Type

Catamaran · centerboard

Rig

Fractional Sloop

LOA

18.75' · 5.72 m

Disp.

620 lbs · 281 kg

First year

1962

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the yachting world witnessed a profound shift as multihulls transformed from fringe experiments into legitimate, highperformance racing machines. At the forefront of this revolution were the Prout brothers, Roland and Francis, former Olympian canoeists who established G. Prout & Sons on Canvey Island in Essex, England. Drawing on their deep understanding of hydrodynamics, they pioneered early catamaran designs, including the wildly successful Shearwater. Building on this momentum, the Prouts introduced the Cougar class in 1958, culminating in the refined Cougar Mark III in 1962. Designed as a highperformance daysailer and class racer, the Cougar Mark III was engineered to deliver blistering speed while offering enough physical deck space to serve as an accommodating family platform—bridging the gap between spartan, modern beach cats and larger, trailerable pocket cruisers.