Hull Form and Design Philosophy
The Bahia 46 arrived with beamier hulls than the previous models in the Fountaine Pajot range, a deliberate choice that produced cascading benefits throughout the design. Greater hull volume means the boat carries cruising stores with less penalty — each pound of cruising gear immerses the hulls less compared to a narrower design, preserving underwing clearance and maintaining the boat's designed waterlines even when provisioned for a long passage. The hulls are broader than those of many cats, which also widens the passageway past the heads and makes life aboard more civilized in a way that becomes apparent only when you have to move around at sea. At 46 feet the design sits at a length that multihull designers have long recognized as a sweet spot: catamarans under 35 or 40 feet are less suitable for serious offshore work because headroom forces them too high for their beam, raising the center of gravity, but the Bahia clears that threshold comfortably.
Keel and Underbody
One of the more revealing design choices on the Bahia 46 is the use of minikeels rather than centerboards or daggerboards. The reviewer who tested her for Cruising World was direct in his preference, noting that while boards may yield a final fraction of a knot, minikeels allow generous bilge sumps and protect the propellers and rudders. Reliability, he argued, is inversely proportional to the number of parts, and open cases of deployed centerboards also cause drag. For a passage-making couple, the freedom from worrying about board mechanisms and case integrity is worth more than the pointing advantage a racing configuration might offer. The stub keels also take the draft to a workable 4'3" — opening anchorages that deeper-drafted alternatives would be locked out of.
Rig and Sail Handling
The rig follows what had become, by the mid-1990s, the established cruising catamaran formula — but executed with uncommon generosity. A fractional headsail on a roller furler combines with a large, high-roach, full-batten mainsail fit with slides and lazy jacks, a package that a couple can manage without drama. The deck-stepped mast is supported by a forestay, two swept-back side shrouds, two sets of diamond shrouds, and struts between the gooseneck and the hounds. Where a monohull requires multiple shrouds to compensate for narrow beam, a cat's wide beam allows use of a single, strong shroud to each side, reducing the standing rigging to its essentials. The shrouds, set well aft, tension the headstay — an adequate option to runners on a cruising boat. The result is a rig more generous than the multihull norm: the sail area/weight ratio of 11.71 m²/tonne gives the Bahia genuine passage-making pace without demanding the vigilance of a racing machine.
Steering and Cockpit
The Bahia 46 places its helm in a central steering position behind the bridge-deck cabin rather than at twin wheels aft. More performance-oriented sailors might prefer dual wheels located aft on each hull, where the helmsman stands closer to the wind and waves and can feel the boat working. But the Bahia's more protected central steering position better suits a cruiser, sheltering the watch-keeper in rough conditions and keeping the helm accessible for whoever is on deck. The six-post bimini that covers this area is clean in appearance yet strong, and the dinghy davit arrangement is described as excellent — practical details that matter more on a boat used every day than on one that lives in a marina.
Accommodations and Liveability
Below, the widely spaced hulls do exactly what they are supposed to do: provide privacy. Fountaine Pajot's quality workmanship, layout and use of space are impressive, and the separation of cabins by the beam of the boat means the forward and aft cabins of each hull feel genuinely independent. The engines are well isolated, reducing noise and smell — a problem that plagues less carefully designed cats where the rudder bearings or saildrive housings transmit vibration directly into the sleeping cabins. The tank capacities — 100 gallons of fuel and 220 gallons of water — reflect a boat designed for extended offshore passages rather than weekend sailing.
Capsize Resistance and Offshore Safety
The Bahia 46's weight and accommodations are sometimes cited as evidence of a heavy, slow boat. The Cruising World reviewer reframed this: the accommodations, inboard power and adequate structure make these boats heavier and harder to drive, but also harder to capsize. This is the deliberate tradeoff Fountaine Pajot made. A full crew of alert racers can keep a powerful, light multihull from going over, but cruisers may not require that last tenth of a knot or that added pointing ability, and the Bahia's moderate sail plan means that an inattentive helmsman is unlikely to find himself in a capsize situation. The boat's size reinforces this: when the biggest wave of the passage comes through, the bigger boat will be bigger relative to that wave.
The Verdict
The Fountaine Pajot Bahia 46 is the product of a mature design process applied to a clear brief: build a catamaran that a couple can take offshore, live aboard comfortably, and trust. Joubert/Nivelt and Olivier Flahault answered that brief with a boat that remained in Fountaine Pajot's catalogue for over a decade — a production run that reflects genuine market satisfaction rather than novelty. It is not the fastest catamaran of its era, nor the most spartan, but it is unanimously appreciated by skippers, delivery skippers and crews of all nationalities, which is a harder standard to meet than any single performance benchmark.
Pros
- Beamier hulls carry cruising loads with minimal change to waterlines or underwing clearance
- Generous sail plan with a sail area-to-weight ratio that delivers real performance
- Minikeels protect running gear and simplify the underbody without moving parts
- Well-isolated twin engines reduce noise and provide passage-making redundancy
- Protected central helm suits shorthanded offshore passages
- Large water and fuel tankage for extended cruising
- Wide hull separation delivers genuine cabin privacy
Cons
- Central helm preferred over twin aft wheels by sailors who want to feel the boat
- Heavier displacement trades outright speed for capsize resistance — not a racetrack design
- Pug-nosed bow profile, characteristic of the era, is less efficient than modern fine-entry bows
- Full-batten mainsail with slides and lazy jacks requires more deck work than a furling main
