Hull Design and Naval Architecture
The most visible departure from the Lucia 40 is immediately apparent at the bow. The hulls gained eight inches at the waterline through the adoption of inverted stems, a change that transformed what Multihulls World described as a wise but conservative silhouette into something considerably more contemporary and seductive. The overall length climbed from 38'6" to 39'2", and the effect on perceived sportiness is disproportionate to the modest dimensional shift. Beneath the waterline, the platform retains twin keels drawing just under four feet, a shallow draft that opens anchorages and marina berths that deeper-keeled bluewater boats cannot reach. Construction throughout is GRP with a balsa core, the standard of the modern production cruising catamaran — light enough to sail, stiff enough to last.
The beam of nearly 22 feet gives the Isla a deck footprint of roughly 850 square feet, and Fountaine Pajot calls this model a gateway boat for precisely that reason: the hulls need to be wide enough to accommodate a double berth athwartships, and they need mass enough to carry the stores, electronics, and comforts most offshore crews require. Go much smaller, and the arithmetic stops working.
Rig, Sail Plan, and Performance
The Isla carries a fractional sloop rig with a flat-top mainsail and overlapping genoa, a pairing that delivers measurably better upwind performance than the more common square-top-plus-furling-jib combination fitted to many volume-built cats. Reported sail area is just over a thousand square feet, with a mainsail of 635 square feet and a genoa of 390 square feet. The resulting sail-area-to-displacement ratio sits above 21, which places the Isla firmly in the relatively high-performance bracket for a cruising multihull of this displacement.
On the water, closehauled in twelve knots of breeze the GPS showed 6.5 to 7 knots, and off the wind on a reach, speeds touched the eights in puffs. Those numbers are honest benchmarks for a fully appointed cruising cat, not a stripped-down racing machine. Engine choices run to either twin 20-horsepower or twin 30-horsepower Volvo diesels, giving owners the option to prioritize economy or motoring authority depending on their intended cruising ground.
Helm and Deck Layout
Fountaine Pajot positioned the helm station to starboard, elevated so the helmsman can see over the cabin top and Bimini. Three winches and several line clutches cluster within easy reach of the wheel, keeping sail-control lines — including the traveler, which spans the rear of the Bimini — readily accessible from a single station. The arrangement means a short-handed crew can manage sail changes without abandoning the helm, a genuine offshore requirement rather than a marketing claim.
Steps from the cockpit lead up to the Bimini where the boom mounts low enough to provide good access to the sail pouch when the time comes to secure the mainsail, a detail that matters on a passage boat expected to make repeated day-to-day sail evolutions. Side deck access to the helm means crew coming forward from the bow can reach the wheel without climbing over anything.
Accommodations and Layout Options
Below, the Isla is offered in multiple configurations. The Maestro layout allocates the entire starboard hull to an owner's suite — berth aft, desk and head compartment amidships, and a shower forward with a washer/dryer in the forepeak. The port hull in this arrangement holds two double-berth guest cabins with separate head and shower compartments between them. Charterers and families typically choose the Quatuor layout, which installs four staterooms with a skipper's cabin available in the forepeak.
The saloon arranges a digital nav station opposite the galley, with a multifunction display at eye level and dedicated laptop space below. The galley itself sits just inside the saloon door to port, adjacent to the cockpit table — a position that allows the cook to participate in cockpit life rather than labor in isolation below. A forward saloon table converts between dining height and cocktail height. Water tankage runs to 140 gallons across two tanks, and fuel capacity is 79 gallons, practical figures for extended coastal or island-hopping passages.
Known Considerations
The Isla's capsize screening figure of 3.16 reflects the reality of all wide-beam cruising catamarans: the formula penalizes beam, and the Isla's 21-plus feet of beam will always produce a number above the 2.0 threshold that the formula equates with blue-water safety. This is not a deficiency unique to the Isla — the formula compares beam with displacement, and every production cruising cat of this width faces the same arithmetic. Buyers intending sustained offshore passages should weigh this in context of the boat's actual motion comfort and stability characteristics rather than treating the single number as disqualifying.
The displacement-to-length ratio of 155.94 places the Isla in the light-displacement bracket, where less power is required to drive the boat to hull speed. That is advantageous for sailing performance and fuel economy under power, but it also means payload management matters: stores, water, spares, and gear accumulate quickly on a cruising cat, and the Isla should be loaded with awareness of her designed waterline.
Refit and Ownership Notes
Because the Isla shares its platform with the Lucia 40, owners benefit from a parts and service network that predates the current model, and Fountaine Pajot's dealer infrastructure spans the major cruising markets. The choice between twin 20-horsepower and twin 30-horsepower Volvo diesels is made at the factory, and owners regularly upgrading for liveaboard or offshore work have gravitated toward the larger engines to preserve motoring reserve against current and headwinds. The overlapping genoa, while effective for performance, requires a furler sized for the extra cloth; owners who subsequently add a code zero or asymmetric spinnaker extend the boat's light-air capability without touching the working rig. The balsa-cored hull construction rewards proactive moisture management and periodic survey of any penetrations, as is the case with any cored fiberglass structure.
The Verdict
The Isla 40 succeeds at a genuinely difficult task: building a 39-foot catamaran that sails well, lives comfortably, and can be managed by two people without heroics. Berret-Racoupeau's inverted-bow revision gave a proven hull a sharper look and measurably more waterline, while the Maestro and Quatuor layout options mean the boat serves both private bluewater cruisers and charter-minded owners without awkward compromise. It is not a performance cat, and its capsize screening figure reflects the width that makes it so livable — a trade-off the market has clearly judged acceptable.
Pros
- Flat-top main and overlapping genoa produce genuine upwind performance for a volume-built cat
- Elevated starboard helm with all sail controls within reach suits short-handed sailing
- Multiple interior layouts (Maestro, Quatuor, skipper's cabin option) serve varied ownership models
- Inverted-stem hull design updates proven Lucia 40 platform without abandoning a successful underwater form
- Shallow twin keels open shoal anchorages inaccessible to deeper bluewater monohulls
- Factory choice of twin 20 hp or twin 30 hp Volvo diesels lets buyers match power to cruising style
Cons
- Capsize screening figure of 3.16 is above the offshore threshold common to all wide-beam cats of this class
- Overlapping genoa requires careful crew choreography during tacks compared with a self-tacking jib
- Light displacement demands disciplined payload management on extended passages
- Balsa-cored construction requires diligent moisture monitoring at all hull penetrations
