Design and Construction
The Samana 59's hull form follows Berret-Racoupeau's established visual language for the Fountaine Pajot range — slightly raked-back bows with a sheer that rises forward and tapers downward from the mast aft to the transoms, the cabin-top lines echoed in miniature on the flybridge Bimini to create what one observer called a somewhat space-age look. Beneath that styling is sound engineering: fiberglass hulls and structural bulkheads molded with balsa cores and reinforced with carbon, resin-infused for strength and stiffness. The deck and smaller parts are injection-molded, giving them a finished look top and bottom, while aluminum plates are embedded in the laminate wherever hardware will be drilled and tapped. The primary structural element tying everything together is a husky, welded aluminum truss that passes under the bridgedeck to the two hulls — a logical choice for spanning the nearly ten meters of beam between hulls.
Interior joinery is Alpi wood laminate throughout, countertops are synthetic resin, and the only visible solid wood in the entire boat is a few tabletops and doors — a deliberate, low-maintenance decision that suits charter and liveaboard use equally well.
Rig and Sail Handling
The Samana 59 carries a double-spreader cutter rig with a square-top mainsail and double forestays that carry an overlapping jib and a big genoa. Hydraulic furlers handle both headsails, and electric winches on the flybridge serve to manage the halyards and sheets. Several sail-handling systems are hydraulic — a logical choice for a vessel of this size, where electrical wiring would need to be very large to handle the loads.
In use, the rig proves versatile. Upwind, the jib alone keeps tacking manageable, with a little help from electric Antal winches, while off the wind the large genoa can be deployed for reach power. In nine to ten knots of Chesapeake Bay breeze, speeds on a reach hovered in the six-knot range, with close-hauled performance running slightly below that — not a big cat's favorite point of sail. The helm station is positioned at the foot of the mast, consolidating all manoeuvres so the skipper can maintain constant control of performance. Hydraulic steering and the boat's sheer mass mean there is minimal feedback to the helm, so optimal speed calls for careful interpretation of the jib telltales and electronic wind instruments.
Deck Layout and Living Spaces
The Samana 59's statistics are striking: 745 square feet of afterdeck and saloon on the bridgedeck level and another 320 square feet on the flybridge. That flybridge, which Fountaine Pajot describes as the largest in its category, is a proper outdoor room. The cockpit features a dining table to port and a settee opposite, with a second couch spanning the transom and a fridge, grill and sink adjacent to it. At anchor, a hydraulic swim platform can be raised for sunbathing or lowered to the water. The foredeck offers additional seating in a pair of U-shaped areas reachable by walking up the wide side decks or through a watertight saloon door.
The outdoor spaces connect to the saloon via two sets of big sliding doors, so that opening everything up allows uninterrupted flow from afterdeck through to the forward lounge. In lieu of traditional grabrails, the underside of the cabintop is grooved for use as a handhold — a practical detail when the boat is moving in a seaway.
Accommodations
The Maestro layout, the most commonly reviewed configuration, places the owner's stateroom in the starboard hull where an athwartships queen berth sits amidships with long rectangular ports looking directly out at the water. Dual access to the owner's cabin — from both the saloon stairway and the aft deck — is a thoughtful detail, especially convenient after a swim. Each of the five guest cabins has its own en suite head, and the two aft cabins have private deck entrances suited to charter use. The galley-up Maestro version fills the port side of the saloon with counter space, multiple fridges, a freezer, and a five-burner stove and oven, organized around a central island. A galley-down variant moves cooking to the port hull to free up an even larger saloon, while a six-stateroom charter version offers owners maximum flexibility.
Two dedicated crew or skipper cabins occupy the forepeaks, and a separate service galley tucked in the port hull provides direct access to the service saloon — essential logistics for any professionally crewed operation.
Systems and Power
The Samana 59's systems reflect the demands of luxury liveaboard and charter service. Two generators live in the lazarettes, with one handling all loads and the second cutting in automatically as needed. The engine compartment, shared by the watermaker, hydraulic pumps, and air conditioning equipment with the main engines, was found to offer plenty of room to move around for checks and routine maintenance. A large touch-screen controller at the inside nav station oversees all systems and displays charts. The test boat ran 2,400 rpm to yield 9.5 knots at 76 dBA in the saloon — a reasonably quiet cruise — with a high setting of 2,900 rpm producing 10.5 knots. Twin engines combined with a bow thruster give excellent maneuverability for a boat this wide. For owners wanting to reduce dependence on diesel, an ODSea+ hybrid option pairs twin 50 kW motors with a 118 kWh battery bank and built-in hydrogeneration.
The Verdict
The Fountaine Pajot Samana 59 makes its purpose clear from first impression: it is a superbly engineered floating venue that happens to sail. Berret-Racoupeau's design manages to pack five-couple charter capacity into a hull that still performs credibly under sail, backed by a construction approach — resin infusion, carbon reinforcement, injection-molded decks — that prioritizes longevity over shortcuts. The complexity of the systems is real, and the Samana 59 is likely a boat where most owners will have a full-time captain and crew; this is not a vessel to be maintained casually. But for those operating in that context, the combination of a genuine sailing catamaran with resort-grade accommodations is difficult to match at this length.
Pros
- Resin-infused, balsa-cored, carbon-reinforced construction with injection-molded deck components
- Largest flybridge in its category adds a genuine third outdoor living level
- Cutter rig with hydraulic furlers and electric winches manageable by a small professional crew
- Five en suite guest cabins plus dedicated crew quarters; dual owner's cabin access
- Dual-generator system with automatic load balancing; generous engine-room access
- ODSea+ hybrid option available for reduced diesel dependence
Cons
- Hydraulic steering delivers minimal helm feedback, demanding disciplined instrument interpretation
- Scale and systems complexity realistically require professional crew for safe management
- Close-hauled performance is modest relative to the sail area carried
- Interior finish relies on synthetic and laminate materials throughout, with minimal natural wood
