Design and Construction
The Saona 47’s hull-and-deck engineering centers on a balsa-cored, vinylester resin-infused structure typical of the builder, while Fountaine Pajot also infuses foam-cored hulls and decks to control weight and add strength, with bulkheads glued and glassed to the hulls and the bimini built as an infused-and-cored composite sandwich. Berret-Racoupeau extended the waterline to include integral stern platforms, and the design combines multi-decking, a minimum wetted surface, and pronounced chine flare to maximize living space without sacrificing speed. The result is a boat that reads as four decks—or five if you count the large stern engine rooms—with excellent traffic patterns through the aft deck and a deck that is easy to negotiate, though better grab points forward would be welcome.
Rig and Handling Under Sail
The rig follows Fountaine Pajot practice with a huge square-topped mainsail and an overlapping jib, the gooseneck set just 37 inches off the cabin top and the boom reachable by an average-height person, though mast steps are essential for attaching the main halyard. The mainsail is a beast to raise: long battens in the head and extreme leech roach add weight, and even with a 2:1 halyard purchase the electric winch labored to the peak. On the test sail an Incidence main with a slightly overlapping genoa on a Facnor roller furler produced 5.4 knots closehauled in 7 to 8 knots of wind, climbing to 7.6 knots on a reach as the breeze reached 11 knots. A sprit invites a downwind sail. Sailing in a shifty 6- to 10-knot Annapolis breeze, the boat tacked, reached, and ran easily at 5 to 6 knots, but the motion felt more active than the reviewer expected, and the test boat’s unresolved rigging made proper mainsail tension hard to achieve.
Power, Helm, and Close-Quarters Behavior
Under power the Saona 47 shows the usual catamaran agility in tight spaces and good open-water speed. With twin diesels turning opposite directions it twisted in its own length through a neat pirouette, the turning circle about two boatlengths at idle. A calm-water cruise at 2,400 rpm delivered 8.5 knots; wide-open 2,800 rpm yielded 9.2. The elevated starboard helm—reached by three steps from the cockpit, with a three-person bench and pedestal-mounted wheel and engine controls—is spacious and comfortable, though large blind spots surprised the tester: the upper deck hides the port stern under power, and under sail the entire port hull and masthead wind vane vanish from view. A lounging area atop the bimini to port is three more stairs up.
Accommodations
The interior is functional, urban-contemporary, and attractive, with an expansive bright saloon of wraparound windows, long overhead skylights, and sliding glass panels opening to the cockpit. Overhead clearance delights sailors over six feet, but the big windows give good visibility only to the tall and standing, not the short or seated, and the open apartment-like aft area—linked by a wide sliding door—is the social center, with sunbathing lounges across main and upper decks. The owner’s Maestro version dedicates the port hull to a master suite with a double berth aft, desk and cabinetry amidships, and a forward head set off by a glass wall; SAIL’s reviewer called it bigger than any cat under 55 feet he had seen. The starboard hull holds two cabins with large double berths and en-suite heads, while the charter layout adds a fifth cabin and crew quarters for three couples. The galley is L-shaped with dual fridges, a corner convection oven, and an island counter; a protected nav station forward suits standing watch but loses visibility when sails are raised.
Known Issues and Comfort Notes
Several flat observations temper the comfort story. The interior is primarily hard, sound-reflective surfaces, and a fair amount of wave noise was heard underway; a bit of insulation would help. The large saloon lacks grab points and the overhead is too high to mount grabrails, a drawback given the lively motion. Helm blind spots and the nav-station visibility loss under sail are real limitations. Loading is the performance ceiling: weigh the boat down and the broader hull sections submerge.
The Verdict
The Saona 47 is a thoughtfully layered catamaran that trades a little sail-handling ease and some acoustic comfort for remarkable volume, protected helm visibility trade-offs, and genuine short-handed power agility. The Maestro interior is a standout, and the construction is consistent with the builder’s infused practice.
Pros
- Owner’s port-hull suite larger than any sub-55-foot cat the reviewer had seen
- Infused, cored hull and deck with glued-and-glassed bulkheads
- Twists in its own length under power with opposite-turning twins
- Bright, open saloon with sliding panels to a vast aft social deck
Cons
- Hard reflective interior surfaces and noticeable wave noise
- Large helm blind spots and no inside piloting visibility with sails up
- Mainsail heavy to raise; electric winch strained even at 2:1 purchase
- Performance drops as loading submerges broader hull sections
