Lagoon 500 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The 500's hull forms embody VPLP's research into the gull-wing configuration, fairing the hulls into a nacelle molded under the centerline of the bridgedeck to smooth the bridging structure through the water. Fixed keels rather than daggerboards keep the draft at a modest 4 feet 7 inches, suited to tropical anchorages and shoal passages. The 28-foot beam and 38,808-pound light displacement yield a displacement-length ratio of 147 and a sail-area-displacement ratio of 16.62, figures that place her firmly in the moderate-displacement cruising catamaran class. Rectangular vertical windows became a brand identifier on this model, and the builder claimed the twin hulls were engineered to absorb a significant payload without compromising motion.

Rig, Helm, and Handling

Lagoon introduced the flying bridge on the 440, and the 500 exploits it to the full, lifting the helm to a centerline station with a spray dodger over the steering station during the 2006 trials. The traditional aft cockpit is no longer the working cockpit but a sheltered lounging and dining space beneath a solid roof, communicating with the bridge through three deck hatches. The only sail-handling vestige below is one end of the mainsheet led to a winch so a crew can dump it from the shelter of the cockpit if a gust hits. Test sailors in Cruising World's 2006 Boat of the Year trials found that with sheets eased she behaved as though 20 knots of wet wind were nothing, zooming along at 10 knots and over, steady as a ferryboat, and noted the big cat handled the chop very well. Under power, a pair of 75-horsepower Yanmars with saildrives pushed her to 8.3 knots at 2,800 rpm and 9.1 knots at 3,400 rpm, and she ranked among the quieter third of the boats tested that year, registering 75 decibels in the saloon at the lower rpm.

Accommodations and Layout

Three interior plans were offered. In all of them the port hull carries a forward and an aft stateroom, each with a private head, plus the pantry; the charter version mirrors that in the starboard hull but inserts a small crew cabin opposite the pantry, while the owner's version with skipper keeps a forward cabin and opens the rest of the starboard hull into a larger stateroom, and the pure owner's version gives the whole starboard hull to the owner. The galley sits "up" but dropped a step so the cook's head aligns with seated companions, backed by a pantry in the port hull with extra surfaces and storage. To starboard, a nav station and duplicate engine controls allow driving from inside. A sunken seating area forward of the house gives a quiet retreat, and the bridgedeck machinery space forward of the mast houses a generator reached through the sunning cockpit.

Known Issues

From the elevated flying bridge, testers found it impossible to see rapidly approaching hazards hidden behind the jib, a sightline limitation the builder answered by fitting the genoa with a clear window for the helmsman. On the regulatory side, the 500 runs afoul of U.S. standards for propane storage because the locker sits inside a larger compartment; the builder states the bottles are in a ventilated, sealed, and waterproof locker with a drain leading out under the bridgedeck, but the enclosing volume remains the compliance problem.

Ownership and Systems Access

The main electrical panel is mounted on the aft bulkhead in the saloon, and the back of the aft-facing cockpit seat hinges up on gas springs to expose the panel's inner workings generously. Engine compartments are isolated from the accommodation and reached through hatches in the deck at the top of the transom steps, keeping mechanical service clear of living spaces. The helm seat on the bridge during the 2006 trials wore only a spray dodger rather than a full bimini, though the builder's director stated a bimini with windshield is standard, and he insisted dealers recommend the electric option for primary winches and the mainsheet/traveler winch.

The Verdict

The Lagoon 500 is a thoughtfully engineered cruising catamaran that traded the traditional working cockpit for a sheltered lounge and lifted the helm to a protected flying bridge, delivering stable, quiet passage-making and a flexible three-layout interior suited to private or charter life. Her known compromises are the elevated-helm sightline gap and a U.S. propane-storage conflict, both mitigated but not erased by design tweaks.

Pros