At 57 feet long and 30 feet wide, the Lagoon 570 weighs more than 33,000 pounds light. That puts it firmly outside the lightweight end of the cruising-multihull spectrum, though it is still quick enough to surprise powerboat sailors.
Design and Construction
The hulls, nacelle, and deck use multidirectional E-glass over a balsa core. They are vacuum-infused with vinylester resin, with carbon fiber reinforcing high-load areas where impact and rig loads concentrate. The same balsa-cored approach extends to the decks and bulkheads, which have thin inner and outer glass skins intended to remain strong and flexible.
Blunt hull entries and aft swim steps extend the waterline to 52 feet. High bridgedeck clearance helps keep chop from slapping underneath.
One of the boat’s defining features is the band of vertical windows around the cabin top. Their upright orientation provides maximum visibility from the saloon while mitigating some of the noonday sun’s heat. Steering is transmitted through Vectran cable and an aluminum connecting rod to fiberglass rudders, which are kept in alignment by upper and lower bearings.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The Lagoon 570 has a fractional rig on an aluminum mast with double swept-back spreaders. Its 1,119-square-foot full-batten mainsail combines with a furling genoa and staysail to provide more than 2,000 square feet of sail overall. Lazy jacks are standard—and necessary, given the size of the main.
A long mainsheet traveler sits aft of the cockpit and uses a 4-to-1 purchase worked by paired Harken 48.2 ST winches. Harken 56.2 ST primary winches handle the genoa sheets.
Owners report reaching around 8 knots in 10 knots true and easily exceeding 10 knots in 20 knots, with the first reef going in near that mark. One skipper recorded more than 20 knots during an Atlantic crossing.
Cruising World noted that the Lagoon 570 doesn’t particularly cater to a shorthanded crew. The mainsheet and genoa controls are a long reach from the helm, and the emergency tillers must be set up separately, requiring one person at each tiller.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The cockpit has two aft-outboard steering stations, an L-shaped seat to starboard, a straight seat to port, and a teak sole. Seven storage compartments include four large aft lockers.
Inverted-L companionway doors slide out of the way, joining the canopied cockpit and saloon into a single social space. Inside, a circular table to port seats six, while an L-shaped settee wraps around a teak coffee table. The forward-facing navigation station sits amidships and has a pullout seat.
Four opening bridge ports supplement the deck hatches for ventilation. The quantity and quality of teak give the cabin a sumptuous feel. In most layouts, the galley is down in the port-hull gangway.
Lagoon offered four layouts optimized for either private or charter use. Each was available with or without a skipper’s cabin.
Machinery and Ownership
Standard power comes from a pair of 56-horsepower Yanmar engines, with options up to 100 horsepower per hull. Saildrives eliminate the complexity of shafts and stuffing boxes.
Engine access is through a top stern-step locker. It’s an ideal arrangement, except in foul weather. The standard boat has engine controls only at the starboard helm, a limitation Cruising World would address by specifying the optional port controls.
The builder claimed that more than 8,000 hours of research and development went into the updated design. According to the manufacturer, half of all Lagoon 570s sold or in production went to private owners and half to charter fleets.
Known Issue
Under sail, torsional loads are both audible and palpable through the cabin-top window area. This results from the rigid band of vertical glazing meeting the bridgedeck structure, with torsional loads moving through the window area.
The Verdict
The Lagoon 570 is a thoughtfully engineered second-generation cruiser that trades ultimate shorthanded simplicity for volume, pace, and a genuinely seamless indoor-outdoor social space. Its vacuum-infused balsa-sandwich structure and carbon reinforcement reflect a serious custom-yard build, while the vertical-window saloon remains a benchmark for light and visibility. The torsion around the window area is worth inspecting, but it isn’t disqualifying.
Pros
- Rigid, vacuum-infused balsa-sandwich construction with carbon reinforcement
- Seamless cockpit-to-saloon transition through sliding inverted-L doors
- Strong sailing performance, including a documented speed of more than 20 knots during an Atlantic crossing
- High bridgedeck clearance reduces underside slap
Cons
- Not configured for easy shorthanded sailing, with sheet controls far from the helm
- Standard starboard-only engine controls limit docking visibility
- Torsional loads are audible through the cabin-top windows under sail
