Design and Construction
Admiral catamarans are built in South Africa, and the 38 is offered in sailaway and executive versions with varying levels of trim and equipment. The hull form is a twin-keel catamaran with a skeg-hung rudder and solid fiberglass hull and deck — a straightforward composite approach rather than a cored laminate. At 38 feet overall with a 34-foot waterline and a modest 3-foot-4-inch draft, the platform is plainly intended for shallow cruising grounds as much as passage work. The companion 40-foot Admiral model shares the same builder lineage.
Rig and Handling
Owners who have driven the boat hard describe a yacht that looks sleek and fast and indeed is. One owner sailed her from South Africa to Florida through 25-to-37-knot winds and 20-foot seas for the first three days, and reported the boat and autopilot both handled it with ease anchor. Surfing down those waves, she touched top speeds near 20 knots. The 2-foot-9-inch draft quoted by that same owner places her among the shallowest-draft cruising cats afloat, letting her sail through reefs that other cats fear and anchor in 4 feet of water before stepping off a sugar-scoop stern to a beach.
Accommodations
The most impressive thing about this boat is her incredibly spacious feel, a quality owners attribute to the roomy, open galley-up layout that is brilliantly planned, a pleasure to cook in, and easy to clean. The owner's version uses a fore-and-aft bed so large that there is no crawling over one another at night. Entertaining comes naturally: one cruiser hosted 26 fellow sailors partying aboard without strain, a direct consequence of the beamy hulls and open saloon.
Ownership and Versions
The 38 is available in sailaway and executive trims, and the owner's layout contrasts with the more charter-oriented three-cabin arrangement seen elsewhere on the used market. Two 29-horsepower diesel engines provide the typical catamaran redundancy for close-quarters control and passage-making. The shallow draft and the 137-gallon fuel and water capacities from the specification record support extended self-sufficient cruising.
The Verdict
The Admiral 38 is a genuinely volume-rich small catamaran with a documented ocean-crossing pedigree in owner hands. Lavranos's lines give her both speed under surf and the draft to treat reefs as navigable, while the open galley-up and fore-aft owner berth solve the usual multihull compromises between party space and private comfort.
Pros
- Shallow 2-foot-9-inch draft opens reefs and 4-foot anchorages other cats avoid
- Open galley-up and huge fore-aft owner berth make liveaboard life easy
- Documented 20-knot surfing and easy heavy-weather handling with autopilot
Cons
- 18,700-pound displacement places her firmly in cruiser territory
- Two versions mean equipment levels vary widely between sailaway and executive
