Multihulls World summed up the boat’s appeal neatly: she offers a lot for the money, and although she isn’t a racer, her performance under sail is a very pleasant surprise.
Design and Construction
Mortain/Mavrikios drew even, relatively slim hulls—a deliberate departure from the volume-maximized forms that would later dominate the class. Vertical bows, high freeboard, and a 21-foot-3-inch beam give the Nautitech 40 a distinctive profile. Draft is a shoal 3 feet 11 inches, while stated displacement is 16,314 pounds.
The hull and deck are solid fiberglass. The builder’s specification also required that the catamaran must not capsize in 30 knots under full sail. That stability brief helps explain the conservative rig. Compared with her competitors at the time, the sail area was relatively modest. This followed directly from the survivability requirement rather than any lack of ambition.
By Multihulls World’s accounting, the hulls were approaching two decades of age during the review period. That places this generation firmly in the early years of the Nautitech line, before the later collaboration with Marc Lombard.
Rig, Handling, and Machinery
The Nautitech 40 carries a fractional sloop rig with 936 square feet of sail. Her displacement-length ratio is 116.66, and her sail-area-displacement ratio is 23.28. Those figures may look modest, but Multihulls World found her genuinely pleasing to sail, thanks to the combination of restrained canvas and slim hulls.
A capsize-screening ratio of 3.35 and a comfort ratio near 10.86 sit within a design envelope shaped by the requirement not to capsize in 30 knots under full sail. The result is a catamaran intended to absorb pressure rather than demand constant reefing. Hull speed is around 8.4 knots, reinforcing the emphasis on manageable cruising rather than regatta pace.
Power comes from twin 58-horsepower Volvo Penta diesels driving saildrives spaced across the hulls.
Accommodations and Capacities
The manufacturer’s specification required four cabins for charter, of course. That brief produced a practical, compact cruising layout rather than a voluminous owner’s suite. As the reviewer noted, compactness is the governing theme of the living spaces.
Tankage includes 159 gallons of water and 72 gallons of diesel, supporting extended stays aboard. The twin-engine arrangement also provides redundancy absent from single-diesel cruisers.
The Verdict
The Nautitech 40 is an early, sensibly specified cruising catamaran from the Nautitech line. Slim Mortain/Mavrikios hulls and a modest rig shaped by the stability brief produced a boat that sails above the expectations set by her compact footprint.
She isn’t a racer, but the review record describes her sailing manners as a genuinely pleasant surprise. The four-cabin charter specification also makes her a practical platform for family or fleet use. Available information on defects is limited, so the judgment rests on what is established: this is a well-mannered, shoal-draft, twin-engine compact catamaran that offers good value.
Pros
- Slim Mortain/Mavrikios hulls deliver responsive, surprisingly good sailing for a compact catamaran.
- The stability specification—not to capsize in 30 knots under full sail—shaped a conservative, forgiving rig.
- Twin 58-horsepower Volvo Penta diesels and 159 gallons of water support self-sufficient cruising.
- The four-cabin charter layout provides practical accommodation.
Cons
- Modest sail area compared with period competitors limits outright pace.
- Compact dimensions restrict interior volume relative to later, volume-focused catamarans.
