The boat comes in two interior styles, Loft and Classic, each configurable with three to five cabins. It is already renowned for good living, spaciousness, and high performance.
Design and Construction
The 542’s twin resin-infused hulls use solid laminate below the waterline and foam cores above it. The deck is also foam-cored. This construction keeps weight in check while retaining impact resistance where it matters most.
The bulkheads are infused for a good resin-to-fabric ratio, while the furniture and flooring are foam-cored, like the hull and deck. Light-ship displacement is an impressive 29,800lb—not bad for a boat with accommodations for eight and room to spare.
Each slim hull has a fin intended to improve performance, and the cabintrunk remains refreshingly low in an era of tall multihull bridgedecks. Multihulls World noted that the 542’s silhouette hides an efficient hull, perfectly suited to fast cruising. The boat gives a real impression of power, resulting in good averages.
Rig and Deck Handling
The standard mast and boom are aluminum, with stainless steel wire rigging. Options include a carbon spar, composite standing rigging, and performance draft keels. The deeper keels add half a foot of draft, for a total of 5ft 7in.
Halyards lead to the starboard side, while the headsail furler runs to port. The sheets are double-ended and lead to both sides. The self-tacking jib sheets to an athwartships track immediately forward of the cabintrunk, and a substantial bowsprit carries a reaching sail on a continuous-line furler.
Built around a full-batten, square-top mainsail, the sailplan should be potent across a wide range of conditions. The boat’s performance emphasis is clearest in its twin helms set well aft and outboard, where they provide an unobstructed view of the bows.
Performance Underway
Test sailors found that the 542 easily reached more than 12 knots at a 45 degree apparent wind angle. In heavy seas, it never once missed stays when coming about, tacking through about 120 degrees despite the chop.
Owners report that the boat regularly reached 19 knots one day in following seas, sailing on a reach under jib and main alone.
Under power, the twin 75hp Volvo Pentas drove the 542 to 7.3 knots at 2,000 rpm. Speed rose to 9 knots at 2,500 rpm and 9.8 knots at 3,000 rpm.
Accommodations and Cockpit
Each version of the 541/542 offers a choice of three to five cabins, while the 542 belowdecks offers anywhere from three to six cabins. The fifth and sixth cabins are shoehorned into space that would otherwise remain open.
The Loft style favors spaciousness and has a particularly open cockpit. Large hull windows and plenty of hatches keep all the cabins well lit and well ventilated.
One tester especially liked the large sliding doors and windows between the cockpit and saloon, as well as the forward-facing nav station fitted to the test boat. Abaft the cockpit, a separate athwartships passageway provides an excellent platform for tending the dinghy davits.
Overhead, a sturdy hardtop offers shade and a safe work surface when snugging the mainsail into its sailbag. A retractable moonroof, operated by a small electric motor, adds a modern touch.
Known Issue
The layout criticism from period testing was the lack of substantial handholds on the cabintrunk. It’s a notable shortcoming on an otherwise well-considered deck.
The Verdict
The Nautitech 541/542 is a performance-minded cruising catamaran that gives up some volume-maximizing in exchange for sailing feel and a low, efficient profile. Its infusion-built structure keeps displacement remarkably low for the accommodation offered. The reported sailing envelope—from more than 12 knots on the wind to 19 knots off the breeze—is rare in this size class.
Twin aft helms and a clean deck plan reward an engaged crew, although the lack of secure cabintrunk handholds is a genuine caveat in rough weather.
Pros
- Light-ship displacement of 29,800lb, with accommodations for eight
- Twin resin-infused hulls, solid below the waterline and foam-cored above
- Full-batten, square-top main and self-tacking jib, plus a reaching bowsprit
- Twin aft helms with an unobstructed view of the bows
- Strong reported speeds on the wind and downwind: more than 12 knots and 19 knots
- Loft or Classic interior styles, with three- to six-cabin arrangements
Cons
- No substantial handholds on the cabintrunk
- Fifth and sixth cabins are shoehorned into otherwise open space
