The 49 was conceived after a troubled period following the sudden disappearance of the founder-architect. It became the yard’s statement of recovery and renewed vitality, built around a bluewater specialist’s motto: “Seaworthy, Fast, Simple.”
Design and Construction
The 49’s hull architecture reflects its role as a purposeful ocean-going boat. Tall, slim, slightly flared bows rise above a barely immersed forefoot, while powerful bows and a barely immersed forefoot help define the profile alongside a well-proportioned coachroof.
The hulls gain volume progressively, but have none of the “belly” seen in fuller designs. Flattened aft sections keep the lines tight and disciplined, while a wedge-shaped counter is intended to help the hulls plane. The boat’s natural sailing attitude is deliberately a little tail-down.
The rounded trunk cabin is smaller than those of similarly sized catamarans, sacrificing interior volume in favor of greater structural integrity. The hard foredeck is cut back almost to the cabin to eliminate flat surfaces exposed to boarding seas. Forward crash boxes and watertight bulkheads add to the boat’s safety provisions.
Rig, Steering, and Performance
Slender hulls, fine entries, light weight, twin daggerboards, and a massive sail plan give the 49 the ingredients for blistering speed both on and off the wind. It carries 1,336 square feet of sail on a hull with a 49-foot 2-inch waterline and a displacement of 20,944 pounds, helping to explain the acceleration reported by reviewers.
Writing in Cruising World, the editors called the 49 an exhilarating boat to sail and noted that its slender hulls are exceptionally fast.
A distinctive feature is the pair of tillers aft. These allow the sailor to feel the boat directly, independently of the main helm’s hydraulic steering system.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The 49 combines a functional layout with an elegant finish. Below, the interior is finished in lustrous cherry, while the cockpit areas and decks are spacious. The galley is equipped to serve a large, hungry crew, and the full-size, thoroughly equipped navigation station reflects the yard’s core bluewater philosophy.
The boat is aesthetically pleasing, with a visual coherence that carries from its deck lines into the living spaces without compromising the bluewater brief. That said, the smaller trunk cabin and tight hull lines reduce interior volume compared with fuller designs of a similar size.
Specifications
The Outremer 49 measures 49 feet 2 inches both overall and on the waterline, with a beam of 24 feet 5 inches. Draft adjusts from 2 feet 9 inches to 7 feet 7 inches using the daggerboards.
Tankage comprises 116 gallons of water and 80 gallons of fuel. The specification record lists a 40-horsepower Volvo Penta D2 diesel, while one review quoted a 49-horsepower Yanmar. The sources don’t resolve this discrepancy.
The Verdict
The Outremer 49 is a recovery-era bluewater catamaran that distills the builder’s “Seaworthy, Fast, Simple” ethos into a visually coherent and structurally deliberate platform. It trades interior volume and some flat working space forward for a smaller trunk cabin, tight hull lines, and a foredeck shaped to reduce exposure to boarding seas. In return, it offers speed, direct steering feel, and serious safety provisions.
Pros
- Slender, fast hulls with twin daggerboards and a massive sail plan
- Forward crash boxes and watertight bulkheads
- Twin tillers aft for direct helm feedback
- Full-size navigation station and a galley equipped for a large crew
Cons
- Reduced interior volume due to the smaller trunk cabin
- Cut-back hard foredeck limits flat working space forward
