The Lombard/Darnet team set out to balance design, performance, and comfort. The result is a substantial vessel, displacing nearly 64,000 pounds with a beam just over 30 feet. The builder describes it as embodying the best of Privilège craftsmanship: a blend of strength, elegance, and intelligent design.
Design and Construction
The 650 uses the modern Privilège construction baseline: a vacuum-infused GRP sandwich structure with a closed-cell PVC foam core and a vinylester anti-osmosis barrier. Its signature central rostrum pod forward reinforces the longitudinal structure and houses the owner’s master suite.
The deck plan has flush side decks, a raised handrail, and a completely clear foredeck. These details support the secure circulation promised by the builder and allow fluid, secure movement around the boat on long offshore passages.
The cockpit has been lowered to ensure a smooth connection with the nacelle. This creates a protected, refined living area while maintaining a seamless connection with the sea. Compared with the 640, the flybridge is significantly larger, with a broad U-shaped lounge and table, plus a fully equipped helm station to starboard.
The overall glazed area of the nacelle has also increased. Its forward windows sit farther forward and closer to vertical, raising headroom in the owner’s suites to nearly 6 feet 7 inches. The change also admits more light without the worst of the greenhouse heat.
The hull carries CE certification A, confirming its rating for unrestricted ocean service.
Rig and Handling
Under sail, the Signature 650 delivers confident performance through an optimized rig intended to provide balance, power, and effortless handling over long distances. Multihulls World notes that it carries 97 square feet more sail than the 640. Its fractional sloop sail plan includes:
- A 1,505-square-foot mainsail
- A 990-square-foot genoa
- A 345-square-foot staysail
- Reaching sails up to a 2,585-square-foot Code 5
The helm station combines excellent visibility and a high level of protection while remaining connected to life aboard. Twin 82 kW engines provide precise maneuvering for dock work.
Passages are described as smooth, quiet, and remarkably reassuring, even in demanding conditions. The builder attributes that quality to the platform as a whole rather than to any single component.
Accommodations
Designed as a private retreat for extended time at sea, the 650 uses carefully selected materials and soft lighting to create a quiet, refined atmosphere.
Set centrally within the nacelle, the owner’s suite offers generous volume, natural light, and panoramic forward-facing views—a rare feature on a catamaran of this size. The boat is available with four or five cabins.
The nacelle’s enlarged glazed area keeps the saloon bright without compromising its protected connection to the cockpit. Outside, the wide, sheltered cockpit and flybridge lounge extend the living space, while movement from bow to stern remains fluid and secure.
The Verdict
The Privilège 650 is a thoroughly considered ocean cruiser. It trades the raw minimalism of earlier bluewater cats for a refined, light-filled retreat without abandoning passage-making capability.
The Lombard/Darnet team’s larger rig and flybridge, together with the more vertical forward windows and lowered cockpit, make the boat feel both more powerful and more livable than the 640 it replaced. For a couple or family planning serious offshore miles, the central nacelle suite and CE A certification are meaningful features. For sailors who value a protected helm and quiet motion, the 650 delivers on its brief.
Pros
- Ocean-going catamaran with CE certification A for unrestricted service
- Central nacelle owner’s suite with panoramic forward views, a rare arrangement at this size
- More powerful rig than the preceding 640, with effortless long-distance handling
- Enlarged flybridge and increased nacelle glazing improve livability
Cons
- Its substantial 64,000-pound displacement demands full use of the powerful rig in light air
- The predecessor 640’s presence on the used market may complicate direct value comparisons
