Design and Construction
The 500 is a true catamaran of 15.20 meters overall and 8.30 meters beam, displacing 10.30 tonnes. Voyage Yachts built her in South Africa using vacuum-bonded closed-cell PVC foam cores in hulls, decks, and cockpit biminis to keep the displacement-to-length ratio low, with a laminate schedule of quadraxial glass roving vacuum-infused in vinyl ester or polyester resins. The hull-to-deck joint is double-redundant, a detail the builder engineered to absorb the high stress of ocean passages. Interior cabinetry is hand-made foam-core wood, ultra-lightweight by intent, again in service of total weight. Those construction choices explain why a 50-foot cat with this beam could still be rated for bluewater use without feeling sluggish: the structure sheds pounds where monohull thinking would add them.
Rig and Handling
The boat carries a fractional sloop rig with a mast height of 20.00 meters and a mainsail of 125 square meters, roughly 1,345 square feet. With twin 40-horsepower diesel engines as the drivetrain, she is a sailboat first but with enough mechanical redundancy to dock and maneuver a 27-foot-beam hull in confined charter bases. The generous sail area relative to the modest displacement gives the 500 the kind of light-air responsiveness one expects from a Simonis multihull, while the twin screws let a single handler pivot her without drama.
Accommodations
The Voyage 500 is listed with 10 cabins, a count that reflects the charter-market flexibility of the design: the layout could be split into multiple guest and crew spaces rather than a single owner's arrangement. That cabin multiplicity, paired with 800 liters of water and 500 liters of fuel, points to the boat's intended role as a self-sufficient passage-maker and bareboat platform.
The Verdict
The Voyage 500 is a purpose-built cruising catamaran that wears its charter pedigree openly: light foam-core construction, a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio, and a redundant hull joint make her a credible ocean voyager in a 50-foot footprint. She is less a bespoke owner's yacht than a robust, configurable platform produced through the 2009 cutoff.
Pros
- Vacuum-bonded foam-core hulls and decks keep displacement low for the size
- Double-redundant hull-to-deck joint for passage-making stress
- Twin 40 hp diesels aid maneuvering a 27-foot beam
- Large water and fuel capacity for extended cruising
Cons
- Ten-cabin charter orientation may not suit single-owner privacy expectations
- Early foam-core construction demands careful moisture surveying
