Catana 47 Used Buyer’s Review: Both Generations, Weak Points and Prices

Sailing catamaran passing a green rocky island

The Catana 47 is a French daggerboard cruising catamaran for buyers who care how a boat sails upwind. This guide covers the boat built from 2010, its predecessor the 471/472 and 47 Ocean Class of 1997 to 2007, and what magazine testers and owners have reported about both. It ends with what to check and what to compare it with.

Last checked: November 2026. This is a buyer’s review compiled from builder data, magazine tests and owner reports. We have not sailed these boats ourselves. Specifications vary by source and by boat, and asking prices are not sale prices.

Two different boats under one name

Buyers searching for a “47” from Catana will find two generations. They share a designer and a length, and very little else.

The 471/472 and 47 Ocean Class (1997–2007). Christophe Barreau designed it. Katamarans.com counts just under 90 hulls, about half of them early 471s and 472s. The 472 was a higher-spec version. After 2003 the boat was sold as the 47 Ocean Class, with a self-tacking solent and a carbon mast. Katamarans.com says the differences between the 471 and the 472 were mostly marketing.

The Catana 47 (from 2010). Also a Barreau design, it replaced the 471. Boat-specs.com dates the first hull to 2010, and the boat made its US debut at the Miami show in 2012. Cruising World reported that six boats were built without carbon before Catana started adding it to its infused laminate. Those six are an early sub-series to identify when you look at a boat. Multihulls World announced Catana’s new 50-foot Ocean Class in 2020, and current listings include 47s built as late as 2019.

The yard’s history explains some of the variation. Skippers.ch’s history of the company says Catana was founded in Cogolin in 1984 and moved to Canet-en-Roussillon in 1997. In 1999 a 471 owner, Yves Gallot-Lavallée, took control and steered the range towards comfort. The boats got heavier and the company went bankrupt in 2003. Olivier Poncin then took over, and his group later launched the Bali brand. So a 2000 boat and a 2005 boat came out of different companies with different priorities. Look at the build year and the hull number.

Published specifications

	471/472 (1997–2007)	47 (from 2010)
Length	15.70 m LOA	46 ft hull (14.03 m); 15.54 m overall
Waterline length	13.80 m	45 ft 6 in (13.88 m)
Beam	7.70 m	25 ft 1 in (7.64 m)
Draft, boards up / down	1.20 / 2.50 m	3 ft 7 in / 8 ft 2 in
Displacement	12,000 kg light	21,800 lb (SAIL); 10,900 kg light (boat-specs)
Sail area	109.9 m²	1,035 sq ft, 100% foretriangle (SAIL); 139 m² upwind (boat-specs)
Engines	2 x 50 hp	2 x 40 hp Volvo, saildrives
Fuel / water	not published in our sources	158 / 177 US gal (600 / 670 L)

Sources: Katamarans.com (471/472); SAIL 2012 review and boat-specs.com (47). The two sources for the newer boat disagree on displacement and sail area, partly because one quotes a 100 percent foretriangle and the other the full upwind plan. Use the figures as a guide and weigh the actual boat if payload matters to you.

On construction, Cruising World describes the hulls of the newer 47 as an infused sandwich of Airex foam and glass in polyester and vinylester resin. Twaron aramid goes forward for impact protection and below the waterline, and carbon at the chainplates and other load points. The bimini, coachroof and structural bulkheads are infused carbon and foam. SAIL reports that the redesign took about 1,500 lb out of the boat, enough to drop from twin 50 hp engines to twin 40s.

How the Catana 47 sails, according to the testers

Tom Dove sailed one off Miami for SAIL in 2012 in lumpy water. He saw 7 knots on a close reach in 9 knots of wind, rising to 9 knots in a 12-knot gust. The boat tacked through about 90 degrees if you kept it moving, and he noted no slamming under the bridgedeck. Boards were normally set about halfway and pulled up for downwind work. Under power it made 7.4 knots at 2,200 rpm and just over 9 knots flat out. It turned in about one and a half boat lengths, and could spin on its own axis using the engines.

Mark Pillsbury reported a Cruising World Boat of the Year sail on the Chesapeake. The 47 made nearly 9 knots on a beam reach in a little over 12 knots of breeze, and high 7s close-hauled. Judge Alvah Simon liked that “everything was exactly where it needed to be.” The builder told boats.com that the first boat hit 25 knots on sea trials. Treat that as a top speed in ideal conditions, not a cruising average.

Owners of the older boat report less dramatic numbers. A couple cruising a 1998 471 from Mexico told Katamarans.com they average 5 to 6 knots on passage and have logged 13 knots at best. They get 3.5 to 4.5 knots in 6 to 8 knots of wind and tack at about 45 degrees off the wind. They like the light-air performance, the wide flat decks and the twin mainsheets. Katamarans.com notes the 471 is heavier than comparable Outremers.

What reviewers and owners did not like

The complaints are consistent across the two generations, and most come from the design rather than from build faults.

Exposed helms. The twin wheels are outboard and aft with little shelter. Boats.com called this a deal-breaker for some buyers. Boats.com noted that most owners leave the steering to the autopilot.
One set of engine controls. SAIL found the throttles only at the starboard wheel, with a blind spot towards the opposite bow, and the Cruising World judges wanted controls at both helms because visibility to port under power was poor. Docking short-handed needs a crew member on the port side. The 471 owners also have starboard-only controls and plan to add a port set.
Busy line handling. SAIL found the clutches bunched tightly around a single central winch. On the 471, Katamarans.com describes a double-ended mainsheet with no traveller and all lines led back to one central winch.
Quick motion. SAIL found the motion lively in a seaway, especially in the cockpit, and noted few handholds in the open saloon.
Less volume than a charter cat. The finer hulls give less interior space. Boats.com thought the boat suited a couple with one or two children better than a full charter party.
Electrics. The Cruising World judges criticised an exposed electrical panel and other electrical details. SAIL noted that the boat was wired to CE standards without tinned wire, which US buyers often expect. On the 471, the original Cartes distribution system is ageing, and many owners are replacing it with CZone.
Daggerboard trunks. The 471 owners say the trunks take space inside and can be noisy in waves.

Survey points specific to the 47

Start with our used catamaran buying checklist, then add these for a daggerboard Catana:

Boards and trunks. Pull both boards. Look for grounding damage to leading edges and tips, wear in the trunk, and cracks where the trunk meets the hull. Ask whether the boat has ever touched bottom with the boards down.
Laminate type. Find out whether the boat is one of the six built before the switch to carbon reinforcement and infusion. That changes weight and resale value more than equipment does.
Saloon windows. The 471 owner reports the front centre saloon window creaking under load. Check the bedding of all large windows and look for leak stains.
Electrical panel and wiring. Find out who has replaced what, especially on older boats with the Cartes system. Look for untinned wire in damp areas.
Watermaker and generator. On the 471, the watermaker runs on 220 V and depends on the generator. Find out which equipment depends on what before you plan to live off the grid.
Saildrives and engines. Get the seal and diaphragm history and the engine hours. One 2017 boat for sale now shows 798 engine hours, and its seller says engines and saildrives were completely overhauled in December 2025. That is the kind of record that supports an asking price, provided the invoices exist.

Our survey guide covers rig, structure and paperwork in more detail.

Prices on the market now

New, SAIL quoted a base of $761,000 in 2012, and boats.com quoted $750,000 FOB France. Cruising World put a boat equipped like the one its judges sailed at over $900,000, and boat-specs gives about €645,000 ex VAT for 2018.

Used asking prices we checked in November 2026:

2017 boat, owner’s version, three cabins, South of France: €595,000, EU VAT paid (boat24).
2019 boat, Cap d’Agde: £518,214 (boathound).
2010 boat, Charleston, South Carolina: $499,000 (Rightboat search results).
2001 471, Barrington, Rhode Island: $349,000 (Rightboat search results).

These are sellers’ hopes, not sale prices, and the sample is small. The gap between the two generations is still clear. Our specs page for the model shows any current listings on catamarket.

Who it suits, and what else to look at

The 47 suits a couple or small family who want to sail upwind properly, accept a wheel in the open, and do not need four double cabins. It is a poor fit for anyone who wants to charter it out with full cabins, or who wants the helm protected for long night watches.

Alternatives worth viewing:

Outremer 45 and Outremer 51: daggerboard performance cruisers. In its page on the 471, Katamarans.com describes comparable Outremers as lighter.
Nautitech 46 Open: from Nautitech, the yard Olivier Poncin founded before he took over Catana. Worth viewing back to back with the Catana.
Catana’s own 42 and 53, plus the newer Ocean Class 50, if you want the same family in a different size.

Browse the full catamaran marketplace. To compare boats side by side, use the specs database.

Related guides

Sources

Cover photo: Julius Hildebrandt on Unsplash.