Fountaine Pajot Antigua 37 vs Belize 43: Used Buyer’s Comparison

White catamaran at anchor in clear turquoise water

Two older Fountaine Pajot models keep turning up when buyers search for a cruising catamaran at a modest price: the Antigua 37 from the early 1990s and the Fountaine Pajot Belize 43 from the 2000s. This comparison sets out what each boat is and where the published specs disagree. It also covers what limited reviews and owners have said, what a thirty-year-old or twenty-year-old cat needs at survey, and what the current asking prices look like.

Last checked: November 2026. This is a compiled buyer’s review, not our own sea trial. Little was published about these boats in English when they were new, and some of the magazine tests are behind paywalls, so we say where information is thin. Specifications differ between sources, and individual boats have often been modified. Asking prices are not sale prices.

Where they sit in Fountaine Pajot’s history

Fountaine Pajot was founded in La Rochelle in 1976 by four friends, among them Jean-François Fountaine and Yves Pajot, an Olympic medallist in the Flying Dutchman class. It moved to Aigrefeuille-d’Aunis in 1978. Its first cruising catamaran was the Louisiane 37 of 1983. A 2026 anniversary piece in Figaro Nautisme puts the yard’s output at close to 5,000 boats.

The Antigua 37 appeared in 1990. It was designed by Joubert-Nivelt with Flahault Design and sits on fixed twin keels. Katamarans.com says it was built alongside the Fidji 39 for a time and led on to the Athena 38. CatamaranSite gives production as 1990 to 1997.

The Belize 43 was announced by Jean-François Fountaine at a Grand Pavois press conference in La Rochelle and launched in 2000 as the replacement for the Venezia 42, of which Multihulls World counts 123. Joubert-Nivelt drew the hulls and sail plan; Olivier Flahault did the interior. Production counts disagree: Multihulls World’s review of the Maestro version says 130 had been built and that the boat changed very little after launch, while Katamarans.com says more than 200. Cruising World called the Orana 44 “the successor to the ubiquitous Belize 43” in 2007, which puts the end of the Belize run around then.

Published specifications side by side

	Antigua 37	Belize 43
Built	1990 – c. 1997	2000 – c. 2007
Length overall	11.30 m	13.00 m
Waterline length	10.90 m	not published in our sources
Beam	6.00 m	7.00 m
Draft	1.02–1.05 m	1.30 m
Displacement	about 4.5 t	7 t unloaded (brochure); 8.1 t (Multihulls World); 8.5 t light (Katamarans.com)
Sail area	not consistently published	main 67 m², genoa 44 m²
Original engines	2 x 18 hp Yanmar	2 x 27 hp diesels
Fuel / water	150 L / 450 L (one boat’s listing)	about 300 L / 600 L

Sources: Antigua 37 from De Valk’s listing of a 1992 boat, Keelindex and CatamaranSite; Belize 43 from the Fountaine Pajot brochure, Multihulls World’s spec sheet and Katamarans.com. Expect the figures to drift. Keelindex lists only 280 L of water for the Antigua, and CatamaranSite puts its draft at 3 ft 10 in. Many Belizes now have different engines from the brochure spec. One 2006 boat in Guadeloupe lists twin 40 hp Volvo D2-40s on saildrives. Measure the boat you are buying rather than trusting a database.

The size gap matters more than six feet of length suggests. The Belize is a metre wider and, on most published figures, roughly half as heavy again or more. That buys a bigger saloon and bigger cabins, more tankage and a stiffer boat in a breeze. It also means bigger bills for antifouling, haul-outs and sails, and a wider marina berth.

What reviewers and owners report

We found no full English-language sea trial of the Antigua 37 that we could open. What exists is broker and database text: four cabins in 37 feet, a cruising speed of about 6 knots at 2,800 rpm on the original twin 18 hp Yanmars, and around 1.9 m of headroom in the saloon. The Grenada broker of a 1993 boat stresses its stability and shallow draft. That is sales copy, but it fits the specs of a light boat with shallow keels. Do not expect it to point like a daggerboard cat, and expect it to slow down in a short chop.

On the Fountaine Pajot Belize 43, Multihulls World’s own verdict is short and frank. It is “not a performance boat,” but its versatility appealed to charter companies and to families cruising offshore. For a rough idea of how cruising cats of this type behave in a blow, Elaine Bunting’s 2011 Yachting World blog about sailing three later 40-footers (a Lagoon 400, a Fountaine Pajot Lipari 41 and a Broadblue 435) is useful, though it did not include a Belize. In over 20 knots of true wind she saw a little over 7 knots upwind and touched 9 off the wind, with a jerky, corkscrewing motion in chop. Because the Belize appealed to charter fleets, expect many used boats to have charter history. Our guide to ex-charter versus owner’s version catamarans explains what that means for condition and price.

The Belize came in a charter-friendly four-cabin layout and in the Maestro owner’s version, with a suite in one hull. Multihulls World reviewed the Maestro as an owner’s boat aimed at living aboard and bluewater cruising. On the Cruiser Log forum, a buyer asked owners what to look for at survey, and the one specific answer was leaks at the sliding saloon door: water gets in when the door’s two drain holes are out of line or poorly caulked.

Fountaine Pajot Belize 43 or Antigua 37: which suits you

Choose the Antigua if your budget is tight, you sail as a couple or a young family, and you mostly cruise coastally. It is easier to berth, cheaper to haul and simpler to maintain. The trade-offs are small tanks, a modest payload, and a boat that will be well over thirty years old.

Choose the Belize if you plan to live aboard, cross oceans or carry a lot of gear and water. The Maestro layout is the one to look for if you are not chartering. Expect noticeably higher running costs than on the 37, and a boat that is still over twenty years old.

Both boats are cheap enough that the condition and equipment of the individual boat will move the value more than the model does. A Belize with new engines, rigging and sails can be the better buy than a cheaper one that needs all three.

Survey points for a 1990s or 2000s Fountaine Pajot

Use our catamaran inspection checklist on the viewing, then brief your surveyor on these:

Engines and saildrives: find out whether the boat still has its original engines. The De Valk Antigua had Volvo D1-30 saildrive engines installed in 2018, while a 1993 boat in Grenada lists 1993 Yanmar 2GM20F engines and 5,700 hours. Unless the original engines have a good service record, budget for a repower.
Standing rigging and chainplates: get the date of the last re-rig in writing. The Grenada boat lists its last shroud and stay replacement in 2011, which is already old. Have the chainplates and their bulkhead or hull attachments inspected.
Keels and rudders: the shallow keels take the knocks when a cat dries out or grounds. Check the keel-to-hull joints for cracks and weeping, and the rudder bearings for play.
Deck core and fittings: sound the deck around stanchions, winches, the windlass and hardtop or bimini mounts. Many of these boats have had hardtops or arches added later, so check how they are fastened.
Windows and doors: on the Belize, test the sliding door with a hose. On both boats, look for crazing and old sealant on fixed windows.
Bridgedeck underside: we found no reliable published clearance figures for either model. Look for slamming damage and repairs under the bridgedeck, and measure the clearance with the boat in cruising trim.
Electrics and tanks: wiring on boats this age has usually been added to many times. Check the panel, the battery installation and the condition of the tanks and hoses.

What they cost now

Asking prices we checked in November 2026:

Antigua 37, 1993, Grenada, four cabins: US$135,000 (TheYachtMarket).
Antigua 37, 1992, Corfu, Greece, repowered 2018: shown on Rightboat at about $137,000. The selling broker’s own page now marks it as under offer or sold.
Belize 43, 2003, Bocas del Toro, Panama: US$210,000; and 2005, Piggotts, Antigua: US$249,500 (Rightboat search results).
Belize 43 market data on CatamaranSite: four sales in the previous 24 months, median sold price $204,500, current asking prices from $199,000 to $249,500.

The figures overlap more than you might expect. The best Antiguas cost about as much as the cheapest Belizes, and the location matters too. Boats in the Caribbean or Central America may need a delivery or an import before they suit a European or US buyer.

Alternatives to view in the same budget

Fountaine Pajot Athena 38: the Antigua’s successor. Figaro Nautisme calls it one of the most popular boats of its generation, so there are more on the market.
Fountaine Pajot Lavezzi 40: from the early 2000s, the model Figaro Nautisme and Katamarans.com credit as Fountaine Pajot’s first infused boat. It sits in size between these two.
Fountaine Pajot Orana 44: the Belize’s successor, for a newer boat at a higher price.
Lagoon 380: the obvious competitor in this size and price range, with a big supply of used boats.
Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40: if the budget stretches to a much newer boat from the same yard.

Search the catamaran marketplace for current boats. If you are selling an older Fountaine Pajot, you can list it free: up to 15 photos, online for 12 months, no commission.

Related guides

Sources

Cover photo: Miltiadis Fragkidis on Unsplash.