HITTING THE SWEET SPOT?

OFFERING SPACE AND A COMFORTABLE INTERIOR WHILE KEEPING A CAT LIGHT ENOUGH TO PERFORM IS A TOUGH BRIEF. DOES NAUTITECH DELIVER, ASKS FRANÇOIS TREGOUET?

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It's been more than six years since the Nautitech yard in Rochefort launched an entirely new design, but this 44 Open marks the company's return to the forefront of the multihull scene. It shares the Open layout of Nautitech's past models, but embodies the brand's new strategy to address owner-operators rather than the charter market. We were able to judge the concept during an early sea trial on the Bay of Biscay.

The Nautitech 44 Open was developed in just 14 months during the middle of the pandemic and owes a great deal to the dozen owners and dealers consulted to define their 'ideal' catamaran. The feedback from this working party convinced the yard to focus on cruising owners and to go for a more performance-oriented design than the market average.

Marc Lombard's design team has succeeded in expressing this externally by using fine bows, a narrow waterline, and controlled volumes. The line of hull windows is more tapered than in the past, and the nacelle is less pronounced and voluminous than typical production cruising cats.

Nautitech's Open concept, which was initiated nearly 10 years ago on the Nautitech 40 Open, allows the length to be contained by merging the interior and exterior into a single volume. So the true saloon is located outside, protected by a long, rigid bimini and coachroof windows that extend beyond the sliding bay window. Not splitting the saloon/cockpit function saves space - and weight, which is crucial on a multihull, especially at this size.