French shipyard Outremer is taking its ocean-cruising vision to the next level with the introduction of the Outremer 64 and 57, two high-performance catamarans designed for long-distance sailing. Both models combine the brand’s decades of offshore experience with innovative design and modern onboard comfort.

The Outremer 64 is the flagship of the new generation, merging the light, seaworthy efficiency of Outremer with semi-custom elegance inspired by Gunboat. With its 95-foot volume equivalent, low center of gravity and modular layout, the 64 is designed for both family cruising and a professional crew. Its dual My Free Space configuration allows up to twelve interior layouts, giving owners a lot of flexibility for telecommuting, short-handed sailing or extended voyages.

Reinforced carbon daggerboards, a carbon mast and a carefully optimized sail plan give the 64 remarkable stability and smooth passages even when loaded, according to the builder. The yacht blends comfort, performance and emotion for a sailing experience to a level unlike anything previously offered by Outremer. Construction will begin at La Grande-Motte in January 2026, with a world premiere scheduled for the 2027 Cannes Yachting Festival.

The Outremer 57, the natural heir to the popular Outremer 55, focuses on performance and usability for small crews. It has sleek, timeless lines and a spacious layout optimized for months at sea. Protected helm stations, efficient deck circulation, ample storage, and carefully considered weight control ensure comfort and autonomy for couples and families pursuing long-distance cruising.

Like the 64, the Outremer 57 integrates lessons learned from thousands of miles sailed by Outremer owners. Performance is accessible, reliable and practical for everyday use, the shipyard noted. Construction also begins January 2026 with a public unveiling at the 2027 Cannes Yachting Festival.

Both new models demonstrate Outremer’s commitment to creating catamarans that sail fast, feel safe and provide the onboard comfort required for serious offshore cruising.

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The French catamaran builder Outremer has unveiled its latest model, the Outremer 48.

Outremer had teased the 48 at the most recent Cannes Yachting Festival and Annapolis boat shows. The 48 is inspired by the Outremer 45, and joins what is now a five-model range from 45 to 55 feet length overall.

According to Outremer, the 48 was designed, drawn and built based on feedback from owners and thousands of miles sailed across all the world’s oceans in all conditions. Ease of handling and quality of life on board were key characteristics that Outremer worked on with the naval architects at VPLP and designers such as Patrick Le Quément and Darnet Design. Also important to the team were the abilities to sail at wind speed in light airs, and to remain safe in heavy weather.

There’s 360-degree visibility from the salon and cockpit—whether people are sitting or standing. Outremer says this means night watches can be handled at the chart table in comfort.

Ten layouts are available. Outremer calls the forward port stateroom “my free space.” It can be set up with a single, double or triple berth; as a convertible office with bunks; as a convertible workshop; or as a dressing room or children’s stateroom.

For ease of handling, the boom is low to allow easier access to the mainsail. Access to the coachroof is via two steps near the mast.

How long has Outremer been in business? Since 1984. In the years since then, the shipyard has turned out nearly 400 catamarans intended for bluewater sailing.

Take the next step: click over to catamaran-outremer.com

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The jury has spoken. At the Düsseldorf International Boat Show in January, amid a competitive field of 21 yachts that were nominated for the 2024 European Yacht of the Year award, the Outremer 52 took home the hardware. 

This outcome was no surprise to those familiar with the Outremer brand, which has developed quite a fan base among the oceangoing set. Long lines of people often wait to board the latest models on the global boat-show scene. 

Designed in collaboration with Outremer’s parent company, Grand Large Yachting, naval architects VPLP and French designers Patrick Le Quément and Darnet Design, the philosophy behind the Outremer 52 is to uphold tradition while integrating new elements to improve the user experience. The result is a bluewater warrior that carries hallmark features of its predecessor, the 51, but adds the contemporary aesthetics and function of the 55 model, which, coincidentally, nabbed the 2022 European Yacht of the Year award. 

Paramount to the 52, and to the Outremer brand overall, are seaworthiness and safety. The builder borrowed construction methods, including the use of carbon, inspired by Gunboat’s shipyard technology—another brand under the Grand Large Yachting umbrella. This technique allowed for weight reduction without compromising structural integrity. Using carbon also allowed for added stiffness, more space, and increased glass surfaces and openings throughout the vessel. The result is better visibility for guests and crew, including a forward view from the salon.

In the cockpit, adjustable helm positions with a helm seat for two add to the comfort factor. Inside, an open-plan living area promotes fluid movement throughout the boat. The integration of “My Free Space”—a modular zone within the port forward stateroom—offers customizable configurations to accommodate the needs of different owners. There are options for a double-berth stateroom; a convertible office with bunk berths; a stateroom with an office that converts into a workshop, folding bench and stowage; a dressing room; or a cabin for the kiddos.

The layout of the interiors and exteriors abovedecks is conducive to keeping a better lookout. For example, the bar area of the cockpit allows for meals while on watch, and night watches can be kept from a forward-facing bench in the salon.

According to Outremer’s commercial director, Matthieu Rougevin-Baville, the sea trial covered 89 nautical miles and saw top speeds of 24.6 knots without pushing the boat to its limits. The mast was stepped backward from the 51 model, placing it on the coachroof as opposed to the forward deck. A carbon post spreads the load from the mast to the bulkhead, and the front deck is a usable space—ideal, Rougevin-Baville says, for relaxing and enjoying the ride while sailing downwind in the protected lee of the coachroof.

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Spirits and glasses were raised high as the Outremer team accepted the Multihull of the Year award for its Outremer 52 model at the British Yachting Awards in London at The Royal Thames Yacht Club. Elected exclusively by the general public, the 52-footer was one of five contenders in this year’s multihull category.

The competition was fierce, according to a BYA spokesperson, as all five contenders made strong cases for the top honor. However, it was the Outremer 52’s “undeniable allure” and “outstanding craftsmanship” that secured the most votes from the sailing community. 

“It’s an honor to receive this public acknowledgment of the hard work and innovation that has gone into our 52 design,” said Outremer Sales Director Matthieu Rougevin-Baville, upon receiving the award in London. “The popularity of the 52 has continued to grow our close-knit community of Outremer owners since its official launch in Cannes 2022.” 

The Outremer 52 combines the signature features of the legendary 51 (the model’s successor) with the fresh look and feel of the 55—which won the European Yacht of the Year award in 2022—such as the adjustable helm, the view forward through the saloon, and the helm seat designed for two people. This merging of design elements, in addition to the involvement of renowned names in the industry—such as the naval architects VPLP and the French designers Patrick Le Quément and Darnet Design—have contributed to a design that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional and well-engineered.

Drawing inspiration from its predecessors, the Outremer 52 design brief sought to preserve the qualities that first made the brand a household name among sailors, while introducing new elements to enhance the overall experience. One of the standout features of the Outremer 52 model is its seaworthiness. According to Outremer’s parent company Grand Large Yachting, the naval architects and designers worked tirelessly to create a vessel that can handle even the most challenging bluewater cruising conditions. 

Weight savings achieved by optimization of the 52’s structural build components allowed for an increase in the amount of glazing and openings aboard the boat, without undermining performance. The result was greater visibility for the crew underway. The layout of the interiors and exteriors above deck were also made more conducive to keeping a better lookout. For example, the bar area of the cockpit allows the crew to eat meals while on watch. Night watches can be kept from the bench in the salon, which faces forward.

The Outremer team will present the Outremer 52 at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show in February. Adjacent to the boat show, on February 17, Grand Large Yachting will host a comprehensive day-long seminar featuring industry experts, trainers and seasoned sailors. This event will cover a wide range of topics, from cruising routes and understanding weather patterns, to ensuring safety both on board and at sea.

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Author, sailor and event organizer Jimmy Cornell has just launched his latest expedition sailboat, this time a fully electric Outremer 4X called Elcano 500, and next month he plans to set off from Seville, Spain, to celebrate and follow the route of the first circumnavigation, completed in 1522 by the Spanish sailor Juan Sebastian Elcano.

Elcano set off from Seville in 1519 with Ferdinand Magellan, taking command of the expedition when Magellan was killed in the Philippines, and completing the round-the-world voyage the following year.

Cornell is calling his latest adventure the Elcano Project. The boat’s name, besides paying homage to the first circumnavigator, is a play on “Electricity. Carbon. No!” The voyage will follow the original course, stopping in Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Puerto Julian and passing through the Magellan Strait. From there, Elcano will set off across the Pacific, visiting Puka Puka in the Cook Islands, Guam, and the Philippines, including the island of Mactan, where Magellan was killed. From there, Elcano will visit several other Pacific islands, cross the South Indian Ocean, round the Cape of Good Hope and return to Seville. The 30,000-mile voyage is expected to take less than a year.

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French catamaran builder Outremer had a good thing going with its sporty 49-footer. The company built more than 20 of the bluewater cruisers, introduced at the European shows in 2009, and now hopes to get even more good things out of a slightly larger and revamped model styled along the lines of last year’s successful Outremer 5X, which was named Best Full-Size Multihull Over 50 Feet in Cruising World’s 2014 Boat of the Year contest.

The new Outremer 51, which I visited on the dock at Strictly Sail Miami last winter, comes from the same molds as the 49, but rounded edges on the hulls have been squared off to match the look of the 59-foot 5X. Also, about a foot’s been added to the sugar-scoop transoms, the inner walls of which have been eliminated to make boarding from a dinghy easier. The sheer of the cabin top has been redone to more closely resemble the sweep of the house on the 5X; windows that had been tilted in the 49 are now nearly vertical, and those in front are tucked back under an eyebrow that gives the boat an elegant look when viewed head-on.

Furniture in the saloon, primarily the couch surrounding the dining table, has also been redesigned to give it a straight-lined, modern look. The boat I visited had a light oak interior and white panels, which contrasted nicely with the dark wenge sole. Accommodations looked very comfortable. The version I saw, designed for a family, had a spacious owner’s hull to port, with a queen berth aft and a head and shower forward. The other hull had an upper and lower bunk in the forward cabin, a double berth aft and a shared head and shower in between. Outremer offers a couple other layouts, one with two traditional cabins in the starboard hull, and a charter version with four cabins and two heads

A wide sliding door separates the saloon from the cockpit. With the galley located on the starboard aft side of the saloon, the cook remains part of the party. A U-shaped, forward-facing couch spans the cockpit’s transom and surrounds a drop-leaf table that can be opened for dining or kept closed for entertaining.

Outremers are known as performance cats, and the 51 is certainly set up in that vein, with a rotating carbon-fiber mast and boom and a solent rig with working jib and screacher. Like its older sister, the 51 has daggerboards rather than keels, which helps upwind. All of this comes at a cost, of course. A price tag of $717,600 puts the 51 in the luxury category.

I liked that on the 51, the helmsman has options when it comes to watchkeeping and steering: One can sit warm and dry at the nav station that’s tucked into the forward starboard corner of the saloon, enjoy a little company seated at the bulkhead-mounted wheel in the cockpit, or sail dinghy-style with a tiller in hand and braced in chairs located outboard and aft on either hull. In any of these locations, I suspect the ride would be quite pleasant.

Mark Pillsbury is CW’s editor.

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Outremer 5X

A true high-performance cat with the ability, on passage, to knock off one 300-plus nautical-mile day after another, for 2014 our panelists named the 59-foot Outremer 5X the Best Full-Size Multihull Over 50 Feet.

“This is a company that’s been building boats for 30 years, and they’ve traditionally staked out the territory more toward the performance end of the spectrum than many of their competitors,” said Tim Murphy.

“For the design team, they’ve commissioned VPLP, a French consortium who’ve done a lot of very, very fast race boats,” Murphy added. “Over the years, slowly but surely, the multihull category has evolved toward true sailboats that you can also live comfortably aboard. The Outremer 5X is an example of that.

“Yes,” he continued, “you could call this a complicated boat. It’s definitely aimed at experienced sailors. But the reason it’s so technical is that they’ve given you a lot of tools to really shape and control the sails. The jib leads are almost three-dimensional, in that there’s a series of barber-haulers in three different directions so you can put that lead exactly where you want it to be.”

“Relatively speaking, this is a light-displacement vessel,” said Ed Sherman. “Yet, under power, it was also one of the quietest boats we’ve tested. That speaks to solid construction, because lighter boats are generally noisier. I look at that as a really positive attribute.”

“The builders were very upfront with this boat’s goals,” said Mark Schrader. “They want it to be the best-performing cruising catamaran on the market. The design challenge was to make it fast but also comfortable. To execute that design parameter, they made things infinitely adjustable. No question, this boat had the best sheet leads and trimming tools. Simple it’s not. Balanced it is.”

View more photos of the Outremer 5X

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Tristan Bridge and Cheval

I am born from days without seeing land, those days when the horizons seem to blend into one another. I am from the swells of the ocean rocking me to sleep; then I wake up and I’m not quite sure which country I’m in. I am from those hours when the world seems to pause, finally stopping to catch a breath. I am from the most isolated settings, places that have yet to feel the taint of human interference. I am an adolescent of the world, born from the simplicity of life, caught somewhere in between passive existence and the struggles of mortality.

Exploring by Cheval, my family’s Outremer 55 catamaran, is a way of existence. We are the people with an unquenchable desire for answers. We are the people who truly have no bounds. The world unfolds at our hands—a mixture of peoples, a mixture of every lifestyle. There are no boundaries to our curiosity. We live only to cross the next horizon, to set foot on the next continent. Our shoes have trod the corners of life. We flourish in the secluded portions of our globe, and we retain experiences from each place we visit. Our planet has much to offer; many possibilities await us. Out at sea, anything can happen; places exist that seem beyond the imagination, and there are people to meet who define kindness. I challenge you to immerse yourself in cultures and learn the traditions of our world. Cast off the chains of immobility, because there’s something beyond your door.

From Shorelines in the October 2012 issue of Cruising World.

Read Tristan’s account of sailing in Australia here, and view the photos here.

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