Nautitech 47

If you like sleek cats, The Nautitech 47 (launched 2004) is one of the prettiest multihulls on the water, She is an evolution of the earlier 475 design by Alain Mortain and Yannis Mavrikios, which set the design DNA for the French catamaran manufacturer going forward. Compare her lines to cruising catamarans of the same length and you will see what we mean (read our Bali 4.8 review for example!)

You can see many of the design features carried through into Nautitech’s more recent designs like the Open 40: aft helms that maximise the sailing feel with plenty of space in the aft cockpit, safe, wide decks and a simple efficient reefing system at the mast.

These older boats do not have the “Open” design of the newer designs: there is a sill between cockpit and saloon that you need to step over for example, but she has a a very familiar feel to her if you know your way around a Nautitech and looks fantastic on the water

The 47 is a beamy boat, (47-foot-by-25-foot). She looks stable and seaworthy and sails that way too. The N47 is a classic that has inspired later designs like the C-Catamarans C-Cat 48 and others.

Photo Credit: WildToo.

The winches for controlling the mainsheet and headsail sheets are aft, like the modern designs, and halyards and reefing lines are managed at the mast like the Open 40. The newer Open 46 leads all of the lines back to the cockpit which is arguably safer in a seaway, but it does have it’s disadvantages: longer lines, more friction and touch points and an overall more complicated reefing system. There is les to go wrong on a 47.

Just like most Nautitechs (except for the 46 Fly), the boom is tucked in close to the coachroof so it is easy to manage the mainsail: you jus need to hop up the steps at the mast and everything is at hand, even for shorter sailors. The 47 has influenced many later catamaran designs: you could call it a classic. Read our Seawind 1370 review for an example.

Sailing

The Nautitech 47 not only looks the business compared to cats of a similar era like the Lagoon 410, but she is a decent sailor. This French yard has always strived to get the optimum balance between performance and comfort. They have kept the weight off, so she gets moving quickly in light airs and is a nice mover as long as you don’t overload her. Slimmer hulls means less space down below compared to, say, an older lagoon like a 440, but they slip through the water faster and the living space up top is generous.

Under power, the Nautitech 47’s comes with 54 HP Yanmars with saildrives which will push the boat along at over 9 knots when maxed out. You can achieve a cruising speed of 7 knots at 2,300 rpm.

Technical Specification