The best catamarans for ocean crossing have to embody a few key features in order to be safe for anyone on board, including guests and crew members. Most catamarans do perform quite well in open waters and are regarded as safe vessels to be offshore. This is especially true with large catamarans with big hulls.

In addition, many catamarans have sailed through horrific weather and have managed not to capsize due to their great roll inertia. What basically happens to a catamaran in a rough sea is the boat just surfs sideways when a big wave hits.

Not to worry however as in most cases, weather forecasts will determine whether a catamaran can go offshore on that specific day or not. In addition, the highest risks are when catamarans sail on a north- south axis between seasons. That said, there are a few catamarans that do perform better when crossing oceans than others.

Typically, cruising catamarans are divided into two categories:

• Charter Catamarans
• High-Performance Cruising Catamarans

Charter catamarans have fixed keels, shorter bows, forward masts, heavier displacement, high-windage flybridges, and low-aspect rudders. These boats are mainly chartered to guests and are not designed for ocean crossing rather than sailing close to shore and enjoying views in a touristic way.

High-performance cruising catamarans, on the other hand, have deeper rudders, less displacement, efficient daggerboards, a small weight and large sail plans. They are able to go at a 50-degree TWA to windward in all weather conditions, and can even outsail keelboats. In addition, when a storm hits, all that is needed is for the catamaran to sail at a higher speed and maintain balance and lower loads.

These features make them some of the best catamarans for ocean sailing.

Which is the best catamaran for ocean sailing

After getting a quick glance of what makes a multihull a good fit for offshore sailing, let’s get to the good part: which one is the best catamaran for ocean cruising?

Technically, there are thousands of options to choose from when it comes to catamarans. So today we are going to present our choice based on the criteria mentioned above.

One of the best catamarans for ocean sailing in 2020 is The Privilege 435. This is a long-distance, light weight cruiser produced in the Gold Coast area of La Rochelle. The Privilege 435 is a heavy-displacement multihull that has been around for almost 30 years. This is a luxurious well-built yacht with a decent proportion that allows it to cross oceans safely. It has a 23ft 2in beam, 43ft 1in LOA, as well as good proportion with a low-slung superstructure which is perfect for low wind resistance. In addition, the Privilege 435 is equipped with 4 cabins and 4 showers and costs about $300,000 to $350,000. The ample interior makes for a comfortable vessel to withstand long- distance trips.

While this catamaran sits on the high-end of the spectrum when it comes to yachts, there are many other more affordable options to choose from, if you are looking to sail offshore on a long-distance trip. Use TheBoatDB with a free account to compare other catamarans to the Privilege435 and figure out which one is the best fit for you to ocean cruise. You can even browse through TheBoatDB database to get some more options on the table. Last but not least, make sure to take into account the route and predicted weather conditions before embarking on your adventure.