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The catamaran segment has grown from roughly 8 percent of crewed-charter bookings under 30m in 2010 to roughly 35 percent in 2025, and the upper end of the segment (Sunreef 80, Lagoon Seventy 7, custom builds at 40m-plus) is the fastest-growing band in the charter market. The growth is not theoretical. It is a structural shift in what mid-market clients (8 to 10 guests, $50K to $150K per week, Caribbean and Med shoulder season) actually book. The trade-off is well known to brokers but rarely explained to first-time clients: a catamaran delivers more usable space at the same LOA, a monohull delivers a different sailing register and more cabin privacy at the upper LOAs.
We rank inventory across the multihull market on our best catamarans charter 2026 page. A 25m catamaran (Lagoon 78, Sunreef 80) delivers roughly the same interior volume as a 40m monohull at 50 to 70 percent of the weekly rate. The five cases that decide the week sit below.
The 30-second verdict
Pick a catamaran if your party is 6 to 10 guests, your destination is the BVI, the Bahamas, the Grenadines, Croatia, or the Cyclades, your dates are in the dry-season trade-wind window or settled Med summer, the brief includes serious anchorage time with kids in the water, and you want the most usable space at the lowest charter rate in this LOA. Pick a monohull if your party is 8 to 12 guests on a yacht at 40m-plus where the inventory depth runs, your brief includes Mediterranean shoreside time at marquee destinations, a sailing register under sail is part of why you are chartering, or you prioritize cabin privacy and the upper-deck separation that a multi-deck monohull delivers.
The structural similarities
Both formats sit inside the under-30m crewed-charter band primarily, although both extend up. Catamarans at 25m to 30m and monohulls at 30m to 50m overlap in price band and target audience. Both run on MYBA contracts at the 24m-plus level and on simpler crewed contracts under 24m. Both run APA at 25 to 35 percent. Both share the same broker network at the upper end and the same charter-yacht operator network at the lower end.
Both share the structural reality that the captain and crew shape the week more than the platform does. A well-run 25m catamaran with a polished crew will deliver a better week than a poorly-run 35m monohull with a green crew, and the reverse is true. The platform sets the ceiling; the crew determines whether you reach it.
The differences sit in beam, interior layout, sailing register, draft, and what each platform delivers at anchor. We work through them below.
Ten dimensions, side by side
| Dimension | Catamaran | Monohull |
|---|---|---|
| Beam at 25m LOA | 12 to 14m | 6 to 7m |
| Cabin count, 25m | 4 to 6 cabins, 8 to 12 guests | 3 to 4 cabins, 6 to 8 guests |
| Interior salon footprint | Large, single-level, panoramic | Smaller, multi-level, more private |
| Heel angle under sail | 0 to 5 degrees | 5 to 20 degrees |
| Draft, 25m | 1.5 to 2.5m | 2.5 to 4m |
| Anchorage flexibility | High, shallow draft | Limited at marquee shallow anchorages |
| Passage speed under sail | 8 to 12 knots cruising | 8 to 12 knots cruising |
| Marina dockage cost | 1.5x to 2x equivalent LOA monohull | Reference |
| Weekly rate, 25m, peak Caribbean | $45K to $90K | $35K to $70K |
| Privacy between cabins | Each hull separates a cabin pair | Cabins on single hull, closer proximity |
The two dimensions that decide most decisions on this page are beam and heel angle. Catamarans give a 25m platform the deck and salon volume of a 40m monohull. Monohulls deliver a sailing register the catamaran cannot.
Where a catamaran wins
The catamaran is the format we recommend on five specific kinds of charter weeks.
The first is the family-with-kids week in the BVI, Bahamas, or Grenadines. The catamaran's flat decks, broad swim platforms (twin transoms on most builds), shallow draft for shallow anchorages, and minimal heel under sail are the right brief for a family with children under 12. A monohull at the same LOA charges a comfort tax: more heel, smaller deck, narrower swim platform. The charter with kids guide expands on this.
The second is the 8-to-10-guest party at $50K to $90K per week. A 25m catamaran delivers 4 to 6 cabins for 8 to 12 guests at this rate. The equivalent monohull is 6 to 8 guests in 3 to 4 cabins at the same rate. The headcount-per-dollar math favors the catamaran by a clear margin in this band.
The third is the entertaining-led week with a single salon as the social anchor. A 25m catamaran's main salon runs the full beam (12 to 14m) and connects directly to a cockpit at the same level, which delivers a 60-to-100-square-meter contiguous social space. The same LOA monohull splits the same square footage across multiple levels with stairs between them, which delivers more architecture and less open social geometry. Clients who measure the week in the volume of the single space where the party gathers should book the cat.
The fourth is the shallow-anchorage destination week. The Bahamas Out Islands, the Tobago Cays in the Grenadines, the southern Cyclades, and the southern Croatian island anchorages all reward a 1.5-to-2.5m draft. A 4m-draft monohull is shut out of a meaningful number of these anchorages and routes around them. The catamaran routes through them.
The fifth is the price-conscious upper-mid-market booking at $70K to $120K per week where a comparable monohull runs $90K to $180K. The rate gap is consistent across the broker community, the inventory is real, and the trade-off is mostly in the sailing register, which a price-conscious client will accept.
Where a monohull wins
The monohull is the format we recommend on five specific kinds of charter weeks.
The first is the upper-LOA booking at 40m-plus. The catamaran inventory above 30m is real but thin (Sunreef custom builds, Lagoon Seventy 7 fleet, a few yard-built customs), and above 40m it is structurally constrained by the slip geometry of most marinas. A 50m or 60m monohull operates in a deeper inventory band and a more flexible berthing geometry. Clients at 40m-plus default to monohull by inventory availability, not by preference.
The second is the Mediterranean week with social-led shoreside time at Saint-Tropez, Mykonos, Capri, or Porto Cervo. The marina geometry at these ports favors monohull dockage on price (catamarans pay 1.5 to 2x the equivalent-LOA monohull berth) and on slot allocation. The peak Saint-Tropez harbor week is structurally easier for a monohull. Catamarans charter the Med credibly, but the marina premium and the slot allocation are real frictions.
The third is the sailing-register-led week with a serious sailor in the party. A catamaran under sail moves at the same speed but feels different. The lack of heel, the flat deck, and the two-hull motion register read as a different kind of platform to a sailor accustomed to a monohull. Clients whose brief includes the sail-handling and the heel are better served by a monohull.
The fourth is the privacy-prioritized booking with two unrelated couples or a multi-generational family across two cabins. A monohull at 30m-plus with cabins on a single hull at different heights of the yacht delivers more cabin separation than a catamaran, which puts two cabins per hull at the same level. The catamaran's cabin layout is more communal; the monohull's is more discrete.
The fifth is the long-passage week where the yacht moves between two distant destinations (a 200nm-plus passage between island groups, a repositioning week, or a transatlantic). A monohull is more comfortable under sail in a serious sea state than a comparable catamaran because the catamaran's bridge-deck slamming in a head sea is uncomfortable above 6 to 8 knots of true wind. Clients booking a passage-led week should default to monohull.
Where it is too close to call
The 30m sailing yacht week in Croatia or the Cyclades is genuinely contested. Either platform delivers the brief, the rate gap narrows at this LOA (a 30m catamaran and a 30m monohull run within 15 to 25 percent of each other), and the cruising profile is short-hop in both cases. We default to catamaran for parties of 8 to 10 with kids and to monohull for parties of 6 to 8 without kids.
The 25m BVI week is also contested in a different way. The BVI is the catamaran's natural home and the inventory is heavily weighted to catamarans, but a 25m monohull with a polished crew will deliver a fine BVI week and at a slightly lower rate. We default to catamaran for the BVI week unless the party includes a serious sailor.
The 35m-to-40m band is the inventory-constrained band. Above 30m, the catamaran inventory thins and the monohull inventory deepens. A 38m booking will route to monohull by inventory availability in most cases.
Three myths to ignore
"Catamarans don't sail." False. A modern 25m sailing catamaran sails comfortably at 8 to 12 knots in moderate winds with a real point-of-sail range from a close reach to a broad reach. The catamaran does not sail upwind as efficiently as a monohull of the same LOA, but the difference is 5 to 10 degrees of pointing angle, not a meaningful operational gap on a charter week. The "doesn't sail" framing is for purists.
"Catamarans flip." Mostly false in the charter category. A well-found 25m charter catamaran with a competent captain operates well within its stability envelope and does not flip in ordinary weather. The flip risk is a real concern in extreme racing conditions and not a meaningful concern in charter operation. The framing is dated.
"Monohulls are more glamorous." Subjective and partly dated. A flagship monohull (Maltese Falcon, Black Pearl) carries a visual register a catamaran cannot match, and a flagship sailing catamaran (Sunreef customs at the upper end, custom builds) carries a different visual register that some clients prefer. The "glamour" framing depends on which yachts you are comparing. At the mid-market 25m-to-30m band, neither platform reads as obviously more glamorous than the other.
Three things we would change about both
Catamarans we would change on the marketing about marina dockage. A 25m catamaran at peak Med pays 1.5 to 2x the equivalent-LOA monohull berth on most marinas, which adds €1,500 to €3,000 per night to the dockage line. Brokers and operators do not always disclose this. A first-time catamaran client should ask about peak marina dockage before signing.
Monohulls we would change on the anchorage transparency. A 4m-draft monohull is shut out of a real fraction of the shallow Caribbean and Cyclades anchorages, and the captain will route around them without always mentioning the constraint. A client whose brief includes a specific anchorage (Anegada in the BVI, the Tobago Cays inner ring) should confirm draft and anchorage match before signing.
Both we would change on the cabin-layout disclosure cycle. Catamarans put cabins on two hulls at the same level and connect them only through the salon, which separates the cabins acoustically but constrains the layout flexibility. Monohulls put cabins along a single hull at varying levels, which delivers more layout flexibility but less acoustic separation. The trade-off is real and the broker should walk a first-time client through it.
FAQ
Can a catamaran charter at the same rate as a monohull? At the upper end, yes. A flagship sailing catamaran (Sunreef 60-plus, custom builds at 40m-plus) charters at flagship monohull rates because the build cost and engineering complexity support the rate. At the mid-market under 30m, the catamaran runs 15 to 30 percent below the comparable monohull.
Is a catamaran safer than a monohull? Both are safe at the charter-fleet build standards and crew certifications. The catamaran is harder to flip in ordinary weather but harder to right if it does flip. The monohull is easier to right and harder to capsize. The relevant risk is the captain's judgment, not the platform.
Are catamarans better for seasickness? Generally yes at anchor and on a beam reach. The catamaran's wider beam reduces roll at anchor and the lower heel angle on a beam reach reduces motion. In a head sea, the bridge-deck slamming is uncomfortable and many guests prefer a monohull in those conditions. The honest framing is "better for most conditions, worse for a head sea."
Which is better for the BVI specifically? A catamaran, default. The BVI cruising profile (short hops, shallow anchorages, kids-in-the-water mid-day) was built for catamarans and the inventory reflects that.
Which is better for Croatia specifically? Either, depending on party. A catamaran for the 8-to-10-guest family with kids; a monohull for the 6-to-8-guest party without kids who wants Med shoreside register at the dockages.
The close-call default
For a reader who has narrowed the choice and cannot decide on the briefs above, the close-call default is a 25m catamaran for the Caribbean dry season with a party of 8 to 10 and a 35m monohull for the Med summer with a party of 8 to 10. The Caribbean cruising profile rewards the catamaran's anchorage flexibility and the Med shoreside profile rewards the monohull's marina dockage economics. For an 8-guest party that splits the year across both regions, the catamaran wins on the Caribbean week and the monohull wins on the Med week. Either pick is defensible.
The deeper rule is to read the best catamarans charter 2026 and best sailing yachts charter 2026 pages alongside this comparison. The specific yacht, the specific crew, and the specific destination determine the week more than the category does.