Catamaran vs Monohull: Which Is Right for Your Group?

"Should we get a catamaran or a regular sailing yacht?" is the second question after "Where should we charter?" The Instagram generation has mostly decided the answer is catamaran. The data tells a more nuanced story.

The price reality

Across our aggregator:

• Mediterranean sailing yachts (monohulls): ~€3100-€3500/wk average
• Mediterranean catamarans: ~€7700-€7400/wk average

That's not a minor premium. A comparable catamaran costs roughly 2-2.5× a monohull of similar length. Worth understanding why before you commit the extra €4,500 on a week's holiday.

What you actually get for the premium

Living space

A 45 ft catamaran has the interior volume of a 55-60 ft monohull. Two separate hulls mean:

• 4 owner-equivalent cabins (each with own head + shower), typically
• A huge main saloon with panoramic 360° views at head height
• A cockpit that seats 8-10 comfortably
• Trampolines forward for sunbathing

On a 45 ft monohull, you get:

• 3-4 cabins, but the forward V-berth is less private and one of the aft cabins is smaller
• A saloon below deck, windows at waterline
• A smaller, more secure cockpit

Stability

This is the honest big one. A catamaran sits flat. No heel, no staggering around below deck. If your crew includes non-sailors, kids, or someone prone to seasickness, the motion difference is transformative.

A monohull under sail heels 10-25°. Cooking while heeled is hard. Writing emails impossible. Kids tend to adapt after 2-3 days; adults sometimes don't.

Shallow draft

Catamarans typically draw 1.1-1.5 m. Monohulls of the same length draw 2.0-2.4 m. The cat can anchor in shallow bays that are unreachable for the monohull, useful in the Bahamas, less critical in the deep Adriatic but still opens up small coves.

Speed off the wind

A light catamaran downwind or on a broad reach will sail 9-11 kn where a monohull does 6-7 kn. Not all catamarans, the heavy Lagoon 40/42 cruising cats are no faster than a similar-length Beneteau. But a Bali 4.4 or Leopard 45 really moves.

What the monohull does better

Upwind performance

A monohull cuts to windward at 30-40° off the wind. A cruising catamaran is lucky to make 50-55°. In the Mediterranean with afternoon Maestral, you're often sailing close-hauled, the monohull is markedly better here.

Practical effect: on a 20 nm upwind leg, the monohull may complete it in 4 hours while the cat takes 5.5 and tacks more.

Sailing feel

Monohulls heel. That's the sensation of sailing for most people. The boat leans into the wind, water rushes by inches from your ear, the tiller pushes back. If "sailing" in your head means that feeling, a catamaran will feel like a floating apartment.

Marina handling

Most Mediterranean marinas are Mediterranean-moored, stern-to, with a long line out bow. Monohulls do this naturally; catamarans are wider (7-8 m beam vs 4-4.5 m for the mono) and often pay premium marina fees (1.5-2× the monohull rate).

In high season, catamarans get turned away from smaller marinas because there's no beam-length berth available. Plan your evenings carefully.

Fuel economy

Catamarans have two engines, typically running ~4-5 l/hour each in cruise mode (vs 3-4 l/hour for a single-engine monohull). In a week of motoring you'll burn 30-50% more fuel on a catamaran.

Price

Already covered. The catamaran costs 2× to charter. 2× to buy. Often 2× to maintain.

Which scenarios favour which

Catamaran wins if:

• 6-8 adults who want separate cabins
• Crew includes non-sailors, kids under 10, or someone with motion sickness
• You want a comfortable floating platform more than a sailing experience
• You're chartering in areas with significant anchorage-based cruising (Bahamas, Kornati Nat Park, Turkey)
• Budget is not the limiting factor

Monohull wins if:

• 2-4 sailors who love sailing
• You want the full sensation (heel, spray, sail trim)
• You're going to Mediterranean-moor in small marinas often
• Budget matters
• Itinerary has lots of upwind legs

It's closer than you think if:

• Family of 4 (both work fine, cat gives kids more space, mono is cheaper and more fun for teenagers)
• First-time charterers (either works; cat is easier, mono teaches more)
• Weather-sensitive trip (cat wins for non-sailors; mono wins for keen sailors)

Popular charter models

Catamarans (in order of Mediterranean charter presence):

• Lagoon 42, 46, 50, most common, French-built, cruising-optimised
• Bali 4.1, 4.4, 4.8, innovative forward cockpit design, popular for hot weather
• Nautitech 40 Open, 46 Fly, performance-leaning, less charter-generic
• Leopard 45, 50, South African, robust, fair upwind

Monohulls (in order of Mediterranean charter presence):

• Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410, 440, 490, 519, modern, beamy aft cabins
• Beneteau Oceanis 41.1, 46.1, 51.1, workhorses of the charter fleet
• Bavaria Cruiser 41, 46, 51, German, practical, no-nonsense
• Dufour 390, 430, 470, French, nice interior layouts

The €6,000 question

For €6,000/week, in shoulder season, in Croatia, you can realistically charter:

• A 2-4 year-old Lagoon 42 or Bali 4.2 (4 cabins, 4 heads), fits 8 comfortably
• OR a brand-new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 490 or Oceanis 51.1 (5 cabins, 3 heads), fits 10 comfortably but tighter

Both sail 125 nm in a week comfortably. The cat is faster to settle into and more comfortable in the marina for dinner; the mono is more engaging to sail and pays much less marina fees.

Our advice: for 6 or fewer, the monohull is the better value. For 8+, the catamaran's per-person economics start winning.

FAQ

Q: Is a catamaran safer? Marginally, in coastal cruising, lower capsize risk, greater initial stability. But offshore in storms, a catamaran that does capsize stays upside-down (no keel to right it). In Mediterranean coastal charter weather, safety is a wash.

Q: Can monohulls be steadied to not heel? Some power-assisted keels and active stabilizers exist on luxury yachts. Standard charter monohulls just heel, that's the deal.

Q: What's the hardest thing about handling a catamaran for first-timers? Docking in tight Mediterranean marinas. The wide beam makes tight turns harder, the two engines differential-steer aggressively (good once you've practised), and reverse control is touchier.

Q: Are "power catamarans" a thing? Yes, 15+ in the Croatian fleet alone. All the space of a sailing cat, twin engines, no mast. Great for non-sailors who want the cat comfort; sailing purists hate them.

Q: Should I charter a catamaran to learn to sail? No, monohull first, catamaran second. The monohull teaches you sail trim and weight-sensitivity in ways a forgiving catamaran doesn't.