Excess 15 Cat - On Test

Be it scorching around the world in just over 40 days, or taking the America’s Cup onto foils, some of the biggest advances in our sport over the last decade have been with multihulls. But the growth in the cruising cat market has been about more than just performance
When you list out the benefits of a cat over a monohull you often end up wondering why we are still putting up with cramped cabins and life at 25 degrees.
And while individual new models have been appearing from many manufacturers, the biggest boat builder in the world, Group Beneteau decided it was time to launch an entire new range…..Excess
And this is their flagship, the Excess 15
She’s been designed by racing multihull gurus VPLP with Nauta Design taking on the interior and Patrick le Quement responsible for the exterior styling.
PlanetSail stepped aboard and headed out into the Solent to put her through her paces.
Facebook - @planetsail.org
Website - www.planetsail.co.uk
Twitter - matthewsheahan
Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-sheahan

[@PaulAnthonyDuttonUk]

This guy is probably the best reviewer out there.

[@jamesaron1967]

He's an excellent reviewer and very knowledgeable about all aspects of sailing.

[@SVImpavidus]

Good point well made Paul. He keeps it simple but gets the points across.

[@SVImpavidus]

They seem to have addressed many issues where monohulls have a distinct advantage. Upwind for example. At £1m I can think of many other boats I would rather spend my money on. But you have to say what it can do it will do very well. Sail Safe Guys, Ant & Cid.

[@jamesaron1967]

Great review and very nice boat. I like the option of the skylounge instead of flybridge because the latter does indeed raise the sailplan a considerable amount, which only creates complications under sail. I notice all the serious performance cat manufacturers tend not to have flybridges on their faster models. Perhaps this is a growing trend for sailing cats moving forward.

[@Maloy7800]

Did I miss it or did Mr.Sheahan completely missed a VERY rare option on this boat - A BOW THRUSTER! Not bad for a budget Outremer.

[@multihuller]

I also see a problem with the unprotected helm. In the video in smooth seas quite nice, but when a high wave is from behind ... In addition, the handling of the folding seats is problematic. Further, the large storage area in the salon are hardly usable, because even a catamaran moves in the sea and everything slides back and forth.

[@rossprentice4975]

Good report well done

[@ReneMongeau1]

Do you have video about these kind of catamarans in bad weather? I have seen a sailboat with waves rinsing the the whole boat many times with the door closed so I wonder how it is with these huge windows behind.

[@andrebauer576]

I disagree with the helm position. A half deck raised helm is not further away from what's happening, only a little higher boom and all lines are just in front of you. Just as done on some Leopard designs. The ultra high Lagoon helm is indeed not a good solution. But this one is either not as it exposes the helmsmen to the weather and protection is a little difficult to realize. On top the visibility is quite bad during docking.

[@billhanna8838]

Hope the build quality is better then the Lagoons ?

[@Stylefront]

That helm position relegates it to a day cruiser/weekend warrior. I like the boat otherwise.