leopard 45 catamaran specs

Sailboat specifications

• Last update: 26th April 2020

Leopard 45's main features

• 2017: Cruising World - Boat of the Year: Charter Boat

Leopard 45's main dimensions

Leopard 45's rig and sails, leopard 45's performances, leopard 45's auxiliary engine, leopard 45's accommodations and layout, leopard 45's saloon, leopard 45's fore cabin, leopard 45's aft cabin.

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• ACHIEVEMENTS
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SAILING RANGE

Power range, leopard 45 catamaran, sleek and nimble, yet comfortable.

Awarded Boat of the Year honours in 2017 and founded upon the ethos of continuous innovation and feedback from cruising clients, the Leopard 45 sailing catamaran represents astute value, elegant lines and satisfies blue water passion.

With naval architecture by Simonis & Voogd Yacht Design, and with exterior and interior design by the world-class design team at Robertson and Caine, the Leopard 45 Sailing Catamaran not only builds on the best features of the current Leopard range but most notably offers new exterior styling and enhanced interior accommodation.

Since the launch of the Leopard 45 in 2017, the exterior styling has evolved and includes the innovative flybridge lounge. This lounge feature first launched on the award-winning Leopard 50! Like her big sister, the lounge on the Leopard 45 includes a seating area, a sunbed, and a table. Access to the lounge is provided by floating stairs leading up from the aft cockpit, without disrupting the helm station. The helm station remains well protected, and integrated into the cockpit and the rest of the boat.

Available in a 3 or 4 cabin layout, the Leopard 45 offers the perfect entertainment package with increased aft area with new layout, the flybridge lounge, ergonomically designed open plan saloon and galley, larger forward cockpit, and more onboard area.

In summary, the Leopard 45 Sailing Catamaran delivers uncompromised, exceptional build quality throughout, new, sleek styling, a sensible and practical layout, sailing comfort across all sea states, and features innovative technologies and multiple entertainment areas.

At Robertson and Caine, we favour a clear, natural flow. The Leopard 45’s increased area, ergonomically designed open plan saloon and galley, increased forward cockpit and more onboard area make her the ideal catamaran for guest entertaining as well as long-range cruising.

Onboard entertaining is accentuated with ample dining space and forward-facing L shaped seating communicating directly with the galley, situated forward. Wide sliding saloon doors afford panoramic views towards the stern, allowing the interior saloon to flow naturally towards the outside aft and forward cockpit.

The boat is flooded with natural light during the day and after sunset, illuminated by subtle hidden lighting, with individual spotlights to highlight certain areas.

The progressive generation

LEOPARD CATAMARANS

Functional elegance and performance sailing

Engine Specifications

Sail Specifications

Load Specifications

• 3 Cabin Layout
• 4 Cabin Layout

Technical specifications - Leopard 45

Photos of the boat, technical features.

• Length HT : 45ft (13.72m)
• Max. width : 24ft (7.36m)
• Weight : 16.4 tons
• Draft : 5ft (1.5m) to 5ft (1.5m)
• Max. sleeping capacity : 8
• Number of cabins : 3 to 4
• Bathrooms : 3 to 4
• Water capacity : 780L

Standard motorisation

• Engine Power : 45hp
• Fuel capacity : 700L

Standard canopy

• Total sail area : 410sqft (124.9m2)
• Mainsail area : 244sqft (74.5m2)
• Genoa/jib area : 165sqft (50.4m2)

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• By Cruising World Staff
• Updated: August 2, 2017

Off on a charter vacation, friends want to party together, couples may seek out nooks of their own and families will cherish a place for the kids to romp while the folks enjoy their chill time. Some like to sunbathe, others prefer shade. The skipper could be an old salt or a recent grad of a learn-to-sail program who needs a hand pulling the strings. Some come for the sailing, others for the revelry. And no one, I repeat, no one wants to get stuck in the smallest cabin, with a shared head.

What’s a designer to do?

In the case of the new Leopard 45 catamaran, which made its North American debut last fall at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, naval architect Alex Simonis carefully considered the design brief put together by the single largest buyer of sailboats on the planet — the parent company of Sunsail, The Moorings and Leopard Catamarans brands — and then he stretched the design envelope to create what CW’s Boat of the Year judges named Best Charter Boat for 2017.

South Africa’s Robertson and Caine is the sole supplier of catamarans for Travelopia Marine, formerly TUI Marine. Charter versions of their boats (four heads, four cabins) are sold into The Moorings and Sunsail fleets worldwide. The remaining 45 percent of the company’s annual output goes to Leopard owners, who overwhelmingly opt for a three-cabin, three-head layout, with the owners suite occupying an entire hull.

The first things I noticed when I stepped aboard the 45 were the views. From the stern, you look through the entire boat, thanks to a wall of clear polycarbonate at the forward end of the saloon that includes a watertight doorway leading to a second cockpit on the foredeck. Overhead, you see plenty of sky through a large port in the coachroof; to either side, well, you guessed it, you’re surrounded by windows. In the cabins below, long ports in the hull and opening hatches overhead let the light — and sights — pour in too.

“They’ve really opened up the structure,” noted BOTY judge Tim Murphy when helping to choose a contest winner.

To do so, Simonis replaced fore and aft structural bulkheads on the bridgedeck with a latticework of fiberglass and stainless steel. This allowed him not only to replace solid panels with windows but also move the mast aft, creating a better-balanced sail plan. The payoff is improved performance and easier sailhandling.

Speaking of sailing, the Leopard scooted right along in 10 knots of breeze. We saw 6.1 knots closehauled and 7.7 knots when we bore off to a reach. The helmsman steers from a raised platform to starboard in the cockpit. There’s a bench there where a couple can sit comfortably, and thanks to a series of blocks and clutches, all sail control lines are led to a pair of electric winches on the cabin top, just forward of the wheel. Working sails consist of a square-top main and a slightly overlapping genoa. The Leopard version of the 45 that we sailed also carried a screecher set on a continuous-line furler tacked down on a sprit.

All of Robertson and Caine’s boats — current production also includes the Leopard 40, 48 and 58, along with related charter brands — have balsa-­cored hulls and decks, with solid fiberglass anywhere hardware is mounted. The builder has begun to infuse smaller parts, so look for the use of that technology to expand. Hulls have fine entry points and are relatively narrow below the waterline for performance, then flare to provide room to roam in the cabins.

A fitted-out Leopard 45 sells for about $580,000, depending on options and toys. Ready to go, with charter kit, in The Moorings’ yacht-ownership program, the price is similar.

Summing up his dockside visit and our sea trials, Murphy noted, “The experience really is a beautiful thing, to be able to be in that aft space on a boat and see so much of the world. I think they’ve done a really nice job in 45 feet of providing different spaces.”

I agree wholeheartedly.

Mark Pillsbury is Cruising World’s Editor.

• More: 2011+ , 40' - 49' , catamaran , Coastal Cruising , leopard catamarans , multihull , sailboat review , Sailboats
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