International Multihull Boatshow 2025

WOW! This was our first ever boat show, and while it wasn't what brought us to Europe - but man, it felt like the universe dropped it in our path on purpose. We are thrilled that the timing overlapped and we could hop quickly down from our international arrival in Paris to Le Grand Motte for the show.

First — let's get this out of the way early... we still have ZERO idea what our plan/future is, but we are trying to do our best to embrace all possible options and not only open all possible doors, but even walk in them to look around and see what’s just inside before taking our next step.

I've often referred to this as "putting a shoe in the door."
Not through the door. Not barging in. Just... opening all possible doorways, and then leaving a shoe behind just to make sure it stays open - or to keep it from closing before we know we're walking through a different one.
I want to peek inside all of them, walk a few steps in, and feel whether this could be the right path — before we commit.
That might not make a lot of sense to many, but in my mind most decisions have various paths/options, and we as humans tend to approach things as a very black & white or before & after set of confines.

Maybe it's the ADHD brain that’s always constantly working on multiple screens/layers at a time, or maybe it's the part of us that just doesn't like to believe that rules actually apply (or that there's anything that isn't possible — but I tend to want to make a decision by first imagining the first few steps down each and every possible path.

When we were shopping for real estate/reno projects, that meant looking at dozens of open houses and narrowing down to our top 5 or so options (that's probably pretty normal/common). But for me, it then meant going back the next day to sketch out room layouts, take some key measurements so that I could, over the next few days, model each house in 3D and mock up potential changes/enhancements we could make to add value. Typically this also meant diving into the zoning and building codes for a particular option, double-checking what was or wasn't possible, and potentially even throwing rough costs at a reno project.

I'd do the design studies/mock-ups (yes, for all 5... I don't really sleep much) over a day or two before someone snatched one up and changed our list of potential options. But knowing what was possible/feasible rather than simply what was right in front of us was critical in terms of making the best decision (or at least the one that felt right at the time). It never failed us, and I've offered the same as a "service" to several friends over the years to help them make purchases with a similar degree of confidence.

Maybe all life decisions aren't quite as easily solved or mocked up as a real estate/reno purchase, but my brain tends to approach them in a similar way:

• Step One – believe EVERYTHING is on the table and a feasible option until proven otherwise.
• Step Two – Outline all the foreseeable options and evaluate them DEEPLY.
  Not just a good old-fashioned pros/cons list, but like... start taking steps down the path, getting contractor quotes, and/or booking the work. Anything you can do just short of making a deposit/spending money on something you don't yet own.
• Step Three – Problem solving. All paths/options come with hurdles and problems. The only way to understand the biggest among them is to start solving them, which means getting started — even if you haven't fully decided/committed yet. Sure, it's more work upfront and possibly work you'll never see the reward for — but not wasted time. This work can actually lead you down the right path, as you may learn things you couldn't have possibly learned any other way.

In our minds (or in our world), we don't have to be buying a new boat to make spending a few days at a boat show worthy of our time or energy — but “buy a new boat” was one of our sticky notes on the fridge representing possible future life paths... so why wouldn't we continue to evaluate the pros/cons and the obstacles well before making any decisions?

Only possible loss, I guess — could be disappointment (if something we see gets our hopes up). But we're pretty used to weighing all options with a realistic and/or financially responsible lens. For us, this is simply research, some time around boats, and possibly a bit of dreaming. All good fun either way!

As we hit the docks our first day, we immediately wondered why we hadn't done this before — or at least before buying a boat the first time (oh yeah, that's because we spent a total of THREE DAYS considering buying a new boat before putting our first and only offer in on Karma).

I guess we shouldn't be surprised this would be a crazy fun experience. We've always loved taking tours of open houses as a chance to see what's out there, fire up our own inspiration, and dream a bit. In this case, it is insane what is out there — and also easy to start feeling like you're in a very low tax bracket. I mean, did we step onto boats we would LOVE to have if money were no object? Of course we did!

Did we also see countless cool ideas, groovy products, and great designs? No question! Here were some of our our favorites of the 2025 International Multihull Boat Show:

Catamaran Lineup

HH44
Do we have a budget for a new boat? Nope.
If we did have a budget would it be anywhere near the price of an HH? Definitely No. Do we want to dream like we do, tour every shiny hull, and act like we’re yacht reviewers on assignment? Absolutely. It's good fun and we learn a LOT along the way.
There has been some unfortunate bad press recently for the HH Catamarans team based upon a partnership deal they struck with a popular YouTube couple. Things always go wrong with a new boat model — especially those with new technology and systems — and this was a HUGE leap forward on both fronts.

Sadly, things did not go well straight out of the gates, and it didn't end well for the press/partnership. It was pretty strange to be walking around this incredible performance catamaran without anyone else onboard. I have no doubt the brand will recover (and at least based on what we heard onboard, the issues/concerns have already been solved/handled).. but I somehow don't think any other boat builder will be signing that kind of deal again for a while due to the inherent risk and exposure.

For us, its a beautiful, well crafted boat with integrated electric engines, top notch components and a ton of space for a 44' package thats built to perform. For us though, if Im honest (which i always am) - its the massive windows at the front of the salon. Why is this not happening on every boat?!

Windelo 50
Imagine a 50-foot boat constructed from eco-friendly materials, silent electric drives, a wide open floor plan like we've grown used to on svKarma, AND with the helm INSIDE and protected at the front of the boat!
I mean seriously, where do we sign to sail this boat away? (Oh, wait. What’s that? They're going to want money for it too? Oops.)

Seriously, the Windelo is without question the boat we would buy if money was no object. We are just dreaming of a slightly smaller (more affordable) version we sail around the world marketing on their behalf!

It somehow offers all the performance metrics of the HH and other top notch performance boats, wrapped in an impressive eco-friendly package (actually, not wrapped at all - but conceived and built that way from the ground up), AND somehow has a massive open floor plan as well — like the one we've gotten used to on the Bali. (For the record, most people for years have referred to our Bali as a "floating condo" — and no, we aren't offended in the least.)

Even the berths are incredible, with wraparound windows and an office i would actually go below to work in (happily). Without question the Windelo is the perfect boat (for us) across the board in terms of our lifestyle, our ethos and our experiences to date. The unfortunate reality here is that our budget would never get us anywhere close to buying this boat even used. That's the reality of what happens when you quit the rat race in your 30's to chase your passion and happiness.

Having been longtime Bali owners who can speak to the values of the open floor plan AND who have sailed long enough and far enough to understand the value of sailing well (and of silent engines - did I mention the silent engines?) we would no doubt be their best possible on-the-water marketing team. Feel free to let them know. ;)

VAAN R4
This is probably what it would look like if we had started from scratch on bar napkins (as all good/early designs do). Granted, we also know nothing about naval architecture or making a boat sail well... which is why we havent already attempted this.

The VAAN feels like you could easily forget you're not standing in a fancy, wide-open penthouse with a massive deck and indoor/outdoor living — and then you at some point accidentally realize that penthouse is also floating (on a beautiful aluminum hull). Seriously, this thing felt like our beloved zen loft set sail.

We actually spent time talking with the VAAN owners about a possible collaboration, where we install our lightweight aluminum and bamboo cabinets into the boat (which has always been a bit of a dream). Sadly, they had no interest (whether for a boat just for us nor as an upgrade for others). We also reached out to an owner of one of the first VAANs just to see what the used boats go for — and the reports were NOT good in terms of her experience, sail ability, etc., so we moved on.

Regardless, sweet open spaces and minimal design — so we'll watch and see how things go for them… hopefully well!


Bali 4.2
Bali was kind enough to send us some tickets to the event, and we know/have talked with many of the Bali marketing team members. (As many of you know, we were for years the only liveaboards on a Bali catamaran, so we accidentally/organically sold a lot of boats for them over the last couple years — and probably should have asked years ago about a sales deal. )

Truth be told, we have also talked in depth with them about the prospect of a Bali 4.2 as our next boat (IF we have a next boat/ if that's the direction the universe decides to steer us).

Visiting the Bali dock (cloaked in its signature Pink) and stepping aboard the Bali 4.2... simply felt like home. More like contractors had just finished an upgrade/renovation to svKarma and we just walked in for the reveal.
It is quite literally a slightly bigger version of our home for the past 6years (with a door to the front being the biggest change/upgrade).

All pretty much known entities here for us, with both the open/comfortable layout we love and familiar systems. And I'm not gonna lie — call me lazy, but that doorway to the front is actually a game-changer. It was our favorite part of a few dear friends’ boats and makes entertaining/sundowners just that much easier.

The marketing team might have also filled our bags with swag and plied us with several glasses of wine while we told tales from our 6+ years of adventuring aboard svKarma (our Bali 4.0).
Karma is built rock solid, lives uber comfortably, and they may call her a "floating condo," but it's also pretty hard to argue with the fact that she took us everywhere we wanted to go and more (and at speeds not so much slower than our friends on bigger cats).

Cataruga Tortue 147
Okay, this easily gets the award for "most creative." This felt like stepping onboard a full-scale model from one of my architectural design courses, where you tend to sketch up all the coolest ideas for visual interest, but aren't required to build it or fix it to a foundation, etc.

It was very cool to walk around this boat, where it was easier to imagine you were floating in outer space than on the water.
Some really cool details (like the hanging chair at the nav station and the overall rule-breaking designs)... but honestly, not sure I'd be comfortable taking it offshore, and certainly wouldn’t want to find ourselves aboard in a storm.

I presume this was kind of like submitting an outlandish concept car design for a car show to make a splash — and no doubt they turned a lot of heads/generated a lot of attention — so this will be a fun one to watch and read about over time.

Excess 13
David from Sail Tahiti is the Broker who has svKarma listed for us in Tahiti, and actually the one who suggested we attend this show after hearing we'd already be in Europe around the same time.

For those of you REALLY paying attention over the years, you may also remember that we quickly tried to sell Karma and buy a boat in French Polynesia as a loophole to escape COVID (when we all thought it would never end and looking for any escape).

That boat that we tried to buy — which would have allowed us to move to FP despite the pandemic — was an early Excess 11. The brand is still pretty new, but they are determined to break the mold and to pick their own path forward (which we can appreciate).

They originally marketed to the young hip sailors (aka not exactly us, but we are drawn to their aesthetics, aggressive feel, and desire to push the envelope) and to convince the monohull sailors to convert to a catamaran.

The first several models were still built on Lagoon molds (Excess is part of Group Beneteau), and the Excess 13 is the first truly Excess-DNA "ground-up" build — despite the previous model having performed well - even while still using the Lagoon molds.

The 13 was really well done. The designers happened to be onboard during our tour, and it was fun to talk through the design decisions and details — everywhere from the asymmetrical hulls (and why it matters) to the very cool stools and chairs. (the furniture designer in me appreciates the time/energy spent.)

But the real change that stuck with us was the folding transoms (the exposed helm position felt like a hurdle for us even when trying to dodge a pandemic) and the attention to small details stood out. A water catchment system being thoughtfully integrated into the roof and funneling directly into a dedicated water tank. A deeper/longer tour also showed off many other clever details with a focus on saving weight (down below, each door actually serves two purposes depending on current need/use - brilliant)!

They also threw the best launch party (or at least the best one we got invited to/stumbled upon) after the XCS13 got named Multihull of the Year.
Note to self: Apparently an open bar and a dude playing a sax from the top of a boat during sunset is a winning combination for a good party. Filing that one away for later.

Other notes:
I'm not sure there was a cat at the show we didn't tour — though two brands announced boats here that weren’t able to make it: the Nautitech 40s and the Fountaine Pajot 41.

The 40s caught our eye, but mostly for the cool marketing (with a leopard print dolphin).

The new FP41 is probably the best example of our overall biggest takeaway from the show — which is that most all brands are actually moving in the direction of Bali. Hard in that direction.

I can't emphasize enough how surprising that is. When we bought Karma 7 years ago, most people thought of the "new" Bali brand as not even being seaworthy — mostly due to the garage door (which we love) and the solid foredeck which had never been done before.

It seemed to be the general consensus that the Balis looked comfortable and would be great for charters, but certainly not meant to cross an ocean. (We clearly didn’t listen to that advice.)

And here we are now, watching most all production cat brands moving quickly in that direction. The new FP41 plans we were shown now have a half-solid foredeck (which also allows for a large open door, creating a similar indoor/outdoor plan that we’re used to on Karma). And we were told you can actually order it with a fully solid deck — just like the Bali.

I know that industries change... but it's truly shocking just how much things have shifted during our time on the water.

I'm certain this is a grossly uninformed misrepresentation, but it feels like the scatterplot of catamaran brands is now something like this: (don’t come at me... this was not made after weeks of collecting facts and figures — just some quick assistance from ChatGPT asking for the midrange boat within each brand's line and their SA/D (Sail Area to Displacement — aka how much sail/power you have compared to how heavy the boat is).

Effectively, you've got a small handful of performance cats in the top right (all also well over a million dollars as a liveaboard-ready boat), with most of the other production brands seemingly running to join Bali in the comfort corner.

No judgment from us — we've been comfortably living in that corner for years — but we’re still extremely surprised by the overall shift (and how rapidly it seems to have happened after the VERY negative response from the market when Bali first launched).

Gear/Products/Tech:

SEA.AI
This is the epitome of what technology is supposed to be doing. Making lives easier and safer, and we were blown away by the demo showing how the SEA.AI could recognize a dangerous object (or a man overboard) in the water at lightning speed, far quicker and further away than we could find it with the naked eye.

And that's in the best of (broad daylight) conditions — much less involving its thermal cameras in the dead of night.

This mast-top camera is well out of our budget, but if we had the money this would already be on the schedule to add to the boat. I'd love to think that in the next few years it becomes a standard addition to most boats in the way AIS has. Simply incredible.

Variable speed AirConditioning
We ended up ripping 2 out of svKarma's 5 ACs a few years ago. The boat was wired for AC to only be used on dock (which we never go to) or with the genset running (which we try to never do). The only reason we didn’t rip ALL units out to save space and weight was the idea that someone else might eventually own her and want them.

That said, as we’ve watched ACs become more and more efficient (we often install the efficient 12V Mabru unit in our van builds with fantastic results), some of the new variable-speed units appear to be remarkably efficient and even have us considering how to set up our solar/battery to run an AC while off-grid.
The Frigomar appeared to be the best of what was at the show — running (presumably in eco-mode) and the display showing only 16 amps draw (as opposed to say - 40A) off the battery. Call us intrigued!


Front sunshade -
Okay, I don't know why this is so hard... but the sunshade we put up and down on the front of Karma (to extend how much of the boat we can actually enjoy when anchored in the harsh sunlight near the equator) has always been a hassle to put up and still requires ducking/crawling under after it's up.

This simple/functional design for a deck shade hoisted by a halyard is just brilliant, and Canopee also has options for mood lighting, rainwater collection, etc. Love it.

Black rigging
Okay, not a product we saw in any one booth, but it's fair to say that the aesthetic/design-minded brains over here were drawn to the black mast/rigging and dark/gray sails available on all the performance boats.

It's a simple upgrade and presumably easy enough to add to any boat (for a price), but we couldn't help notice how much our eyes were drawn to each and every boat with this setup — and it happened throughout the days we were at the show.

Antal roller cleat
Okay, I know cleats have been around for hundreds of years and most people aren't sitting around thinking about how to improve upon the design... but they've also been ripping toes off (and/or making you feel like one ripped off) for almost as long.

Among Antal's other quality designs… this sexy transforming cleat closes when not in use — specifically to keep your toes where they are meant to be (securely attached to your foot). Well done!

Center console dinghy
The dinghy/tender world is rapidly changing toward electric outboards, rigid hulls, and even jet engines. AST Tenders was not only conveniently placed where we had to walk by them every morning — they also had a dog in the booth (why doesn't everyone?) and we did spend plenty of time there as a result. Their tenders are a work of art.

We love all of it, but at least for people known to take the dinghy on an 8-mile jaunt to explore/snorkel/chase bait balls (when also hundreds of miles from anyone or anything to come get us/save us)... technology hasn't fully gotten battery power to where we think it needs to be for us to give up the traditional outboard.

That said... the captain has long drooled over the idea of a center console, where she can recline/lay back with the wind whipping through her hair while I fish off the back.

These are the dreams of Jen's future just as much as mine are of her becoming the "sugar mama" that will pay for it. We're both manifesting those now (Jen’s sleek center console, me the self-topping bank account).
3DTender is doing this at a price point that makes Jen think her dreams are within reach... but we’ll see how those sugar mama goals go!

Fendertex
Much like the cleat above, fenders have remained the same for much of history… taking up/wasting space. For us, our fenders take up an entire storage compartment (or more), despite the fact that we only use them about 2x a year. Absurd!
Enter Fendertex, with an incredibly lightweight and incredibly strong fender that inflates and deflates quickly.

Even if the universe has us getting back on Karma, we will happily donate our existing fenders in order to gain back a massive amount of real estate we’ve never known we had. These fenders went directly from “didn’t know that existed” to “must have.”

Overall - We had an incredible time at the 2025 International Multihull Boat Show. Turns out we are — at our core — dreamers. Who could have possibly known??

If you are someone looking specifically for a catamaran, this is your show. We understand its far smaller and less crowded (perfect for us) than some of the massive shows like Miami or Cannes, which also means you not only get more time on the boats you get more time with the teams to learn about them (oh, and did i mention less crowds?)!

It’s also fair to say that unless you have a lot of money set aside (or a plan in place to have a bunch of money set aside), it’s pretty easy to leave a show like this feeling like you can’t afford life onboard, or that you need to postpone your retirement for another few years before it’s possible to afford all the new toys and gadgets you just found out exist.

That might be a part of why we never attended one before — and might be why, back when we first had the idea of living on a boat, we simply pulled the trigger and bought a boat 3 days later rather than diving into the research and decisions.

Sometimes overthinking things — or dreaming about all the cool gadgets you could put on your boat — stops you from simply being on a boat.

At the end of the day… the goal is still to get out there, on whatever boat you can find and afford. Dream big. but start now.
And then, like us — spend your time daydreaming about companies sending you gear to try/test or market for them for free (despite the fact it’s never happened before). ;)