By Tracey Johnstone from Sail-World.

Fountaine Pajot’s design changes to their popular sailing catamarans heralds a new era for cruising sailors looking for more in style, comfort and value for money.

The Evolution range for the Mahe 36 and Salina 48 offers a rigid cockpit bimini, timber and leather finishes in the saloon, smart placement of storage cupboards, better ventilation, redesigned galley with Corian bench tops and additional refrigeration, and feature over-head lighting all of which has stepped up the quality of the classic Fountaine Pajot style. The reliable performance of the yachts has not changed with the hull, deck, construction and rigging remaining the same.

On board the Salina 48, alongside the new interior design and roomier hulls, improvements have also been made in the helm station with a redesigned, raised steering station, fully protected from the sun and seating for three people with direct access to the cockpit

These subtle changes in the finishes have delivered a much more classy boat and although the Evolution range are dearer to build, with the strong Australian dollar the package price has come down.

Multihull Solutions managing director, Mark Elkington, whose company is the Australian and New Zealand importer for Fountaine Pajot sailing and power catamarans, explained the history behind the decision to change the interior design.

‘Back in 2007/08 Fountaine Pajot’s production was flat out and they couldn’t keep up with the orders. They took a stance back then to do a minimal fit-out. It was not a matter of making the boat cheap, but about making it a minimalist presentation in the interior with less timber and more mouldings therefore allowing for increased production. The whole boat was still beautiful to sail and great value for money. Really, the decision was made to help the company cope with demand in order numbers and demand for better value.

‘There was no negative impact on our business from this decision of Fountaine Pajot. If anything it probably was a great decision for the multihull market because with the minimalist fit out and the value for money, we got a lot more people into the boats.

‘But then Fountaine Pajot and the dealer network started receiving feedback that it was probably a bit too minimalist, a bit too ‘caravany’ let’s say. The market still wanted the hull and the layout, but with a bit more bling in it.

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