Here are some thoughts: In a world where even production monohull sailing yachts and off the shelf powerboats are getting sleeker and more streamlined the trend in cruising catamarans is frightening. They are getting higher and boxier, like ostentatious wedding cakes – with a coefficient of wind resistance resembling a Gothic cathedral. Mezzanine steering stations  with boxy bimini afterthoughts and fly bridges forcing the boom position even higher. And then there is the newest fad: forward cockpits with giant vertical windows facing the seas. Is this smart? Is this a good thing ? Some of us will welcome this development as catamarans are getting more spacious, just as the price/square foot of new home builds has dropped in the last decades. But I say – we already live in a house and do we really need all that volume in an offshore sailing yacht, especially if it means sacrificing the fundamental safety factors of our boat ?

Wedding cake boats are here to stay. It is however refreshing to see a minority of production builders stand apart from this design trend and still produce good looking, seaworthy and aerodynamic catamarans.