Among the increasing numbers of multihulls and catamarans designed for bluewater sailing comes the new Seawind 1370, which follows hot on the heels of the elegant Seawind 1600. Toby Hodges and François Tregouet take a look
The first Seawind 1370 is not yet on the water, but comes with a strong heritage of bluewater multihull design.
For nearly four decades, the Australian Seawind brand and its founder Richard Ward has been gearing its catamarans around safe bluewater sailing, including performance, protection and ease of handling. Since purchasing Corsair trimarans in 2010 it has ramped up production and new model releases.
Its Reichel Pugh-designed 1600, which launched three years ago, is an elegant looking cat with relatively low freeboard and some smart solutions for fast bluewater sailing.
It has narrow, kevlar-reinforced hulls, combined with daggerboards that don’t protrude through the deck and is capable of 20+ knot speeds. The boards and rudders lift to reduce draught to 54cm for accessing shallow anchorages. We were impressed by its attention to detail and safety considerations.
The Vietnam yard has now fully updated the 1600 to a Passagemaker model, with new beamier hulls, increased bridgedeck clearance, larger windows and more ventilation. Stowage and bed space has increased and carbon boards and rudders come as standard.
Seawind launches its new 1370 later this year, a staggering 60 of which have sold on plans alone. This was undoubtedly helped by the fact this was the ‘winning’ model in a comparison of the best bluewater multihulls by YouTube sailors Terysa Vanderloo and Nick Fabbri on their channel Sailing Ruby Rose, who were looking to step up to a catamaran after selling their Southerly 38.
The forthcoming Seawind 1370
This 45ft model, a contemporary design with higher freeboard and reverse bows, looks like an appealing option for a couple cruising long distance. We like the look of the twin protected helmstations.
Seawind 1370 Prices
ex VAT: US$699,000
Read our full list of the best bluewater multihulls of all time.
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