With the kind permission of Windelo Catamaran
When the French businessman and sailor Olivier Kauffmann decided that it was time to buy a multihull and sailing the world with his family, his search for the right boat was empty. Instead, he founded the Catamaran Company Windelo and opened a shipyard in Canet-en-Roussillon, France in 2018 with his son Gautier, now the company's manager. Their goals were to use the latest building techniques and materials and to create a more environmentally friendly sailboat with a premium for performance.
The diaper 54 that the Cruise The jury of the boot of the year had to inspect and sail in the construction criteria in the last autumn sailing show from Annapolis in the construction of Annapolis. The large luxurious cat has a viable and unusual interior layout. It sails well. And it is made from composite materials from recyclable basalt fibers and not made of fiber optic and from recycled plastic bottles. In addition to its green registration information, the 54 has a hybrid electrical system that depends heavily on carbon -free power sources such as wind, solar and hydrogenization in order to cover households and deliver drive via two electric motors. But the power supply system is also practical. The lithium battery bank is supported by a diesel generator and offers a long-term cruise function, although corporate representatives said that it was rarely needed.
After the show, the diaper sailed well on the Chesapeake and was well planned and quick. Under Gennaker we went with 8 knots and better in only 11 knots of true wind. At this speed, the feathers turned and put the power supply back into the batteryank, which we were able to monitor on a display screen in the cockpit. And against the wind, the 54 beat up with the self -approaching booms and the dagger boards and were able to sail from the breeze at almost 35 degrees, which was quite tight compared to many other cruise catamarans.
In the end, the judges of all the characteristics we awarded the diaper for innovation were impressed enough. Really, we hadn't seen anything like this boat yet.
Windelo builds about 10 boats a year on the courtyard on the Mediterranean. The models range from 50 to 55 feet. For design work, the courtyard uses the naval architects Christophe Barreau and Fréderick Neuman, both of whom have experience with the design of high-end production catamarans for builders such as Catana and Outremer. Hence the slippery cuffs and a versatile sailing plan, which includes a square full-cabin chief together with the two headsails mentioned above.
With the kind permission of Windelo Catamaran
The equipped boat, which we sailed with a price in the south of $ 2 million, was a yacht model that has grown up a series of options for woodwork (all certified as sustainably) and upholstery, incidence sails and knowledge, and amenities such as a tailor-made hull wrap, a lacquered aluminum mast and a composite Composite intake, composite, a recording, a complex stone, a recording, a recording, a complex and open recording. The boat is also available in a basic adventure package with a more limited selection of wood and fabrics as well as in a sports model, which includes incidence-DFI sails (or optional Nord-3di sail), a carbon fiber mast with Kevlar harens, dagger boards and rudders as well as other performance improvements.
The outstanding feature of the 54 is his dual-helmet striker cockpit, which is located indoors at the front of the salon. Under exuberant conditions, this area can be switched off from the rest of the interior by closing a waterproof sliding door. There are openings with canvas covers in the salon on both sides of the mast, with steps and clear overhead panels that can be opened for access to the forecover, and winds on the spar that are used on the back.
All other sailing control lines are led into three large winds between the bikes to three large electro bars. The Winch Center tames the head; Those on both sides are for Headsail leaves and they are next to the steering wheels for easy access by the helmsman.
We went with 8 knots and better in only 11 knots of true wind. At this speed, the feathers turned and put the power supply back into the batteryank, which we were able to monitor on a display screen in the cockpit.
The anchor winch of the boat is also inside. The chain is led through a hole to the anchor and the anchor roller under the trampoline on the Bindeck. During our anchor drill (on every boat we test, we lower the anchor to see if things go smoothly).
I appreciated the twin wheels under sail. It was easy to move between them to watch the Telltales on the headsails, and the visibility was excellent. The place of the cockpit also enables the helmsman to enjoy the company of the crew, but also the person who comes to the navigation station on the guard or goes after the gallery to get a warm cup in a dark, cool night.
Speaking of galleys on 54 is great. It is laid out in a long U-shape for taxboard that gives the cook a lot of places to advance when cooking. In good weather, the windows are opened on both sides of the cabin, as well as the doors that lead to the eighth cockpit, which really opens the inside of the world outside.
With the kind permission of Windelo Catamaran
The table can be set to 10 guests compared to the gallery. Only to the outside, there is a pilot base – another nice nod on usefulness and security. An off-satch crew member could rest there, but be easy to be available if necessary. There is a NAV station in the desk with a flat screen for diagrams or for monitoring systems, including the battery range.
The two rumps of the 54 can be created in different ways. The boat we sailed had the owner's cabin to harbor. From the athwartship after berth there is a dominant view of the water through a port in the side of the fuselage, which also bends over the rear. In the middle of inmudships there is a desk/vanity surrounded by lockers. A head and a shower with a banking seat are forward.
Two guest cabins, each with front and button berths, record the tax broker pump with a head and shower compartment as well as a washing machine and a dryer. Although the gulls in the waterline are relatively narrow, they flicker out to offer a lot of living space. The layout options include bunk beds, home office or workshop in the guest cabins, a berth of a skipper in the front package or four guest cabins, which would be popular if the boat were brought to the charter.
With the kind permission of Windelo Catamaran
In recent years, many of the more popular crising catamarans that we had similar functions during our boat of the year in which we met in the tests of the year. Not the wind. The 54 are loaded with fresh ideas how seafarers can roam the oceans and let a little less carbon watch in their.
Mark Pillsbury is one CW Editor and was a judge in 2025 of the year.
Advanced construction, clean cruise
In Windelo's marketing material, the expression “Ocean Future” is prominently exhibited in order to emphasize the company's intention, to build up performance multihulls that have to have and sail.
For this purpose, they turned to material researchers from the French school mines d'Alès to develop a composed sandwich consisting of basalt fibers made of volcanic rocks and a foam core of recycled plastic bottles.
The manufacture of fibers from basalt is a process that Paul DHE did pioneering work in the United States in the 1920s and was further developed after the Second World War, mainly for the use of military and aerospace by the USA and the Soviet Union. Today it is used in a variety of applications, from automobiles to the construction of wind turbines to thermal insulation.
Basalt fibers are produced by naturally melted. According to Windelo, no additives are required in its production, which reduces carbon emissions compared to fiber fiber by a factor of 10. At the end of his life cycle, it can be shown in an oven and can be used to again.
The polyethylene-talate core in the construction of composite sandwich constructions of the boat consists of recycled plastic bottles, which are crushed into small pieces and then melted down to create foam. During our visit in Windelo 54, a canister of pet pellets sat on the salon table and looked like a glass of Jelly Beans. The company literature shows that the manufacture of the foam generates almost half of the carbon dioxide, which is generated when the PVC foam is produced, which is typically used in the boat construction. In high -load areas, PVC is added to the core for a greater strength.
However, sustainable building materials are only part of the story. Due to the design, the Windelo flours can be driven slightly so that the owners sail more and make less. In the meantime, the building contractor uses a hybrid drive system that is heavily based on renewable energy sources, including 5,880 watt solar slabs, which are mounted on the top of the cabin and bimini top, wind turbines that can produce 400 watts with electricity, and hydrogenization that kick the boat in every time, send the boat to 8 knots or pacemons. We saw 8 knots for the recording when we grab breeze in just 11 knots.
All of this performance is fed into a bank of lithium batteries, which supplies a few 48-volt electromotors with 20 kilowatt shaft drive. With the wide -open throttle flap we drove at 8.2 knots; The cruise speed was about 6 knots.
The battery bank also supplies the 24-Volt-Haus-Haus-Haus-Haus-Haus-Haus-Haus-Haus electrical system, which includes lights, instruments, wind turbines, induction stove, electrical oven, watermaker and air conditioning. In a typical environment that the company described on the anchor during the day and produces more than 50 gallons of water and devices such as the washing machine, the dishwasher, the stove, the stove and the lights, the power release would be about 10 kilowatt hours. Solar energy alone can generate a performance worth 18 kWh and deliver an excess of 8 kWh. § In addition to the renewable energies, the diaper is also equipped with an 18-kilowatt fishing panda diesel generator as a backup. The generator with 6 knots at 6 knots can call up the batteryank in just more than an hour. With the generator to repair the batteries, the batteries are around 1,100 miles.
On a coastal cruise, where you can motor for a few hours in the morning and then sail for three or four hours, while the spinning props put the batteries back with electricity, they arrived for the night in an anchorage with a removed battery system. On a long-term cruise, for example in the shops, the batteries would be charged solar and hydrogenization solely. –MP