Ever wonder what it’s like to walk through a Leopard catamaran? The Leopard 45 was voted Boat of The Year by Cruising World Magazine, and it’s no wonder why. Watch this video to get an inside look at this impressive sailboat

Leopard 45 Catamaran Boat Tour

The Full Story

If you’re familiar with our youtube videos, you’ll know that we are monohull sailors aboard our “seasoned” 1989 Morgan 44. Satori is a great boat, but she was built in a different time. And even though she has a cleaver layout and many interesting features, she was designed and made in a time before computer modeling was mature enough to have a serious impact on yacht design. (Check out our Satori Boat Tour HERE)

As we were sailing from Florida to the Virgin Islands, our friends Jeff and Adrienne invited us to jump about their boat in the British Virgin Islands. They own a Leopard 45 catamaran that they keep in charter with the Moorings charter company. It was a bit of a push to get there in time to meet them as they would only be in the BVI’s for a short week, but we powered through some less than accommodating weather to experience the sailing aboard a state of the art catamaran like the Leopard 45. You can learn all about our week aboard here.

Leopard 45 - drone picture - sailing satori.jpg

This post is all about taking you on an intimate tour of this beautiful Leopard catamaran.

Layout (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Main Level

Cabin Level

Leopard 45 - cabin layout - sailing satori

 

Aft Deck (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

The aft deck is open and inviting with plenty of space for entertaining. This is where we spent most of our time both during the day and at night. It acts as an outdoor living/dining room. The glow from the underwater lights at night creates a fantastic ambiance!

Leopard 45 - aft deck - sailing satori

Each hull has a sugar scoop walk down for easy access to the water or dinghy boarding.

The davit system is rigged to an electric motor that drops the entire davit structure and dinghy to and from the water with a push of a button. It’s pretty Slick.

Galley (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Leopard 45 - galley - sailing satori

The beautiful thing about Leopards, and all catamarans really, is the open space across the bridge between the two hulls. This gives a large enough area to build an almost house-sized kitchen with ample counter space.

Saloon (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Leopard 45 - saloon - sailing satori

The galley and the saloon (or salon) is the same here. It’s open enough for multiple people to move around without having to squeeze by each other. It consists of a massive booth style dining table that doubles as an extra bunk, making it the 6th bed in the boat. The saloon also houses the navigation station and the control panel for the entire boat.

Foredeck (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Leopard 45 - forward cockpit - sailing satori

Probably the most unique feature of the Leopard 45 catamaran is the forward cockpit. A full sized door opens up to an additional sitting area with a fold up table, a great spot for morning coffee or an evening cocktail.

The extreme thinkers will claim that this area will “fill up” with water as soon as a giant wave overtakes the bow, compromising the safety of the vessel. But they also say the same thing about our center cockpit on Satori. We have yet to see anything come close to filling our cockpit, and I assume the same will be true about the Leopard Catamaran.

Leopard 45 - Trampoline - sailing satori

The foredeck also has large storage compartments for the freshwater tanks, onboard generator, and the required mass of pool noodles.

Leopard 45 - anchor locker- sailing satori

The anchor, windless, and bridles are also housed in a neat little compartment in the center.

Crew Quarters (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Leopard 45 - crew bunk - sailing satori

Wasting no space, Leopard catamarans has utilized the “v” section of each hull to be used by the crew on a full charter. The only way to access these sections of the boat is via a hatch on each side. The port hull contains a twin sized berth complete with cell phone chargers and air conditioning, while the starboard hull has a shower, head, and sink, making this the 5th head onboard.

Leopard 45 - crew head - sailing satori

Guest Quarters (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Leopard 45 - guest bunk - sailing satori

In my personal opinion, none of the guest cabins are as lovely as our aft cabin aboard Satori. That said, there are four aboard the Leopard 45 catamaran, each with its own bathroom and shower. Each hull has an en suite cabin aft and forward. Leopard catamarans also make a version of this boat that utilized one entire hull for the owner’s suite. Can you imagine the closet space in that beast?

Leopard 45 - guest head - sailing satori

Helm (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Leopard 45 - helm - sailing satori

I was most surprised about the helm. Not surprising, having two electric winches that operate with a toe switch makes sailing a breeze, even when single handing. All of the lines a neatly organized and brought back to the winches. And all of the steering and engine controls are right there as well.

Leopard 45 - winches - sailing satori

With the controls and winches conveniently located, I expected it to be easy to operate the sails, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well she sailed. I think this is because I had heard many horror stories about the awkward “hobby horsing” motion catamarans get and how hard it to sail close to the wind.

Leopard 45 - line storage - sailing satori

I didn’t see either of these problems but then were in the protected champagne sailing waters of the British Virgin Islands. An actual test would be to take her down the Thorny Path from Florida to the Virgins. I’ll let you know when Leopard Catamarans decides to sponsor Sailing Satori, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Specifications (Leopard 45 Catamaran)

Leopard 45 - specifications - sailing satori

DIMENSIONAL ATTRIBUTES

  • Draft: 4 ft 11 in / 1.5 m
  • Mast Height: 70 ft 0 in / 21.34 m
  • Bridgedeck Clearance: 2 ft 9 in / 0.83 m
  • LOA: 45 ft 0 in / 13.72 m
  • LWL: 42 ft 11 in / 13.07 m
  • Beam: 24 ft 2 in / 7.36 m

ENGINE SPECS

  • Engine: 2 x Yanmar Diesel 45HP each
  • Fuel: 185 gal / 700 L
  • Engine No. Cylinders: 4
  • Propeller Dimensions: 3‐blade 17in x 14in / 432 x 356 mm

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

  • Mainsail Area (Standard): 797 sqft / 74 sqm
  • Mainsail Area (Square Top): 817 sqft / 75.9 sqm
  • Genoa Area: 501 sqft / 46.5 sqm
  • Spinnaker Area: 1507 sqft / 140 sqm
  • Total Upwind Area (Standard): 1298 sqft / 120.5 sqm
  • Displacement: 31967 lbs / 14500 kg
  • Water: 206 gal / 780 L
  • Load Carrying Capacity: 10141 lbs / 4600 kg
  • Holding Tank Capacity: 45 gal / 170 L
  • Code 0 Area: 753 sqft / 70 sqm
  • Code D Area: 1152 sqft / 107 sqm

Related Links

Sailing Leopard Catamaran –  Abandon ship in the British Virgin Islands
Satori Boat Tour – Boat Tour – 1989 Morgan 44 Center Cockpit
Leopard Catamarans  – www.leopardcatamarans.com

Video Song Credits

Intro Song – Carribean Cuisine 4 – Magnus Ringblom

00:12 – Funtime Poppy 3 – Örjan Karlsson

00:50 – Acoustic Summer Ragga 5 – Örjan Karlsson

02:08 – Pep In My Step 2 – Per-Anders Nilsson

02:41 – Fever Pitch 02 – Håkan Eriksson

03:56 – Neighbours Argue 3 – Magnus Ringblom

05:15 – Get Comfortable 1 – Joachim Nilsson

06:12 – A Horse Called Toto 2 – Björn Skogsberg

08:17 – Carved In Stone (Instrumental Version) – Sven Karlsson

10:30 – The Royal Gardens – Magnus Ringblom

Download these songs for free at Epidemic Sound

Video Transcription

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