Windelo 50

It is a hybrid, and that matters

Windelo builds no combustion-only model, so the Windelo 50 sits naturally alongside electric boats — but a buyer should be clear that a 17.9 kW diesel generator and 500 litres of fuel are standard equipment, not options. The 53.8 kWh battery against a 40 kW drive would give roughly an hour and a quarter of motoring at full output, which for a 50-foot bluewater catamaran is nowhere near enough on its own. This is a sailing boat whose auxiliary power is electric and whose electricity is topped up by solar, hydrogeneration under sail, and diesel when those fall short. Anyone shopping for a fossil-fuel-free boat should know that before enquiring.

The construction is the real argument

Eleven thousand two hundred kilograms is light for a 15 m cruising catamaran; comparable boats in this band frequently weigh half again as much. That is where Windelo's recycled and bio-sourced composite work earns its keep, because low displacement is what makes the electric drive, the hydrogeneration and the solar budget add up rather than being decoration. It is also what supports the yard's performance claims.

Practical caveats

The 7.95 m beam is generous even by catamaran standards, and it will cost you at every marina and haul-out for the life of the boat — budget for it. The price is quoted excluding VAT, which on a €1.195m boat is a material addition, and it is a base figure: catamarans of this type are configured extensively, and the sailaway number will be higher.