Bali Catamarans 4.2

The Bali 4.2 is a sailing catamaran of 42'2" (12.86 m) overall on a 23'2" (7.07 m) beam, drawing 4'0" (1.22 m). Hull length is 40'1" and waterline length 40'3". Empty weight is 25,133 lbs, with displacement at maximum load of 36,372 lbs.

She was designed by Olivier Poncin, with naval architecture by Xavier Faÿ and interiors by PIATON BERCO, and she is built by Catana. Usable deck area is 852 sq ft (79.2 m²) across four distinct areas — the rigid forward cockpit, the saloon, the aft deck and the flybridge — linked by a door from the saloon straight onto the foredeck. Tankage is 169 gal of fuel and 228 gal of water, with 336 liters of fridge and freezer. Layouts are three cabins and three heads or four cabins and four heads, every cabin with its own en suite shower room and toilet, and CE certification is A: 10 / B: 12 / C: 24 / D: 28 persons.

Auxiliary power is twin diesels; the numbers that shape how she is used are the 4'0" draft and the 23'2" beam. Four feet is shallow for a 42-foot boat and it is the figure that decides which anchorages are available to you; the beam is what keeps the platform level when everyone moves to one side of it.

Under sail she carries 968 sq ft as standard, rising to 1,259 sq ft of maximum upwind sail area, on a hull drawn by Xavier Faÿ and built by Catana for stiffness through the nacelle. The helm is on the flybridge, which keeps the person steering in sight of the whole boat and in the conversation. At sea trial, work her onto and off a berth in a crosswind from the flybridge helm, confirm the foredeck door seals and drains under a hose before you accept the boat, and ask for observed fuel burn at your intended cruising rpm in writing so you can work your own numbers off the 169 gal tankage.

The saloon is light-filled and sits level with a spacious galley, and the two of them open forward onto the forward cockpit dining area through a dedicated access door. That door is what separates the 4.2 from the smaller boats in the range: the foredeck stops being a place you go out to and becomes the next room along, which means it gets used at breakfast and in weather, not only on flat afternoons.

Below, three- and four-cabin versions are offered and every cabin has its own en suite shower room and toilet, so the four-cabin layout carries two couples without anybody sharing. Outside, the flybridge and the rigid-decked forward cockpit both carry sunbathing and lounging areas, and the aft deck takes a plancha grill and turns into an exterior saloon — which in practice is where the evening ends up.

The 4.2 sits above the 40'5" Catspace and below the 44'3" 4.4, and it is the model where the full Bali architecture arrives: rigid foredeck, flybridge, and the saloon-to-foredeck door that the two compact models do without. Going from the Catspace to the 4.2 buys about 95 sq ft more usable deck, a foot and nine inches more beam, and that door.

Cross-brand it lands against the Fountaine Pajot FP44 at 43'6" and the Lagoon 42 Millenium — the low-forties cruising class where most first serious catamaran purchases happen. The Bali's argument there is circulation: 852 sq ft of deck arranged so you can walk the whole boat without going around the outside of it.

Choose the Bali 4.2 if you want the brand's full layout argument at the smallest length it is offered. The door onto the foredeck is the reason to step up from the Catspace, and it is worth stepping up for if you cruise in real weather or with young children, because it turns the forward cockpit into a room you can supervise from the galley. Every cabin having its own head makes the four-cabin version genuinely liveable rather than a charter compromise.

Match the layout to the truth about how often you fill the boat: three cabins gives an owner a real private end, four exists for charter and for families who need the berths. Be clear-eyed on load — 25,133 lbs empty against 36,372 lbs at maximum load, on 169 gal of fuel and 228 gal of water. If you want the same architecture with more sail and an owner's cabin sized up, the 44'3" 4.4 is the next step; if the foredeck door is not what you are buying, the Catspace does three outdoor zones for less boat.