Bali Catamarans 5.2

The Bali 5.2 runs 53'10" (16.41 m) overall on a 26'9" (8.16 m) beam and draws 4'7" (1.40 m), with a light displacement of 47,270 lbs (21.4 t) and 67,720 lbs (30.7 t) at maximum load. Usable deck area is 1,241 sq ft (115.4 m²). Bali builds her in three, four, five or six cabins with a head for each, up to sixteen berths, and rates her CE approval A: 14 / B: 16 / C: 24 / D: 40. Aurélien Poncin conceived her, Xavier Faÿ drew the hull and Piaton Berco designed the interior.

Tankage is 317 gal (1,200 L) of fuel and 349 gal of water. The electrical architecture is the unusual part of the specification for a 54-footer: a 48-volt system with lithium storage and an optional 4,200 W solar array across the hardtop, sized to run induction cooking, air conditioning, refrigeration and a watermaker without starting a generator. Aft, a hydraulic platform folds down into a swim deck at the waterline.

Auxiliary power is twin Yanmar diesels, 57 HP standard with 115 HP on the option list. On 47,270 lbs (21.4 t) and a 26'9" (8.16 m) beam the larger pair is the one to specify if you dock in a crosswind or cruise where the trades blow hard through the winter.

The rig is set up to be sailed rather than motored. A 1,012 sq ft (94 m²) square-top mainsail sets over a 753 sq ft (70 m²) overlapping genoa, with a 1,130 sq ft (105 m²) Code 0 offered for light air, inside a maximum upwind area of 2,141 sq ft (199 m²). The overlapping genoa is the choice that shapes the sailing: it costs you a sheet on every tack and gives back drive to windward that a self-tacking jib cannot. Get observed burn at your intended cruising rpm in writing at sea trial and work your own passage numbers off 317 gal.

The tilting aft door is the whole idea, and everything on the main deck is arranged behind it. Raised, it merges the saloon and cockpit into one room: an XXL table seating up to twelve, a large L-shaped bench, a separate lounge corner, a U-shaped galley with overhead lockers and a double-door refrigerator, and a forward-facing chart table with the navigation electronics in front of the person using them. Above, the rooftop carries modular sun beds and the helm station, so whoever is steering is with everyone else rather than parked away from them.

Below, the modularity is real rather than nominal: three, four, five or six cabins, each with its own en-suite, sleeping up to sixteen. The four-cabin owner's versions use a fitted forepeak and trade berths for locker space and larger heads; the six-cabin arrangement exists for charter fleets that need every door to close. Forward, the rigid deck is a terrace on the water rather than a trampoline, and aft the hydraulic platform turns into a beach club for swimming and toys.

In Bali's range the 5.2 sits between the 47'0" 4.6 and the 57'11" 5.8, and it is the size at which the boat stops being a couple's cruiser and starts being a business case: six cabins, six heads, sixteen berths and a 48-volt system that can carry a full guest load without a generator running through dinner. Cross-brand it meets the Lagoon 51 Iconic (51'2"), the Fountaine Pajot FP51 (52'2") and the FP55 (55'9"). The Lagoon answers with three separate social zones and a genoa to trim; Bali's answer is one continuous main deck and 1,241 sq ft (115.4 m²) of usable deck to spread across.

This is your boat if the plan involves other people's money for part of the year and your own family for the rest, and you refuse to buy two different boats to do it. Specify the 115 HP engines and the 4,200 W solar array: together they are the difference between a week on the hook that stays quiet and one that reminds you there is a generator aboard. Take four cabins if the boat is mostly yours, and six only if a charter operator has told you in writing that the sixth cabin changes your rate. Settle where you will keep 26'9" (8.16 m) of beam before you settle anything else — that dimension decides which marinas are open to you, not the length. If you want a bigger rig and more sailing feel, the Lagoon 51 Iconic is the boat; if you want the same formula with a rooftop terrace and a master suite with a dressing room, step up to the 5.8.