Getting from the saloon to the front of your own boat should not mean going outside and around. On the Bali 4.2 it is a door. The galley and saloon open directly onto the forward cockpit, so the foredeck dining area stops being somewhere you go out to and becomes the next room along. That is the single decision this boat is built around, and it is the reason to step up to it from the two compact models below.
Above it sits a flybridge. Around it, 852 sq ft of usable deck on a 42'2" hull, arranged across four distinct areas — the rigid forward cockpit, the saloon, the aft deck and the flybridge.
Who It's For
The 4.2 is the smallest boat in the range that carries Bali's full layout argument, and it is aimed at the owner who wants that architecture without moving up to a mid-forties boat. If you cruise in real weather, or with young children, the forward cockpit becomes a room you can supervise from the galley — which is a different proposition from a foredeck you have to walk around to reach.
Every cabin has its own en-suite shower room and toilet, in both the three- and the four-cabin versions. That is what makes the four-cabin layout genuinely liveable rather than a charter compromise, and it is worth matching the choice to the truth about how often you actually fill the boat. Three cabins gives an owner a real private end. Four exists for charter and for families who need the berths.
Design and Layout
The foredeck is a rigid moulded platform rather than netting, and it carries sunbathing and lounging areas in its own right. Combined with the flybridge, the aft deck and the saloon, that gives 852 sq ft (79.2 m²) of usable surface — arranged so you can walk the whole boat without going around the outside of it. Circulation is the argument here, not raw square footage.
The saloon sits level with a spacious galley and is light-filled through large glazing. Aft, the tilting door opens the whole back wall to the cockpit. Forward, the dedicated access door onto the forward cockpit is what separates the 4.2 from the smaller boats in the range. The practical consequence is that the foredeck gets used at breakfast and in weather, not only on flat afternoons.
The aft deck takes a plancha grill and becomes an exterior saloon, which in practice is where the evening ends up. Cold storage runs to 336 liters of fridge and freezer.
She was designed by Olivier Poncin, with naval architecture by Xavier Faÿ and interiors by PIATON BERCO, and she is built by Catana.
On the Water
Two figures shape how she is used: a 4'0" (1.22 m) draft and a 23'2" (7.07 m) beam. Four feet is shallow for a 42-foot boat, and it is the number that decides which anchorages are open to you. The beam is what keeps the platform level when everybody 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. Auxiliary power is twin diesels, and the helm is on the flybridge, which keeps the person steering in sight of the whole boat and in the conversation.
Empty weight is 25,133 lbs against 36,372 lbs at maximum load, on 169 gal of fuel and 228 gal of water. Hull length is 40'1" and waterline length 40'3". CE certification is A: 10 / B: 12 / C: 24 / D: 28 persons.
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.
Living With It
The rigid foredeck removes an item from the maintenance list that most catamaran owners take for granted: there is no netting to inspect, tension or replace. What replaces it is a moulded structure and a door, and the door is the piece to be disciplined about. Exercise it fully at survey, check the seals and the drain paths, and put it into your annual inspection.
Beyond that the systems are conventional and accessible. Two diesels, ordinary electrics, nothing proprietary. Load is the thing to be honest about — 25,133 lbs empty against 36,372 lbs at maximum load is real capacity, and it fills up faster than people expect once the tender, the toys and the provisions are aboard.
Where to Start
Buy the 4.2 for the door. It is the reason to step up from the Catspace, and going from that boat to this one buys about 95 sq ft more usable deck, a foot and nine inches more beam, and a foredeck you reach from inside.
Cross-shop it against the low-forties cruising cats where most first serious catamaran purchases happen. 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.
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