Think about how many times a day someone steps on or off your boat. Guests arriving, groceries coming aboard, kids going swimming, a line being taken at a strange dock at dusk. Lagoon clearly thought about it too, because the headline change on the Lagoon 43 is not the sail plan — it is an additional aft entryway built into each hull, so getting aboard stops being a shuffle around the transom and becomes a step.
That is a small idea with a large effect on how the boat feels in daily use, and it sits inside a 45'5" catamaran that has been shortlisted for multiple industry awards since launch.
Who the Lagoon 43 Is For
She suits owners who want one boat to do several jobs. Lagoon rates her berths from six to thirteen, with a CE certification of A : 12 - B : 14 - C : 20 - D : 30, and offers four interior arrangements: three cabins, three cabins plus a Pullman berth, four cabins, and four cabins plus a Pullman. That range means the same hull can be an owner's cruising boat for a couple or a full-house family and guest platform.
If you are moving up from a monohull in the low 40s, the 43 is the size where a catamaran stops feeling like a wide boat and starts feeling like a floating house that also sails.
Layout and Accommodation
The three-cabin owner's version is the arrangement most private buyers should look at first. The owner's cabin gets a generous forward berth with an en suite head and the shower compartment aft — the same split that makes larger yachts livable — and Lagoon specifically engineered the layout to keep engine noise out of that space.
Lagoon's new hull form is what pays for all of this. Every cabin gained dimensions over the outgoing design, with larger berths across the board rather than just in the owner's suite. Nauta Design handled the interior; the four-cabin and Pullman versions push her toward thirteen berths for families who genuinely travel in numbers.
Deck and Living Spaces
The saloon and cockpit are designed as modular space rather than two rooms. You can open them into a single continuous living area with a dining arrangement that comfortably seats twelve, or configure the boat for six place settings and keep the rest as lounging space. This is the feature that decides how the boat feels at anchor with people aboard, and Lagoon gave you the ability to change your mind.
Patrick le Quément drew the exterior, and the added aft entryways are integrated into his lines rather than cut into them. There is a flybridge helm above, which gives you a working view of the sail plan and of the anchorage.
Under Sail and Under Power
VPLP Design is the naval architect. Upwind sail area is 105 m² (1,130 sq ft), carried on a high-roach mainsail at 60 m² (646 sq ft) with a square-top mainsail at 68 m² (732 sq ft), and a furling genoa at 37 m² (398 sq ft). A Code 0 at 73 m² (785 sq ft) is available for light air.
Note the headsail: the 43 uses a furling genoa rather than a self-tacking jib, unlike her smaller sisters. That is a real handling difference. You get more drive and better shape control, and you pay for it with a sheet to handle on every tack. If you sail mostly on long reaches it will never bother you; if your cruising ground has you tacking up a channel twice a day, factor it in.
Air draft is 21.31 m (69'11"), which needs checking against any fixed bridges on your route. Under power, twin Yanmars at 2 x 57 HP give a maximum of 9 knots (under power), with 7-8 knots (under sail/power) as the cruising figure.
Systems and Build
Fuel capacity is 151 gal (570 L) and fresh water is a genuinely useful 166 gal (630 L) — one of the strongest arguments for the 43 over the smaller boats in the range, because it is the difference between planning your week around a water dock and not thinking about it. Lagoon backs her with a 7-year structural warranty, a 5-year engine warranty on the Yanmars and a 3-year general warranty, all with exclusions to review with your dealer.
Specifications
| Specification | Lagoon 43 |
|---|---|
| Overall Length | 45'5" (13.85 m) |
| Beam | 25'3" (7.69 m) |
| Draft | 4'4" (1.31 m) |
| Displacement (Unladen) | 30,644 lbs (13,900 kg) |
| Engines | Twin Yanmar (2 x 57 HP) |
| Max Speed | 9 knots (under power) |
| Cruise Speed | 7-8 knots (under sail/power) |
| Fuel Capacity | 151 gal (570 L) |
| Water Capacity | 166 gal (630 L) |
| Cabins / Heads | 3-4 Cabins / 2-4 Heads |
| Hull Type | Sailing Catamaran |
Honest Trade-Offs
She draws 4'4" (1.31 m), the deepest of the small Lagoons. That is six inches more than the Lagoon 38, and six inches is the entire margin on some of the shoal anchorages people buy catamarans to reach. If thin water is your reason for going multihull, compare charts before you compare boats.
The furling genoa is the other honest note. It is the better sail; it is not the easier sail. A couple can absolutely manage it, but tacking is a two-action job rather than one.
Thirteen berths is a number to treat with respect. The 43 can carry that many people, and her galley, heads and 166 gal (630 L) of water will feel it when she does. Most owners will be happier cruising her at eight.
At 45'5" by 25'3" she needs a real catamaran slip. That is normal for the class, and it still means calling ahead in season.
Living With Her
The reason to choose a 43 over something larger is that she stays an owner-operated boat. No professional crew is required — twin 57 HP engines set wide on a 25'3" beam will walk her into a slip on throttles alone, and the flybridge helm gives you the visibility to do it without a spotter. The added aft entryways make single-handed line handling markedly less athletic, which is exactly when good design earns its keep.
For maintenance, get into both engine spaces on your sea trial and reach for the filters and the seacocks yourself. Then look at the water system, because with 166 gal (630 L) aboard the pumps and plumbing on this boat get used harder than on a smaller catamaran.
She is the size where a cruising catamaran becomes genuinely comfortable without becoming somebody else's job. That is a narrow window, and the 43 sits right in the middle of it.