Fountaine Pajot: Everything You Need To Know

Maestro gives one hull to a full-beam owner's suite with a private head — the layout most private owners should choose. Quatuor carries four equal cabins for family or charter use. Fountaine Pajot offers both across the FP sailing range, and the larger boats extend the same idea, from owner's versions up to six and seven-cabin charter configurations.

Selectively. The power line carries published figures — an 18-knot cruise and 24-knot maximum on the FPY120, 13 and 22 knots on the FPY80 — and the FPY59S lists 10 knots under power. For most of the sailing range the yard publishes no maximum speed, so those rows on our specification tables stay empty rather than estimated; where we quote a cruise figure, it comes from a documented sea trial.

Beam, stability and draft. A catamaran carries far more usable deck and interior space per foot of length — the FPY80 puts a 36'5" beam on 78'8" and draws just 4'11", clearing shallow cruising grounds that exclude comparable monohulls. Form stability means less roll at anchor, where a cruising boat spends most of its hours.

Yes. The motor side of the yacht line runs from the FPY70 at 75'4" through the FPY80 — 78'8", up to 22 knots with the engine upgrade — to the FPY120, a 116'6" power catamaran superyacht. A power line joined the sailing catamarans in the mid-2000s and became a dedicated motor-yacht brand in 2013.

The FP models — FP41, FP44, FP48, FP51 and FP55 — are the sailing catamarans, 39'8" to 55'9", sized for owner operation. The FPY line is Fountaine Pajot Yachts, 59 to 120 feet, drawn with professional crew in mind and offered in sailing (S suffix) and power versions of the same platforms: FPY59S, FPY70 and FPY70S, FPY80 and FPY80S, and the FPY120 and FPY120S flagships.

A production run of more than 4,000 boats since 1976 gives Fountaine Pajot one of the deepest used markets in cruising catamarans — when it is time to sell, buyers know the brand and comparables exist. One caution at the top of the range: the largest FPY hulls are recent announcements rather than proven fleets, so the resale story there is still being written.

The sailing range through the FP51 is drawn for owner-operators — twin diesels set a full beam apart make close-quarters handling manageable for a couple. The FP55 straddles the line, with crew quarters available but no crew required. From the FPY59S up, the boats assume professional help: dedicated crew accommodation with circulation kept separate from the guest spaces.

The range runs 39'8" to 116'6". Entry is the FP41 sailing catamaran; the top is the FPY120 and FPY120S, a superyacht platform on a 48'7" beam offered under power or sail. In between, the FPY yacht line steps through 59, 70 and 80 feet in both propulsion versions.

Start at the FP51 — 52'2", 238 gallons each of fuel and water, and an owner's version with dedicated desk space, drawn for months aboard and remote work. Couples planning shorter seasons should look at the FP44 or FP48; the FP55 adds a flybridge and room for occasional professional help.

Yes. Every model in the new FP sailing generation is offered with hybrid propulsion, and the yard has stated a target of hybrid-electric availability across the whole catamaran fleet by 2030. Fountaine Pajot does not publish full system specifications for every model, so ask the yard for current figures in writing when specifying a build.

They were succeeded by the new FP generation, rolled out from 2025 and named by length: FP41 through FP55. The FP48, for example, replaces the Tanna 47. Several FPY models are renamed proven platforms too — the FPY59S reached the market as the Samana 59 and the FPY80S as the Thira 80 — so used listings will show both generations of names for years, and you need to know which generation you are pricing.

In western France. The yard settled at Aigrefeuille-d'Aunis, near La Rochelle, in 1978, and production now runs across four sites, with Aigrefeuille building the core range and La Rochelle the flagships. More than 4,000 boats have been delivered since the company's founding in 1976.