The interior is so spacious it feels like your own floating island. But the sail plan allows you to move around even in light winds
by Niccolò Volpati
When I stepped aboard the Thira 80, Fountaine Pajot’s latest (and largest) catamaran, I felt like I was in a villa by the sea. The success of multihulls – both sail and power – in recent years has been based on this quality. There is plenty of space.
Owners can select furniture and palettes to suit their personal style, with upholstery options from the distinguished Pierre Frey range.
The solar panels, including those integrated in the windows, can generate 8.2 kW.
The space available is not comparable to that of a monohull. Figures may help, but they do not explain everything. The overall length is just one centimetre short of the crucial 24-metre certification mark, while the breadth is more than eleven metres. Every conceivable activity on board can be carried out outdoors, in the air, indoors or on the water. There are two cockpits, and the foredeck area is so large that it has been fitted out as a second cockpit. It is equipped with a sundeck, a living area, sofas, a bar cabinet and a Jacuzzi. At the stern, there is a large dining table in addition to the sofas. The sides fold down to create two furnished terraces on the water and a submersible aft platform.
The interior options are numerous: the owner can choose between four, five or six cabins and whether the galley is on the lower deck or in the saloon.
Additional open-air space is provided by the flybridge, which houses two wheels and winches, as well as living and dining areas and a galley. But cruising is not just about relaxing. It is also about having fun. The Berret-Racoupeau design team, which oversaw the entire project, created two large lockers. One in the bow for paddleboards and the other in the stern for a jet ski. Launching is child’s play thanks to an extendable system that makes it easy to move the jet ski onto the submersible bathing platform and from there into the water.
The total sail area of 496 square metres guarantees good performance even in light winds.
Fountaine Pajot has not neglected sustainability. There are many solar panels, both on the top of the flybridge and on the side extensions. Usually, the problem with solar panels is that they take up space and do not let light through. But Fountaine Pajot has used innovative panels which are set into the glass itself, so that you can produce renewable energy but still get natural light inside the boat. The panels on the Thira 80 can produce a total of as much as 8.2 kW, so the air conditioning can be left on all night, perhaps while at anchor, without the need for a generator. For the interiors, the main decision that a buyer has to make involves the location of the galley. The “galley up” version has it inside the saloon and so close to the dining and living areas, and has the advantage of 360 views. Whereas with the “galley down” version it’s on the lower deck, in the area that connects the two hulls. That means you have more room on the main deck for the living area.
The deck is so wide that there are two cockpits, the traditional one at the stern and another at the bow. The Thira 80 is the largest catamaran ever built by Fountaine Pajot.
Luxury cruising means space (and there is plenty of it) and entertainment. There is room for a jet ski in the stern and space for SUP boards in the bow.
As expected, there are plenty of options for the accommodation area. The master suite version has four cabins, a number that rises to six for the charter set-up. And finally, we have to look at the sail plan, and shouldn’t forget the fact that the Thira 80 is wind-powered. With suite-like cabins, the jet ski garage, the solar panels and the flybridge you might think that it was a powered boat, but it isn’t. The Thira 80 has a keel-stepped mast and around 500 square metres of sail which should ensure good performance under sail even with light winds. You steer from the flybridge, where there are two wheels and all of the rigging, and you have good sightlines, both fore and aft. In the saloon, there is an indoor helm station with a joystick and large display panels.
FOUNTAINE PAJOT S.A.
Z.I. 17290 Aigrefeuille, Francia
[email protected]
www.catamarans-fountaine-pajot.com
PROGETTO
Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design
SCAFO
Lunghezza f.t. 23,99m • Baglio massimo 11,09m • Pescaggio 1,98m • Dislocamento a secco 65.200 kg • Serbatoio acqua 1.600 l • Serbatoio carburante 2.400 l • Sup. velica totale 496 m2 • Sup. velica randa 200 m2 • Sup. velica genoa 140 m2 • Motore standard 2×175 cv
CERTIFICAZIONE CE
CAT A
PREZZO
A partire da 6.000.000 € più Iva. In configurazione armatoriale 7.400.000 € più Iva (Febbraio 2025)
(Fountaine Pajot Thira 80 – Infinite space – Barchemagazine.com – Excerpted from Barche, February 2025)
