It's a somewhat difficult conundrum for the Catamaran industry. When shoppers look at boats they generally make comparisons based on size (ie: a 40 footer to another 40 footer) When folks make the transition from mono to cat, they often have it set in their mind to look at the various cats in comparison to their mindset with mono's they are familiar with (ie: a 40 ft mono to a 40 ft cat) when a better comparison would be a 48 ft mono to a 42 ft cat) This is where the real conundrum come in. In an effort to make the value comparison, a manufacturer has to strike a balance between 'finish level' and 'keeping the cost as low as possible'. When one is shopping for a 42 foot cat and the price is up to 20% more than a comparable 48 ft mono, that's probably represents the high end of the premium he's willing to pay. Much more than 20% and he's not likely to purchase the cat - so in an effort to keep the costs within that range - something is going to suffer and the level of 'finish' is one likely place it'll turn up. If the manufacturer ‘finishes’ at a highe level, then both the costs and weights are going to creep up to the point of the vessel becoming priced out of the range of it’s targeted market.
Example: A well appointed 5 year old Oyster 485
2003 Oyster 485 Oyster 485 Voile Bateau à Vendre - www.yachtworld.fr will price out in the $700-$800,000 range. A well appointed 5 year old Alliaura Privilege 485
2003 Alliaura Privilège 485 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com will price out in the $1.5-1.6 million dollar range - about double the price. So if one looks at the two based on a simple size comparison then the Privilege would be outrageously over priced in comparison to the Oyster. But when one does a comparison of the Oyster 485 with a more appropriate Privilege 435
2003 Privilege 435 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com then the comparisons become a bit more linnear.
The bottom line is Multi’s cost more. About 30% more on the low end of the finish spectrum, and about 20% more on the high end of the finish spectrum (ie better value as you scale up). A $750,000 48 foot mono is going to feel quite posh. A $750,000 48 ft cat is going to feel rather sparten in comparison, but a $750,00 43 footer will (on average) approach the level of ‘posh’ of the 48 foot mono. Just as it took time to learn the difference between the Hallberg Rassy’s & Oysters of the mono world vs the Beneteau’s & Jeanneau’s; one also has to learn the different levels of boat in the cat world, as they aren’t all created equal and their histories are comparatively shorter.