Catamaran vs Monohull: Which Should You Charter?

It's the first real decision of any charter: one hull or two? The honest answer is that both are excellent — they just deliver very different holidays. A catamaran is a stable, spacious floating villa; a monohull is a leaner, cheaper, purer sailing machine. Here's how to tell which one your crew actually wants.

The short version

• Catamaran for space, stability, shallow anchorages, and crews who value comfort and lounging as much as sailing. Best for families, mixed-ability groups and anyone prone to seasickness.
• Monohull for lower cost, easier marina berths, the feel of "proper" sailing, and smaller or more budget-conscious crews.

Browse the current catamaran fleet and monohull fleet to see live prices side by side — the gap is often the clincher.

Space and comfort

This is where catamarans win outright. Two hulls plus a bridgedeck give you:

• A vast saloon and cockpit on one level, usually flowing together — the social heart of the boat.
• Cabins tucked in separate hulls, so couples get real privacy and noise separation.
• A big flat foredeck and often a flybridge for sunbathing and sundowners.
• Bathrooms (heads) that feel like actual bathrooms.

A monohull of the same length has maybe 60–70% of the living space, and it's all curved, tilted and tighter. A 45-foot cat can feel roomier than a 50-foot monohull below decks.

Stability

A catamaran barely heels — it sails flat. For nervous sailors, older guests, small children or anyone who's been queasy before, that flat, stable platform is transformative. At anchor, cats roll far less than monohulls, so you sleep better in an exposed bay.

Monohulls heel by design, sometimes to 15–20 degrees under sail. Experienced sailors love it; first-timers sometimes clutch the rail. If your crew includes wobbly legs, lean cat.

The sailing itself

Here the monohull answers back. A monohull:

• Points higher upwind and feels more connected and responsive on the helm.
• Heels, which many sailors consider the whole joyful point.
• Handles gusts more forgivingly — it spills wind by leaning rather than loading up.

A catamaran sails flat and fast off the wind, but points less well upwind and needs more attentive reefing, because it doesn't heel to warn you it's overpowered. For pure sailing romance, the monohull; for effortless flat-water passages, the cat.

Draft and anchoring

Catamarans draw far less water — often around 1.2 metres versus 2+ metres for a comparable monohull. That lets you:

• Tuck into shallow, sheltered bays a monohull can't reach.
• Anchor closer to the beach.
• Sit level when the tide drops in some spots.

In destinations like the British Virgin Islands or the shallow Bahamian-style anchorages, that shallow draft is a genuine advantage — one reason cats dominate the Caribbean charter fleet.

Cost — the big one

Catamarans cost meaningfully more, in three places:

Cost	Catamaran	Monohull
Weekly charter fee	~30–50% higher for similar length	Baseline
Marina berth	Charged for extra beam, often 1.5–2×	Standard
Fuel	Two engines, more windage — higher	Lower

The counterweight: a catamaran carries more people comfortably. Because our platform lets a group book the whole yacht and split the cost per person, spreading a four-cabin cat across eight guests often lands at a very reasonable per-head price — sometimes close to a smaller monohull shared among fewer people. Run the numbers with our guide to how much a yacht charter costs.

Marinas and handling

Monohulls slot into standard med-moor berths easily and are cheaper to park. Catamarans, with their wide beam, sometimes need an end berth or alongside space, which can be scarce in a packed August harbour — though they're wonderfully easy to manoeuvre under twin engines, spinning almost on the spot. Cats also anchor out more (thanks to that shallow draft and stability), which conveniently sidesteps the berth problem altogether.

A quick decision checklist

Choose a catamaran if you tick three or more:

• Family with young kids, or mixed sailing experience.
• Someone in the crew gets seasick.
• You want space to lounge, entertain and spread out.
• You're heading to shallow, anchor-heavy waters (BVI, Bahamas, Cyclades bays).
• Comfort matters as much as sailing, and the budget allows.

Choose a monohull if:

• Budget is the priority.
• You (or the skipper) love the feel of a heeling, responsive boat.
• The crew is smaller — say four to six.
• You'll marina-hop more than anchor out.

Still deciding between skippered and bareboat too? See bareboat, skippered or crewed.

Frequently asked questions

Is a catamaran better for seasickness? Generally yes. Catamarans sail flat and roll far less at anchor than monohulls, which makes a real difference for anyone prone to motion sickness or nervous about heeling.

Are catamarans harder to sail? Not to handle — twin engines make docking easy — but they demand more attentive sail trim and earlier reefing, because they don't heel to signal they're overpowered. Monohulls are more forgiving of gusts.

Why are catamarans more expensive to charter? Higher build cost, more accommodation, and roughly double the systems all push the weekly fee up 30–50%, and marinas charge more for the extra beam. Spread across a larger crew, though, the per-person cost can be very competitive.

Which is better for a family? A catamaran, in most cases — the space, stability, level decks and separate hulls for privacy suit families with children particularly well. See our family sailing guide.

Weigh them up for real: browse the catamaran fleet and the monohull fleet, gather your crew, and split the whole boat per person over on our yachts.