Lagoon 51 Review

In this review, we try to understand why on The British Yachting Awards 2022 the sailing catamaran Lagoon 51 became Multihull of the Year immediately in the year of its world premiere. Also, why it is recognized as the most environmentally friendly cat, and how it differs or is similar to its predecessor.

Presenting their new catamaran at the world premiere at La Grande Motte Multihull Show 2022, VPLP Design stated that when designing the Lagoon 51 sailboat, they aimed for the perfect combination of modern shapes and sail plan with comfortable and spacious living space on deck and in the hulls, which is unmatched by other boats of this size.

Lagoon Catamarans prepared for this premiere for two years, but, having overcome planetary problems, showed the sailing world a boat that best meets modern trends in yachting: performance, comfort in driving and life on board, minimal damage to nature. The developers claim that they took into account the many wishes of Lagoon fans, while fully preserving the DNA of this line of catamarans.

Seaworthiness is not sacrificed for increased comfort, but rather enhanced by a change in sail plan, which in turn was made possible by moving the mast far forward compared to the Lagoon 50.

Compared to its predecessor, the Lagoon 51, which is almost a meter shorter, has a displacement of almost a ton less. This is a significant achievement that improves handling and maneuverability by reducing the wetted surface area of the hulls.

In addition, marine engineers have achieved such stability of the Lagoon 51, that it allowed to install a mast 3 meters longer than on the model 50. Together with the repositioning of the mast, this provides a shift in the center of sail and allows you to increase the overall area of the sails in order to achieve high performance.

Read about the achievements in terms of "greening" the new catamaran in the section Advantages of Lagoon 51. But before that, take a look at impressive technical characteristics of this double-hulled sailboat.

Features of Lagoon 51

Virtual tour

Review of Lagoon 51 by TopRik Team

The topRik team leader saw the Lagoon 51 catamaran for the first time at the world premiere in 2022. Yacht builders were just recovering from several difficult years of inactivity. But as it turned out, Lagoon Catamarans with eminent naval architect Bruno Belmont, who is called Monsieur Lagoon, and the VPLP group design founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost, put these years to good use. The result of their cooperation was a new 15-meter sailing cat, which surpassed its predecessor in many ways. Already now, by the number of applications, it is clear that Lagoon 51 has avoided the sad fate of a simple copy of the previous model of the same line.

Well Met

This is how we first saw the new Lagoon 51. Already at first glance it was clear that this was a completely different engineering and architectural solution, although, of course, Lagoon's DNA could be recognized in these new outlines.

While reviewing the render before the skipper left for the show, the topRik team noted this change to the transom ladder and platform. The render shows how easy it is to board the boat by extending the first step of the ladder.

These first steps can act as a beach on their own or together with a platform that can be lowered below the water surface. If the yacht is intended for families and the first steps of the gangway are enough for sunbathing and swimming, a motorboat, jet ski, surfboards or paddleboards can be loaded onto the platform.

But the most important changes that directly affected seaworthiness cannot be seen from the transom. To do this, you need to look at Lagoon 51 from the sides or from above. And then you will notice that this is practically a different boat, because the main thing in a sailboat, even such a luxurious and comfortable one, is its sailing plan. And just look how far forward the mast is on the new model compared to the model 50!

We already mentioned, how relocation of the mast affected the performance of the Lagoon 51. We only want to add that now you can also add 101 m² Code 0 to your sail plan. Fans of the wind in their hair under sail have appreciated that, judging by the growing number of applications for this catamaran.

By the way, in order to appreciate the additional advantages of this mast arrangement, let's go up to the cockpit, and then to the saloon.

Cockpit and Saloon

Why did we combine these two zones, although we previously described them separately? Because the developers combined them almost into a single zone. You can easily accommodate much more than the 12 people declared by the manufacturer in the huge space of the cockpit with a large folding table, cozy sofas along the transom and along the boards. For a light snack in the fresh air, you can use the grill in the cockpit, drinks from the refrigerator, and there is also a sink right there - this is part of the Lagoon's classic design.

Due to the complex sliding parts of the transparent structure located in the opening leading from the cockpit to the saloon, you can divide these two zones, combine them or, by moving only the sliding door from the galley side, create a bar counter and distribute ready-made dishes from the saloon to the cockpit as shown in the photo below.

Here we also observe one of the signs of Lagoon 's DNA - a galley spaced on both sides. An abundance of refrigerators and freezers, a stove and an oven, a sink, a faucet with fresh and sea water, including heated ones, and even a wine cellar. More lockers and shelves would be great, - that’s the opinion of some of our crewmen. Of course, a large folding table, which can be transformed into a bed, satisfied everyone – it’s very useful if you have guests from the shore who are staying overnight or if the yacht is intended for charter voyages. Luxurious soft sofas and pouffes around the table are always a safe bet too.

Once again, we pay attention to the high-class features of the of Lagoon catamarans - most of the corners of the furniture are rounded or covered with soft pads. And the choice of natural white oak veneer adds more light to this already light-filled area. Both the large sliding door and the portholes around almost the entire perimeter of the cabin do an excellent job with illumination. Natural lighting instead of lamps most of the day and natural ventilation with fresh air instead of air conditioning are also signs of the high level of comfort that the shipyard provides to its fans. Although air conditioners, of course, can also be installed, but they perform more of a temperature control function.

And yet we felt that something was missing. Somehow this empty spacious table was poorly associated with Lagoon. Until, finally, someone realized that we expected to see a mast sticking out in the middle of the table, as in the Lagoon 50, as is in the photo below.

While the eaters were looking at the galley and checking how comfortably 8 people could sit at the table, the skipper, as usual, went to the helm station behind the skipper's table and silently pointed at the mast, which was trying to hide behind the back of the sofa. Of course, he found it faster than anyone - after all, he had already seen this boat a year ago, at the premiere. We boarded it for the first time in order to study all its strengths and weaknesses before offering it to our clients. But you must admit, what a significant difference in the interior! By the way, the same 12 people can freely accommodate in the cabin, and if necessary, even more.

The skipper's table here is very solid with a full range of navigational equipment and an excellent panoramic view. As always, the shipyard respects the possible preferences of the yacht’s CEO: it does not throw out the skipper's table, does not hide the panel behind the partition, but places it closer to the kitchen, dining table and soft sofa.

I wonder how this mast location affects the view from the control post from the helm? I remember that on the Lagoon 50 the view was partially blocked by both the mast itself and part of the sail.

On Flybridge at the Helm

To get at the helm, you need to go on deck and climb one of the ladders leading to the flybridge. Yes, there are separate stairs for passengers and crewmen. So far, we have no time for rest, so let's climb the "working" stairs. This is, of course, a joke - both ladders are equal and you can climb both to the steering wheel and to the recreation area. Pay attention to the width of the decks.

We were ready for what we saw as our captain showed us photos from the exhibition before. And since he is most interested in technical aspects, the steering post was filmed from a very close distance.

As you can see, everything is thought out, everything is at arm's length: a panel behind the helm with all indicators and navigation equipment, a solid throttle lever, winches. You can see part of the seat, which we tested on our cat. Indeed, it is very comfortable, adjustable in height and in width, designed for 3 people, who can accommodate quite freely here.

On Flybridge in the Recreation Area

It is a wonderful place that occupies most of the roof and is a zone for sunbathing, relaxing or dining in the fresh air. A large table is surrounded on three sides by sofas with soft pillows. All this is securely fenced with handrails and is located behind the helmsman. This decision also does not coincide with the 50th cat, where the sunbathing area on the roof, although located behind the helmsman, is devoid of barriers and is just a combination of 3-4 sunbeds, which is safe to use only during stops, in our opinion.

On Lagoon 51, this part of the flybridge is sure to become one of the favorite places during the cruise, which is not surprising: cushy seats, fresh breeze and magnificent panoramic view fit great together.

Before inspecting the cabins, let's go to the bow. Watch out there! No, there is no danger for you, the we are talking about hatches covers. They are built flush into the deck, so you can't injure yourself, but you can scratch the hatch itself. They provide air to the rooms located in the floats.

On the Foredeck

We are already tired of counting how many people you can invite to a party on Lagoon 51, but new opportunities have opened up on the foredeck. Just look at this sofa with sun loungers and a table with holders for glasses and bottles! Here you can sunbathe, stock up on soft drinks and meet the sunset in a pleasant company over cocktails.

The bowsprit allows, along with the shifted mast, to improve the sailing plan, as we have already discussed earlier. And in the photo above you see hatches in the forepeak, where, depending on the needs of the owner of the yacht, you can organize compartments for storing fenders and marine equipment or cabins for the crew.

By the way, about the cabins. It’s time to go down and look at them, since one of our experts, yes, the 2-meter high one, spotted two more sunbeds on the roof right in front of the mast – that adds additional seats for passengers. At this point, according to our calculations, there is enough space for an Oscar afterparty!

By the way, pay attention to the excellent organization of the halyards and sheets brought to the winches from the sails. As you can see, the helm station and seating area are protected from the rain by a hard bimini.

In Cabins and Other Areas Below Deck

By other places, we, in particular, meant the technical compartment located in the cockpit (we returned there to go to the cabins from the saloon). There, as expected, there were Yanmar engines of 80 HP each with easy service access.

It should be noted right away that due to the raising of the saloon, the space below deck was also increased, which made it possible to increase the height of the cabins so that you don’t need to bend down even when entering the door. This does not apply to our giant - he is used to keeping his head down when passing through all the doors. By the way, he spoke well of the separate shower cabin, where he never hit his elbows on the walls. Indeed, we are talking about a boat with 3 cabins and three separate bathrooms, which we surveyed this time.

The architects offer several versions of the configuration of cabins - with 3, 4, 5 and 6 cabins. In the 3-cabin version, one hull is traditionally dedicated entirely to the owner's cabin. The master cabin has a sleeping area, a small "study" with a table, as well as a fairly spacious bathroom. Imagine that you are

Now turn your head to the other side and look towards the bathroom. At the same time, evaluate the place where you are standing: a soft sofa, a table with a padded stool, a large closet and shelves - there is quite enough storage space here.

Take into account the large number of portholes on the sides and hatches in the ceiling. Remember, we have already talked about this: a lot of natural light and the possibility of natural ventilation.

The 4-cabin option is available in 2 types - with 4 or 3 separate bathrooms. In 3-bathroom case, an additional room can be used for storage or can be equipped with bunk bed.

In the layout below you can see berths and bathrooms planning in the 6-cabin version:

The aft and bow cabins in the various latest versions also have excellent lighting and fresh air through the hatches in the portholes or skylights, equipped with twitching curtains.

As you can see, everywhere there are large double beds, shelves, gentle lighting on the ceiling, lighting fixtures above the headboard.

Advantages of Lagoon 51

As always, before talking about the advantages of Lagoon 51, we note the disadvantages that were expressed by individual experts. Most of them were concerned by the lack of space for storing kitchen utensils. These were yachtsmen with experience in commercial voyages with a large number of passengers on board. If the number of shelves and cabinets in the galley matters to you, you can consult our marketplace specialists on this topic – we know how to solve this problem.

Otherwise, we found that the Lagoon 51 sailing catamaran fully meets the modern requirements for high performance cruising catamarans, especially when you consider the optional equipment options.

1. Excellent seaworthiness under sail due to lightweight design, shifted to the bow of the mast, overlapping genoa and shorter rig. The topRik team managed to achieve speeds of up to 8 knots with the engines running at 2200 rpm. And we appreciated the well-organized layout of the halyards and sheets, which converge at the helm station, when we raised the sails. With code 0, we hit 8 knots per hour, but to be honest, throughout most our journey we weren’t even reaching 7 knots.
2. Safety and quality. We have combined these two indicators because one follows from the other. Due to the careful selection of marine equipment, sailing equipment, including rigging and fittings, the Lagoon 51 catamaran is reliable for long-distance autonomous navigation. When making the hulls, both time-tested technologies and innovative materials were used. Along with fiberglass, hemp fiber was used, and solar panels were used to power the equipment.
3. Comfort in management and life on board. This has become the main task of the developers of the new model. We assure that the comfort conditions for the skipper and crew, as well as the many amenities for the passengers of the catamaran did not reduce its reliability and were not developed to the detriment of its excellent seaworthiness. The freedom to move around decks, saloon and cockpit, flybridge and cabins gives you the feeling of being on a much larger boat. The feel of the superyacht is complemented by the magnificent furniture finish with natural white oak veneer, as well as the use of natural textiles and leather.
4. The most environmentally friendly project. The commitment to sustainability has already become a hallmark of Bruno Belmont’s projects. On Lagoon 51, he installed 3,020-watt solar panels that power almost everything except the air conditioning. We wrote about the use of hemp fibers above; sails are made from recycled materials also. Bruno Belmont wants to ensure that his boats do not leave a hydrocarbon footprint in the world's oceans.
5. First catamaran with Seanapps. This application simplifies the management of the boat and its maintenance. You can put in it a maintenance schedule for all equipment and it will follow its execution. Through this application, you can remotely check the fuel level, battery charge, etc.

Reviews of Lagoon 51 from Professionals

Check out the best articles we could find on this spectacular catamaran – coming from famous Rupert Holmes with his nonchalant style, insightful commentary of Zuzana Prochazka and reliable team from Sail-World Cruising.

Rupert Holmes Article

The title of Rupert’s review has he words “surprisingly fun to sail” – already very telling. Him and his team were using Code 0 and genoa as they sailed at 8 knots with 10-12 knots of true wind. Author says the boat responds to helm well and you can sail into an anchorage on it like it’s some agile monohull.

It is even possible to set sail without using the engines at all thanks to 3kW solar panels, which allows to power the windlass, fridge and freezer, but not air conditioning or water heating.

The vessel is built somewhat differently compared to previous models – instead of longitudinal beam the rig now sits in front of the coach roof due to mast moved forward. Thanks to this you get the gear such as large roach mainsail and 120% overlapping headsail. Sure, self-tacking headsails can’t be used now, but you can tack a genoa even alone. Designer from VPLP, Vincent Laurent Prévost, says that this way it is easier to go over the waves if you are sailing upwind. Keels also were moved forward to maintain balance and the aft platform are now bigger, giving more social area and allowing to reduce pitching.

Windward, with true wind slightly under 55°, the boat was able to achieve 5.5 knots with only 7-8 wind knots. With increased angle of 70-75° the speed grew to 6-6.5 knots and you can even get full seven if you deploy code 0 at TWA of 110-115°.

When it comes to interiors, Rupert is sure that three main areas on the upper deck of the vessel are the key benefit of the design, and called internal accommodations “huge”, offering air conditioning, fully equipped galley, incredible worktop space and plenty of storage.

Make sure to check out this great review in full, following the link above.

Zuzana Prochazka Article

The author starts comparing this vessel to Lagoon 50 – they are both designed by VPLP, built on the same hull, but the bridge deck is not as thick and new model is 2000 pounds lighter.

Sea testing results were similar to previous review, with a note that the propulsion option includes two 80 HP Yanmar engines that are able of achieving 8 knots at 2700 RPM.

Zuzana said that outdoor spaces were optimized: the flybridge now has three distinct areas thanks to mast moved forward, helm station has sheet bins with the elements of the dash are conveniently placed, and you get a C-shaped dinette aft which is perfect for gatherings. Twin staircases help with traffic flow on board and the crows will never be disappointed with size of the cockpit.

Inside the saloon looks opposite to model 50 thanks to new finish – light white oak Alpi. Such amenities as three-burner Eno stove, two Isotherm refrigerator drawers and others allow multiple cooks to work at the same time.

The author sums up by reminding that Lagoon managed to build whopping 6000 units overall, including 300 hulls of previous Lagoon 50. And Lagoon 51 will likely do as well if not better both among charter and private owners.

Sail-World Cruising Article

The article starts from acknowledging improved circulation on board Lagoon 51 and the layout of the vessel is called “amazing”.

VPLP tried their best to design a boat that has unparalleled amount of space both on deck and inside compared to other yachts of this size. When it comes to flybridge, the occupied area grew to 80% of the roof and has two large sunpads, convenient modular seating areas. Two stairs were also mentioned here as well as extended transoms. Nauta Design, when talking about saloon, proudly said that it offers best possible 360° panoramic view.

When it comes to solar panels, Lagoon truly outdone themselves this time. XXL panels provide 3400 watts, that are fitting well into the visual design of the hull and are not a nuisance for the passengers at all, even for those at flybridge and sunpads on the roof.

Overall, this boat is incredibly environmentally friendly. You get fiberglass replaced by hemp and biosourced resin wherever possible, option of upholstery made of recycled fabric, completely ecological and biodegradable cleaning products shipped as standard, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Alpi wood.

And with Seanapps, smart toolbox for boat management, you will have no problem checking on engines, battery charge, and any internal system of the yacht, which allows you to automate most of the maintenance operations.

Video Reviews of Lagoon 51

As always, we also got some video footage for you.

Yachting World made a 15-minute review of the yacht at the sea, which we highly recommend:

Interior review of the Lagoon 51 with great commentary from the Boat Show:

Quick showcase of the yacht, also under sail, by Multihulls World:

Walkthrough, no commentary, Cannes 2022:

At last, another walkthrough from TMG Yachts, providing a lot of useful information about various features:

Conclusion

We took our time to check out the new catamaran from Lagoon Catamarans and recommend the Lagoon 51 double hull sailboat for those sailors who want to:

• provide their family with a safe vacation in the middle of the sea in complete comfort, with safe food and excellent conditions for a good rest, swimming and sunbathing;
• sail regularly with close friends in the comfort of a superyacht without losing yacht management skills;
• take a trip alone into the ocean, take of the sailing rigging alone or switch to engines when needed, and then, after a refreshing shower, relax in comfort or dine al fresco;
• have a special moment with your significant other, in the sea and under sails, not caring about anything else in the world;
• explore new places on the coast or islands;
• to establish or expand the business: providing charter services or catamaran rental services.

We drew such conclusions from our own experience, since we assessed the seaworthiness of Lagoon 51 as quite high, but at the same time we were convinced that an experienced skipper could definitely handle this boat alone.

Price calculator

Where to Buy Lagoon 51 at a Bargain Price

If you are already here, you already know where to buy Lagoon 51 at a bargain price. Our consultants are experts in yachting, because they are not ordinary salesmen, but active yachtsmen themselves. All of them have experience of long-range autonomous navigation on single-hull and multi-hull sailboats and motor yachts. Therefore, your questions will always receive competent and comprehensive answers.

We will find out in detail how you see YOUR Lagoon 51 catamaran, and we will select a boat for you in the configuration that you need.

TopRik marketplace employees will take care of all the hassle and difficult moments associated with the purchase of Lagoon 51:

• we will negotiate with the manufacturer or dealer;
• we will select a cat that exactly meets your requirements;
• we will issue all the necessary documents for the purchase and delivery of a catamaran, including customs;
• we will deliver the yacht to the agreed, convenient place for you;
• if necessary, we will take the catamaran for maintenance;
• according to your order, we will provide the yacht with all the necessary equipment and accessories that are not supplied by the manufacturer: bed linen, table textiles, anti-slip mats, side ladders, etc.

Trust us - and you will avoid the upsell of unnecessary accessories, and most importantly - buy Lagoon 51 at a price that suits you.

For a free preliminary consultation, use the phone number listed on this page or send us a text message through the website's feedback system.