The catamaran is the boat most bareboat crews want and the one that most often decides the budget. It is wider, flatter and brighter than the monohull with the same cabin count, it does not heel, and it costs meaningfully more both to charter and to berth. In the busiest weeks it is also the first thing gone from every fleet.
The premium, on one company's own figures
Sunsail publishes approximate British Virgin Islands figures that isolate it: about $3,500 for a low season seven day bareboat monohull against about $5,700 for a low season catamaran, and about $7,000 for a high season 42ft monohull against about $10,000 for a high season four cabin catamaran. That is a premium of roughly a third to a half for the same week in the same place.
Why it costs more to keep, not just to charter
A catamaran occupies close to two berths in a marina and is charged accordingly, carries two engines to service and fuel, and costs more to buy. Croatia Yachting prices this openly at its Trogir base, where a four cabin Bali Catspace read from 1.376 euro and a Lagoon 42 from 1.776 against a three cabin Hanse 415 from 752 at its Sibenik base. The berthing difference then follows you round the coast all week.
What the money buys a bareboat crew
Stability, which matters more without professional crew than with. Cooking under way is possible, people who do not sail are comfortable, and the cockpit holds everyone at once. Against that, a catamaran needs more thought to berth and more room to turn, and it sails less close to the wind. Crews who have chartered both usually find the catamaran easier to live on and the monohull easier to handle.
Booking one in the weeks people want
Catamaran availability in July and August is effectively settled the previous autumn, in every cruising ground in this record. A crew deciding in the spring is choosing from what is left, which tends to be older, larger than wanted, or at a less convenient base. If the catamaran is the point, book the hull first and fit your dates around it.
Questions people ask about bareboat catamaran charter
How much more is a bareboat catamaran than a monohull?
Roughly a third to a half. Sunsail publishes about $3,500 for a low season BVI bareboat monohull against about $5,700 for a low season catamaran, read on 11 September 2026.
Is a catamaran harder to handle bareboat?
Harder to berth and turn, easier to live on. It does not heel, which matters a great deal without professional crew, but it needs more room and sails less close to the wind.
Why do catamarans cost more to charter?
They take close to two marina berths and are charged for it, carry two engines, and cost more to buy. Croatia Yachting's own pages read from 1.376 euro for a four cabin catamaran against 752 for a three cabin monohull.