9 minute read
Excess 11
Top cat
Excess Catamaran's range has cause quite a stir and the new Excess 11 is their most exciting design yet as Sam Jefferson discovers
It’s not difficult these days to view the past with somewhat rose tinted spectacles and think it was a domain where everything was just better – or at the very least less complicated. This is not, however, something that applies to the world of multihulls. Back in the day, your average cruising multihull had all the visual appeal of a pair of cupboards placed horizontally with a garden shed strapped atop.
Quite frequently they sailed to windward with all the prowess of this structure. If you look at some of the somewhat high freeboard monsters out there on the market at the moment you might be tempted to say, well, plus ca change. But the fact is that almost all now sail with some degree of competence upwind and often dreamily off the wind.
There is, however, one area where you could look back with misty eyes to the past and that is when it comes to size. In common with their monohull sisters, multihulls have been expanding year on year for a long time now, leaving potential owners who are searching for a sub 40’ catamaran at something of a loss.
That’s why the arrival of the new
Excess 11 is extremely good news, as one of the big producers of multihulls has opted to chance their arm and produce what you might term as an entry level multihull.
At this point it might be good to provide some of the uninitiated with a bit of a back story. Excess is part of Lagoon catamarans which is, in turn, part of the Beneteau Group. It is unquestionably one of the biggest
manufacturers of multihulls in the world. A while back, the company decided it needed to broaden the appeal of its multihull range and bring in more young sailors. The upshot was the launch of a new brand, Excess, which was a masterful piece of repackaging essentially, with existing Lagoon models substantially jazzed up with improved handling and bigger sail areas. Some applauded, others derided but, whatever your thought on previous Excesses, the 11 can be viewed differently because it’s an entirely new model that owes nothing to the existing Lagoon range.
All new
So here we have an all new boat, fresh off the drawing board. It’s not a ‘reimagination’ or a MK2 and the benefit of that is that it is likely to carry far fewer compromises – if, of course, you overlook the fact that all cruising yachts compromise somewhere along the line. Anyway, this is a 38’ catamaran that has clearly been built with cruising comfort as the first priority but with the added bonus of a splash of style and soupcon of good performance. In terms of internal volume, there’s a lot of that thanks to high freeboard, chined hulls and a beam of 21’7”. The hull is vacuum infused and balsa cored with a draft of 3’9” and no daggerboards. Weight is a not insubstantial 18,000kg. So in this respect the Excess has nailed it’s colours firmly to the mast; it’s a cruising catamaran. Yet the designers have been canny in adding in a fun element and the key to this is steering with a bit of added feel. The twin wheels are therefore situated outboard on the sponsons and Dyneema linkage direct to the rudders means the steering is much more direct than the hydraulic setups or complicated linkage associated with helms situated on a bridge deck. The sail area is also generous with the option of a special sporty ‘Pulse’ package which gives you 85m² of sail area as opposed to 77m² on the standard version. The rig is set further aft than on many contemporary models allowing for a bigger fore triangle and a touch more balance. The lack of bridge deck steering also means that the boom is significantly lower than on many rivals, thereby dropping the centre of gravity and making for a better sailing boat essentially. Throw into the mix some sporty decals and flashy styling and you have an interesting new model that
ABOVE
Fancy decals give the Excess a moderately sporty look
BELOW
The positioning of the helms outboard is a key feature in providing enhanced feel and greater enjoyment is endeavouring, if not to be all things to all people, at least to be a cruising catamaran with added fun.
On deck
Step on deck and the obvious game changer compared to rivals in this sector is the twin helms on the sponsons. If you’re a multihull novice and wondering what the pros and cons are, well, on the plus side, it frees up extra space in the cockpit and also generally provides steering with more ‘feel’ to it. The downside is that the helmsman is more exposed to the elements in bad weather and that the line of vision is always compromised in comparison with someone perched on a bridge deck. This line of vision question has been looked at carefully by Excess and the solution has been to provide good vision by thoughtful placement of the portlights on the coachroof which ensures very good lines of sight when parking the boat. The helm stations feature the throttles and nav instruments to port and wind instruments to
starboard. You can pay extra for throttles on both sides which is certainly a useful feature. Both sides have flip up seats that are sort of reminiscent of directors chairs and are both stylish and practical but I was left wondering how they will last under wear. There is also the option of helmsman’s bimini’s to keep the elements at bay but they aren’t the easiest on the eye to be honest. The running rigging is also very tidily dealt with on this boat. All the lines come aft, making it easy to manage the sheets, main halyard and reefing lines from the helm. There is no traveller – instead the mainsheet comes back to two blocks either side of the aft bench on the transom.
Step into the cockpit and you are confronted with the real coup de grace which is the slide back ‘soft top’ roof. This is a real boon which gives the boat masses of flexibility, providing light when it’s required and shelter when it rains. This is an optional extra that certainly provides a great deal of versatility. Other than that, the cockpit space feels incredibly large for a 37’ boat. No doubt this is in part thanks to the outboard helms. It means that the whole area is devoted to leisure and blends seamlessly with the saloon itself. The main cockpit table is to starboard and there is another bench to port plus and extra lounder between the two helms. It’s very comfortable and there is little question that this is a boat that will be a hit on the charter market.
Out on the side decks, there is a lot of room for manoeuvre and decent handholds. There is a ladder up to the coachroof but this space can’t really be used very well as it is compromised by the low boom – the main reason for being up here is to stow the mainsail.
Up forward there is a trampoline and the usual storage spots for anchor chain etc.
Down below
As you can probably imagine given this is part of the Lagoon family, there are an awful lot of options available with the main variation being three cabins and two heads or four cabins, also with two heads. If you take the three cabin option, the owner’s version is in the port hull and the owner’s quarters, replete with queen sized bed, are aft. Up forward is a fairly palatial heads compartment and a modest office/workspace amidships.
The accommodation on the starboard side consists of two decently dimensioned doubles plus a heads/shower compartment amidships. It’s all very roomy and also very stylishly fitted out. In this respect the Excess 11 owes a debt of thanks to its big sisters the 12 and the 15. As mentioned, these two were Lagoons at heart so a good deal of time and money was invested into making sure the interiors had a different look and feel. The results were compelling and this has been translated to the 11.
ABOVE
A comfortable living space with a nice blend of outdoor/ indoor areas
BELOW
A modern, bright interior
Under way
Sails up and we were on our way. The Excess is equipped with twin 29hp Yanmars although you can
SAM’S VERDICT
The criticism thrown at the Excess 12 and 15 was that they were simply repurposed Lagoons. This is certainly not something that can be levelled at the 11 and, to be fair, the boat is all the more coherent as a result. Don’t kid yourself; this is an out an out cruising yacht but the manufacturers have succeeded in adding a bit of extra fun into the mix. There’s nothing earth shatteringly different going on here but this is a small (ish) catamaran that provides and interesting new option for prospective buyers.
PERFORMANCE: H H H H H LOOKS: H H H HH COMFORT: H H H HH
THE SPEC
Overall length: 11,33 m (37’2’’) Length: 11,06 m (36’3’’) Beam: 6,59 m (21’7’’) Draft: 1,15 m (3’9’’) Light displacement: 9 T (19 845 lbs) Upwind sail area: 77m² (829 sq ft) Pulse option: 85m² (915 sq ft) Price: €249,400 (base) Contact:excess-catamarans.com
ABOVE
Freeboard is generous
BELOW
The Code Zero is an invaluable tool in light airs upgrade to 39hp motors if you fancy it. In common with most cats she was extremely manoeuvrable and, given that her length is modest, this is a boat you can spin in its own length. Under sail, I was favourably impressed. For me, the key here was that the steering had a really good feel because this is essentially the means by which Excess want this boat to differ from the others. The results were positive. The boat felt lively and fun to sail – responsive even. I’m not going to say it was like throwing Merlin Rocket about, but nevertheless, it was fun and engaging in a manner many multihulls are not. She also pointed well. The test sail took place in modest airs (7-10kn) and I wondered whether her fairly substantial weight might count against her but it was not the case; we frequently touched on 7kn plus particularly with the Code 0 up. I was also fortunate to see the boat in action the following day when there was some serious breeze (18-22kn). I was on a different boat test, but had the opportunity to see how the boat behaved when hard pressed and I must say I was favourably impressed.
