Three Fountaine Pajot sailing catamarans have earned nominations for the 2026 Boat of the Year Awards, placing the French builder among the most closely watched names in international cruising this season. The FP41, FP44, and FP55 have all been shortlisted by Cruising World, a spread that covers the full breadth of the company's core sailing catamaran range.
Cruising World's annual awards carry genuine weight in the North American market, widely recognised as a meaningful benchmark for modern cruising yachts. The judging process is thorough: each nominated vessel undergoes a detailed dockside inspection before being taken out onto Chesapeake Bay for real-world sea trials. Judges then assess build quality, onboard systems, sailing performance, and overall handling before any decisions are reached.
The FP41 sits at the entry point of this new generation of Fountaine Pajot designs. At 41 feet, the boat is built around a careful balance between comfortable living and manageable handling, with an open-plan layout that connects cockpit and saloon in a natural flow. The sail plan has been kept well suited to short-handed crews, making it a practical choice for owners who may not always sail with a full complement aboard.
A step up in size, the FP44 is aimed at owners whose ambitions lean toward longer passages. The design pays particular attention to the relationship between onboard spaces, with cockpit, saloon, and forward areas flowing together in a way that feels cohesive rather than compartmentalised. Hull form and sail configuration have both been refined to produce steady, controlled performance at sea without asking owners to trade away comfort in the process.
The FP55 occupies the top of the range and serves as the flagship of this nominated group. Built with extended bluewater cruising as its central brief, it introduces a flybridge that functions as both a primary living space and a helm position. Visibility and usability are priorities at every level, and the interior volumes, together with the standard of finish throughout, point toward a vessel built for serious long-distance capability and genuine onboard autonomy.
A thread running through all three designs is flexibility. Each catamaran is offered in multiple layout configurations, keeping the range relevant to private owners and charter operators across different crew sizes and use cases.
Nominations spanning three distinct size categories speak to the depth of Fountaine Pajot's current offering and reinforce its position within the global cruising catamaran market. Final results from the 2026 Boat of the Year Awards are expected later this year, once sea trials across the full shortlist have been completed.
