Lagoon 55 – the new Flagship revealed
It was the year 1987 when Lagoon's first model has touched the water – and it was Lagoon 55. About 20 of that ' old Lagoon 55's have been produced and, since then, Lagoon has produced more than 6.000 catamarans and has been growing in popularity ever since.
Now, after more than 30 successful years, Lagoon has treated us with the 'New Lagoon 55'. Obviously completely different than the model of 1987, the new Lagoon 55 brings novelties in catamaran design, following the Lagoon brand's forever developing DNA. However, Lagoon remained faithful to its roots and core vision: spacious and comfortable sailing yachts that enable you to travel far, far away. A yacht where you feel life is good.
More than a thousand people work for Lagoon. Their production is manufactured at two different sites. One is in Dompierre, one hour drive from Nantes, in the Vendee area. There they produce Lagoon 40, 42, and 46. The second, fantastic CNB (Construction Navale Bordeaux) site on the river Garonne in Bordeaux is home to the big models – Lagoon 50, 52, 55, Sixty 5, Seventy 7, and Sixty 7 and Seventy 8 power catamarans.
The concept
As you can imagine, the winning concept in development remained the same, so the naval architecture was done by VPLP design (Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost) in collaboration with Patrick le Quement, a former chief of design for Renault. In fact, three design studios have been involved in the creation of this new Lagoon 55, because the insides of this new model have been developed with Nauta Design from Italy, which clearly indicates Lagoon is positioning this new model in the up-scale of its offer, and more closely to luxury yachts.
"Our idea was to design a boat offering an unequaled view of the splendor of the sea, giving all our attention to anticipating the circulation on board, offering generous space, and allowing those on board to find their very own preferred spot. Our experience tells us that people ignore design that ignores people.
That’s also why we wanted to draw a beautiful boat that would be immediately identifiable, as being a Lagoon." - Patrick le Quement - exterior design
'The transoms have been really designed to be privileged places, at the water's edge. You imagine yourself as outside the boat, listening to the lapping of the water, enjoying a good book...' - Marc Van Peteghem - VPLP design
In more ways innovating design strikes all catamaran lovers. The top innovations and novelties are the new design of entrance decks with stairs to climb to the cockpit being moved obliquely and a mast being moved more towards the stern to enable better sailing performances, a slick move taken from modern racing yachts. Also, a lot of emphases has been given to the flow of circulation of movement around the boat. The designers wanted to enable each member of the crew can find his or her perfect spot on the yacht.
Outside
So, at the first glance, the new design is obviously visible on the stern. The cockpit is huge, 25 square meters big, including the dining area, as well as lounge areas. The cockpit is becoming one with the back hydraulic platform (which is used to place the tender boat but also becomes an additional terrace, or platform for sunbathing or approach to the sea for swimming. More flow comes from the entrance stairs which are now positioned more sideways, so you can enter the cockpit smoothly from the entrance deck. The whole impression is that a whole cockpit becomes a terrace on the sea, with an open and panoramic view.
Flow is also generated from a novelty in forward cockpit, where the seating area is now seamlessly integrated into the bow area, being positioned at the same or similar height as the trampoline. In addition, the big window of the saloon is connecting the whole space, giving you that visual feeling of flow.
Lots of attention has been given to light and ventilation. It's an added benefit by Nauta Design, who wanted to satisfy Lagoon's brief input on getting a feeling of being close to nature. Coachroof windows have been added to complement the vertical ones, creating that 'open air' feeling.
'The shipyard’s primary objective was to bring the same level of high-quality lifestyle defined by bright and elegant spaces and a sense of peaceful, harmonious lightness as is found on Lagoon’s larger cats, to this new catamaran. An objective we shared with the builder. Nauta worked closely with Lagoon and with Patrick le Quément to open up vistas and sources of natural light, using horizontal lines to give a sense of continuity with the seascape and the horizon and to free up visual space so that guests can really enjoy the sea, the sky, the sun and the beauty of their surroundings.' - Massimo Gino – Nauta Design
Sails
With the must being pushed towards the stern, the classic rigging gives you 186 square meters of sails surface (standard mainsail and self-tacking jib). If you opt for a square-top mainsail and use code zero you will have 266 square meters of sails surface. It is more than enough for a good, safe and comfortable cruising. The mainsheet track is positioned on the hardtop bimini.
The testing crew from the European tour, claims to have an average speed of 8 – 9 knots under moderate wind conditions.
Interiors
The new Lagoon 55 is available in 4, 5, and 6 cabin versions. The saloon area design is slightly different in a 6 cabin version, enabling easier and more private access to cabins. In any version, each cabin is en-suite with a private bathroom.
In a 4 cabin version, the owner's cabin is the biggest, situated in a starboard side, and taking two-thirds of the hull. Other quests have nothing to complain about, as each of their cabins is equipped with an en-suite bathroom.
In a 5 cabin version, the owner's cabin is replaced with two cabins, but the entrance to the aft starboard cabin is from the cockpit.
In a 6 cabin version, both aft cabins have access from the cockpit, but the saloon layout is slightly different, enabling stairs to both forward cabins.
A custom layout is also an option when you buy a new Lagoon 55.
The materials used clearly signal the high-end market Lagoon wants to go for with this new model.
Also, two big overhead windows give plenty of natural light in the saloon area. Attention to natural light details is also visible in each cabin, where designers worked closely together to get that perfect feeling of harmony and being one with nature.
Flybridge
No question about the flybridge on large catamarans anymore – it's a must these days. If we look at the Lagoon 55 as a continuation of Lagoon 52 (which it is), then the flybridge is obviously much better and bigger. It serves as another deck, it has a little bar area with a fridge, seating area facing forward, but also, the sunbathing area was not forgotten. Seating on the flybridge is very pleasant, in nice weather anyway.
The only thing the testing crew had to complain about is the entrance to the flybridge. On the testing version, the starboard entrance was not fitted, and we would definitely advise having that starboard entrance fitted to your new boat. It is much easier for a single crew member to handle all the maneuvers with two entrances to the fly. Without it, it's rather a long walk from the flybridge, via aft deck to the bow.
The bimini is rigid and fixed, so obviously, the boom is positioned higher. This might make the crew do some acrobatic manoeuvers to handle the sails and ropes around the boom.
Conclusion
As the most popular catamaran brand, Lagoon certainly did not play with the name 'Lagoon 55' which is their first model ever built. The new model includes some innovations in design that have not been seen yet, and we must congratulate them. Cooperation with Nauta Design on the insides clearly positions this model in the Lagoon's 'Big four', a more luxurious type of boat, yet, still available to a normal person, especially in the charter market. It is probably a 'best buy' in the next 6-7 years.
In order to make your experience even more fun, this boat is equipped with a barbecue and various water toys such as stand-up paddles, kayak, wakeboard, water tube, waterskis, and electric scooters.
Technical specifications
Length overall: 16,56 m / 54'4''
Beam: 9,00 m / 29'6''
Draft: 1,55 m / 5'1''
Mast clearance: 28,93 m / 94'11"
Light displacement (EEC): 27,7 T / 61,079 Lbs
Upwind sail area: 181 m² / 1,948 sq ft
Full-batten mainsail: 107 m² / 1,151 sq ft
Self-tacking jib on furler: 74 m² / 796 sq ft
Engine (std): 2 x 80 CV / 2 x 80 HP
Engine (opt): 2 x 115 CV / 2 x 115 HP
Fuel capacity: 1100 L / 291 US gal
Fresh water capacity: 960 L / 254 US gal
No. Of berths: 8 to 16
EC certification: A:14 / B:14 / C:20 / D:30