Outremer 43

The 43 is the last representative of the original Outremer philosophy: a spartan catamaran which is simple, light and safe. Built until 2000, it gave up its place to the already more civilized 42, whilst the 45, which is quite a bit bigger and more liveable – 6.1 tonnes as against 3.8 – is not in the same category. Because leaving aboard a 43 has a lot in common with a vocation: don’t bank on embarking diving gear, your electric guitar and your two favourite surfboards... The useful load carrying capacity boils down to 1,700 kg. Do the sums: two adults and two children (200 kg), 300 litres of water, 150 l of diesel, and 150 kg of provisions, and just 900 kg remain for the downwind sails, the second anchor, the tools and the comfort elements. In other words, generators and barbecues must remain in the chandler’s! Times have changed: today, offering such a radical sailing boat would be a recipe for disaster... Outremer has understood this and are offering bigger boats which can accept more load... Before we discover our test 43, a few explanations are necessary: at the start there was the Outremer 40, launched in 1985. The very first models were equipped with a very small coachroo...