Fountaine Pajot Saba 50 Review – The Elegant Cruising Palace

With the launch of the new Saba 50, it was immediately obvious that Fountaine Pajot was trying to meet a number of competing design goals.

In terms of accommodation and layout, there are different expectations from private owners and charter companies, while the trade-off between sailing performance and onboard luxuries has always been a difficult one for boat designers.
Impressively, with their renowned ship designing pedigree, Fountaine Pajot has ticked all the boxes with the latest Saba 50.

While I did not sail the Saba 50, my friends chartered one with a crew (also available for charter without a crew) in Croatia.

This Fountaine Pajot Saba 50 review will take you through the major design innovations of this boat while also taking a detailed look at its performance characteristics.


Accommodation

As mentioned above, the Saba 50 has tried to oblige the differing demands from both private owners and charter companies by offering this boat in two flavors, the Maestro and the Quintet.

The Maestro, designed for private owners, comes with 4 cabins, while the Quintet has 5 cabins, not including the one reserved for the skipper and the crew.

The social area on the main deck is even more generous in terms of space, easily capable of accommodating as many as 3 dozen people on a day sail.

Two spacious sun pads on the bow, the full-width cockpit settee, a generous transom seat aft, and the flybridge come together seamlessly to create a sense of space that would make a medium-sized apartment dweller in London envious.

Especially on a chartered sail, the generous space, along with its intelligent design, would allow the sailing parties a sense of privacy.


Interior

One of the defining features of the Saba 50 is how it has optimized the exterior social spaces without any trade-off with its profile and performance.

The cockpit has a seating layout for eight to ten people, while up top, there’s an understated sun lounge.

Another sun lounge awaits you behind the bow just ahead of the cabin. Once again, at the helm station, the crew can have a conversation with the guests without being intrusive.

For handling and stowing line tails, there’s enough space in front of the wheel, and the active crew enjoys an unobstructed view of the sails.


Exterior

One of the defining features of the Saba 50 is how it has optimized the exterior social spaces without any trade-off with its profile and performance.

The cockpit has a seating layout for eight to ten people, while up top, there’s an understated sun lounge.

Another sun lounge awaits you behind the bow just ahead of the cabin. Once again, at the helm station, the crew can have a conversation with the guests without being intrusive.

For handling and stowing line tails, there’s enough space in front of the wheel, and the active crew enjoys an unobstructed view of the sails.



Under the Sail

In terms of sailing performance, the catamarans are not known for their pointing ability.

However, the Saba 50 surprises with its cruising speed, clocked at almost 7-9 knots with the wind ahead of the beam.

Once the mainsail is raised substantially with the help of the electric winch, the catamaran achieves enough steerage to completely turn the engine off.

For those inclined towards numbers, the maximum speed can reach around 15 knots.


Why Sail the Saba 50

*Thoughtfully designed interiors that offer more cabin and social spaces than other catamarans of similar size

*Caters to demands from both private owners and charter companies through its two distinct cabin layout

*Can accommodate a large group of sailing parties without giving the feel of being crowded

*Excellent sailing and handling characteristics for a catamaran of its size


In Conclusion

As mentioned previously, the genius of the Saba 50 lies in accomplishing multiple design goals set forth by different sets of customers without any discernible prejudicial effect on its sailing and handling characteristics.

This is a boat that has been very well designed, and the experience and nous of its designers speak for themselves.

Apart from the obvious luxury, here is a catamaran that can actually sail to the weather.


Specifications

  • Manufacturer: Fountain Pajot
  • Length: 14.98m
  • Beam: 7.98m
  • Draft: 1.15m
  • Light displacement: 15.7t
  • Mainsail area: 74.05m²
  • Genoa area: 52.60m2
  • Engines: 2x50HP or 2x75HP
  • Fuel tank: 940 liters
  • Water tank: 700 liters / 185 US gallons
  • Cabins: 4 to 6
  • Berths: 8 to 13

Have you sailed the Saba 50? If so, feel free to share your experience in the comment below.

4 thoughts on “Fountaine Pajot Saba 50 Review – The Elegant Cruising Palace”

  1. Hi Daniella

    Hope all is well

    Wow ..what a nice post ..i just love the Yacht.
    its one of my dreams to own a yacht..and i will soon.
    This post has some really nice information in and it sparked the flame in me again to get my business in gear. Saba 50 you say…it looks very good..i would love to test sail one of them. is there an option to do that ?

    Thanks
    Have a nice day
    from Jaco

    Reply
    • Hi Jaco,

      Thanks for passing by and for the comment:)

      The Saba 50 is not as small as it looks on the pictures, 50ft is not that small:)

      The only option to test the sail is to rent it:) So don’t waste any time and go for a ride, it’s a wonderful boat!

      I wish you a wonderful day!

      Reply
  2. This was a really cool article! I didn’t know you could fit so much into such a small space, or maybe it just looks small from the photos.

    Would love to see your own homemade videos aboard yachts!

    There a just a couple issues with spacing and the white spaces but other than that this is a really well put together site! Nice work

    Best,
    Ben

    Reply

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