garcia catamaran 52 price

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Garcia Exploration 52 test: The sailing equivalent of a 4×4 off-roader

• Toby Hodges
• October 3, 2019

Toby Hodges test sails the Garcia Exploration 52 – a bluewater adventure cruiser that is made of stern stuff

Product Overview

Manufacturer:, price as reviewed:.

If you were to take your partner or family to some of the world’s most remote waters, exploring the oceans from the tropics to the polar regions, which yachts would you shortlist for the job? Be honest.

For true peace of mind, for something that will look after you in all conditions, including shallow anchorages and drying harbours, you would probably relegate performance, speed and response on the helm to the back of your mind and focus on finding the sailing equivalent of a 4×4 off-road vehicle.

The Garcia Exploration 52 ticks all the boxes. It’s a rugged, aluminium bluewater cruiser with a shallow keel, lifting centreboard and twin rudders that enable it to dry out. But it is not simply a bare metal battleship; it also includes a deck saloon with an internal steering position, and premium accommodation.

The Garcia Exploration 52’s bright, comfortable deck saloon

It is a yacht that seamlessly blends the world of luxury cruising with out-and-out expedition yachting. It invites you to go off the beaten path, but in substantial comfort.

The Exploration 52 is in every sense the larger sister of the original Exploration 45, which was conceived by bluewater cruising guru Jimmy Cornell and designed to be a go-anywhere yacht. Cornell, the founder of the ARC , has logged over 200,000 cruising miles. His brief for Garcia, and designers Berret-Racoupeau, was to create both the ideal bluewater cruiser and a yacht rugged enough to take on the North West Passage .

“I wanted a strong, fast, comfortable, functional and easily handled boat perfectly suited for both high latitude and tropical sailing,” said Cornell, declaring the resulting Exploration 45: “as close as can be to my ideal long-distance cruising boat.”

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The Exploration 52 shares the angular, robust look of the 45, including the bare alloy hull and the reverse angled, ship’s bridge-style coachroof windows, but offers more space, stowage and comfort.

The build quality is also the 45’s equal, incorporating watertight fore and aft bulkheads. The bow/forefoot section is reinforced for ice breaking and includes a towing eye so that the yacht can be dragged ashore with a tractor, if necessary. Yet within the alloy hull and its welded stringers, you’ll find a wonderfully warming, high-quality finish, a forward facing navstation and a deck saloon offering 270° views.

Aquarius , the yacht we tested, was the first Garcia Exploration 52 to launch and was highly customised for its owners, who were setting off for the Canaries the following day on the first leg of a five-year world tour. The family/utility cabin was being used for loading a cargo of medical supplies bound for Senegal.

Like Cornell’s boat, which was designed to sleep a number of friends and family, the interior of Aquarius has a flexible layout that can accommodate up to ten at a time. Yet on the 52, unlike the 45, the interior feels neither cramped nor short of stowage.

The view aft from the navstation. Note the watertight companionway doors and fiddles on all furniture

We sailed the Garcia Exploration 52 in fine conditions from La Rochelle, with a Force 3 to 4 and only a slight sea. Under genoa and main we achieved 6 to 6.5 knots pointing at 45° to 50° to the apparent wind. She certainly felt like a sturdy 20 plus tonne yacht.

Aquarius was laden with a few tonnes of extra payload (she can carry 6.5 tonnes over her lightweight displacement) and the resultant helm sensation was more neutral and purposeful than particularly rewarding.

But once we footed off to reach at 100° to the apparent wind, and hoisted the A-sail, we were averaging a respectable 9 knots in 12 to 15 knots of wind. Once under way, she keeps a consistent speed, our maximum on the day was 9.5 knots.

Thedavitsandtender launching system are incorporated in the stern arch

But heat the Garcia Exploration 52 up too much and you can lose grip on the rudders. I found this a little surprising for an ocean cruiser with twin rudders, but bear in mind the blades are deliberately short for beaching purposes.

Indeed, designer Olivier Racoupeau confirmed that the blades are 1.15m deep compared to 1.45m on a more conventional non-centreboard design, but says that the shallow draught of the Garcia Exploration 52’s rudders is by no means extreme.

I enjoyed the sail, but only when there was enough apparent wind in the sails. Aquarius has the optional cutter rig with genoa and a self-tacking staysail, which is an ideal way to adapt the sailplan to suit conditions. The staysail is used in 25 knots plus, according to Garcia, hence we sailed under full genoa.

Hull no 1 Aquarius features a cutter rig and is fully loaded for offshore cruising

Once the wind was down to eight knots we were wallowing at 4.5 knots under white sails. Any negative thoughts about the Exploration 52 being sluggish, however, need to be balanced by the fact that she was fully laden for world cruising. Two pallets of medical equipment filled the starboard cabin and her full tanks added an extra two tonnes.

Admittedly the rig looks short, confirmed by her conservative sail area/displacement ratio, but this is all in keeping with the go-anywhere, dependable nature of this boat. The centreboard obviously reduces the amount of ballast beneath the water, but Garcia and designers Berret-Racoupeau address this with smart weight allocation.

The fresh water can be pumped from side to side for ballast, the tanks are low and central, and even the chainlocker and windlass are located well abaft the bow, near the mast foot.

The hard-top that overhangs the coachroof on Aquarius is customised to the owner’s height. The area beneath this overhang can be sealed off with a canopy, trapping the heat coming up from the interior. I cannot recall a better cockpit position from which to stand a watch, no matter what the weather.

Of course, the navstation down below would provide even greater shelter, but it gives me shivers just thinking about how bad the conditions would need to be for me to need more shelter than the forward end of this cockpit!

The cockpit is set up for the crew to sail the boat without needing to leave its protection. The inboard primaries are just in front of the twin helms – a practical and safe position to work – and all control lines are brought aft under the coachroof where they can be easily managed.

The forward slant of the deck saloon windows protects the interior from the sun’s glare

There are useful cubby holes in the coamings to keep rope tails tidy. I particularly like the Marine Deck cork decks and cockpit surfaces, which the owner specified. This material is cheaper and more sustainable than teak, yet it’s grippy, comfortable for bare feet and can be washed with soap and water.

Aesthetically, the stern arch will attract and repel buyers in equal measure. Aboard the Garcia Exploration 52 it is a practical solution for mounting an array of aerials, solar panels, a wind generator and even the davits, although when sailing offshore, the tender can be hoisted on to the foredeck using the genoa pole.

Aquarius is also fitted with a hydrogenerator. “At over six knots running speed, the Watt&Sea hydrogenerator should cover all our power needs,” says the owner.

The large, practical cockpit is comfortable, deep and superbly protected at the forward part, with well laid-out sailing systems that can be managed easily from the wheels

Step through a pair of heavy-duty doors and you move from sheltered cockpit into a haven of comfort. The deck saloon has 270° sightlines out of the slanted coachroof windows. You can see the horizon while standing in the galley and adjust the autopilot or operate the throttle from the forward-facing navstation.

It is a relaxing and settling interior, finished in either teak or oak. There is a step down to reach the accommodation forward or abaft the saloon, as with any deck saloon, but the benefits include light, space and views plus the central stowage and tankage beneath the floorboards. There is even space to increase the standard 1,000lt fuel capacity by an extra 400lt.

“One of my requests was to be able to sleep up to ten at a time,” said Aquarius ’s owner. To this end, the starboard midships cabin can be used for stowage or sleeping, and the port aft cabin has a second fold-down bunk. The deck saloon table also lowers to form a large bed.

The berth in the forward master cabin is positioned just forward of the mast. Note the radiator on the bulkhead. Aquarius has a central heating system

The comfortable forward cabin contains an offset double berth directly in front of the main bulkhead, so the owners won’t feel like they are in the bows of the boat. Instead the heads and shower are situated forward, with two watertight bulkheads further forward.

The engine room is abaft the companionway, and is well insulated with access both sides. The 660Ah battery bank is located centrally. In addition to the solar, wind and hydropower, generators, there is a diesel genset and second alternator.

Watertight hatches in the aft cabins provide access to the stern compartments and all through-hull fittings are welded in aluminium with valves above the waterline. There are separate wet and dry hanging areas in the aft heads compartment.

The Garcia Exploration 52 combines a belt-and-braces expedition vessel with a silver-plated luxury cruiser. Owners may not set any speed records or spend too long at the wheel, but they will cruise off the beaten track in exceptional comfort, whether in the cockpit or down below. Where Jimmy Cornell squeezed stowage and accommodation slightly on his 45 so he could have eight berths for friends and family, the 52 has the extra length to provide all the space and stowage you could wish for. For those with the ambition, the Garcia Exploration 52 is the ultimate go-anywhere yacht that also caters for the crew that has no wish to rough it. If there is another new yacht on the market that offers such peace of mind for remote cruising combined with this level of comfort, do let us know.

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Garcia Explocat 52

If you have your heart set on long voyages, you will be looking for a cat that is capable of knocking out high miles-per-day averages. And if you want to go off the beaten track into higher latitudes, you will need a yacht that is rugged and capable of taking knocks.

Aluminium yachts are nothing new in the monohull world, so I guess it was just a matter of time before someone launched an aluminium catamaran capable of exploring most corners of the planet safely and comfortably. Lucky for us, that someone is Garcia Yachts from Cherbourg, France and Pierre Delion who are the team behind the Explocat 52 . This yacht is competing with the likes of the Windelo 54 , but it promises safety in higher latitudes.

Garcia (part of Grand Large Yachting Group who also own Outremer and Gunboat) developed the Exploration 45 with Jimmy Cornell. The Explocat is their follow up on 2 hulls to this successful monohull.

The idea? A comfortable, safe long-distance catamaran that can be handled by a couple and that cruises at above average speed. And all that with a finish that you might expect on something out of the Privilege catamarans range.

Photos: Garcia Yachts and Jermoe Houyvet.

Construction

Let’s talk about how the Garcia Explocat 52 is built as this is one of her key USPs.

She’s built in aluminium of course. This material gives you better strength/weight ratios at this length – she comes in at 18.9 tonnes light displacement – slightly heavier than a Fountaine Pajot 51, for example, but you end up with a stiffer, more robust boat with a more powerful sail plan: the Explocat prioritises seaworthiness over flybridges.

You will squeeze more performance out of an Outremer 51, but the Garcia 52 is the more robust yacht. We are talking fibreglass versus aluminium, remember? The Garcia Explocat will always be heavier than a comparable fibreglass or carbon catamaran (read our Balance 482 review as an example). that is your trade off for strength, durability, sustainability and resale value.

The thinnest plating of the Explocat 52 is 5mm, which builds to 8, 10 and 12mm, reaching 14mm at the bottom of the hulls.

Fixed keels are welded to the bottom of the hulls (another safety feature for when you are off the beaten track). They are deeper and protect the rudders, allowing you to dry the boat out at low tide like a Prout.

Other safety features include fore and aft watertight bulkheads and skegs in front of the saildrives.

• Aluminum structural bulkheads
• Aluminum forward beam, composite forward longitudinal beam
• Chain plates and reinforcement plates welded directly onto the hull and deck structure
• Watertight forward and aft bulkheads welded directly onto the hull and deck structure

The aim on the Explocat 52 is to average 250 nm a day in decent conditions and with a steady breeze you should be hitting double figures with her powerful sail plan.

Even in lighter airs, the Explocat will get going quickly with a Code 0 or gennaker up. You won’t be matching TWS like you would in a Marsaudon, you’ll be around 2 knots slower, but this is still a nippy yacht.

Options of the rig include:

• Carbon mast with kevlar rigging
• Furling boom
• Lighting in spreaders

This means the lines are shorter and there is less friction from being routed around blocks. Simpler is better in this case. There is also an option to run these back to the helms if you prefer.

There are options on the helm position. One owner has gone for twin aft helms, while the standard set up is a swivel (pendulum) helm at the main bulkhead- a configuration that first came to market on Balance catamarans.

The Mainsheet and traveller are handled on the aft crossbeam, while the genoa, solent and gennaker/code 0 sheets, plus furling lines, are managed with electric Lewmar 65 winches on either side of the cockpit.

Garcia have done a great job of helping you to keep the working areas tidy with big bags for your ropes to keep the yacht ship-shape. Reefing lines come back safely to the helm, (there is an option to manage these at the mast if you prefer shorter lines).

The rig has two headstays, with an overlapping furling jib on the main forestay, and a self-tacking furling solent.

Add the furling spinnakers and lighter wind sails, and you have a flexible package that will optimise your sail plan in most conditions with minimum fuss. There is a safety fuse on one of the mainsheet blocks to the boom. When this blows, the mainsail is depowered.

The forward cockpit is a safe area to work when working on your halyards, topping lift and lighter wind sails (gennaker, Code 0 etc), and it offers great visibility for ice or reef spotting, and for working the anchor windlass.

And just like a Gunboat, if you throw the door open in warmer climes when you are on the hook, the breeze flows nicely through the boat. It also makes a great spot for a sundowner.

Living Space

This catamaran has a lovely finish inside and down below thanks to Darnet Design. This is the same team that is behind the interiors of the Privilege Signature 580 and there are a lot of similarities in the look. It’s warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

If you are heading into the higher latitudes, you will appreciate the air extraction system that cycles air from the living area without having to open hatches.

The forward saloon windows have demisters, and there are lockers for your wet weather gear with ventilation and heating.

Up in the the saloon, the visibility is impressive and the whole area is bright. It’s a comfortable design with a sofa tucked in starboard forward and a galley with plenty of storage aft port of the saloon.

In pride of place is an ample forward facing nav station- this is a sailing boat after all.

Down below, various option are available on this semi-custom cat that boasts 2m headroom throughout.

There is space for one master cabin and two guest cabins in the standard version. Or go for the four cabin version.

Another option is to convert one of the forward cabins into a skippers cabin.

The aft cabins are soaked in natural light thanks to two hull windows, plus a wide aft window and opening ports aft and overhead.

Standard Specification

• Aluminium hull and deck
• Forefoot chain plates for towing, also works a a bumper and ice breaker
• High bridge deck clearance for heavy seas
• Forward and aft watertight aluminium bulkheads
• Seacock valves above waterline
• Rudders have sacrificial end-fittings
• GRP coachroof and hardtop bimini gives you thermic and acoustic insulation
• Thermic and acoustic insulation thanks to foam panels above waterline, and insulated floor
• Swing helm with 2 steering positions : a high position for the marina and fair weather,  a low cockpit for rough weather
• Optional inside steering, within the saloon
• All sheets controlled from the aft cockpit for safety
• Sail handling area (halyyards, reefing lines) in forward cockpit
• Solid watertight door gives you access the forward cockpit

This is a robust catamaran designed for sailing and living onboard in both higher latitudes and tropical waters.

With it’s powerful sail plan and safety features, she’s been designed for sailing safely with a high degree of comfort in the roughest sea conditions. This is a catamaran that sits on its own in the market- there’s not much competition.

Is this the best aluminium catamaran on the market? Probably.

How much does a Garcia 52 Explocat cost? What is the price of this catamaran? With our usual disclaimer that it depends on your options, you will be starting the conversation off at around €1.3 m. Add more budget for a carbon mast with kevlar rigging, furling boom, light wind sails plus fittings, hydranet mainsail, tempered glass, joystick on nav station, updrade to 75HP engines, genset, hydrogenerator, solar panels, lithium batteries, water maker, and so on. There are a lot of options to choose from. Fire up your spreadsheets!

Technical Specification

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