Dynamic new sailing yacht projects making waves in 2025

From record-setting sailing catamarans to performance cruisers and eco-conscious designs, BOAT rounds up the most dynamic new sailing yacht projects set to launch or make headlines in 2025 and beyond...

Full House

It’s a good thing Pendennis has two facilities – one in Falmouth, UK, specialising in major engineering works, complex refits and bespoke new builds, and another in Vilanova, Spain, which offers seasonal flexibility and high-capacity services. The 2024/25 winter season was one of the busiest, with both operating at capacity. More than 40 sailing yachts passed through for significant refits.

Among the yachts wintering at Vilanova was the Pendennis-built Hoek Truly Classic 128 Halekai, which received a repaint, exterior varnish, electrical upgrades and five-year survey. The 1903 schooner Adela came in for an extensive engine room refit.

At Falmouth, projects included a 20-year special survey, paint job and guest interior refresh for a 37-metre sailing yacht, plus a broad scope of maintenance on a 66-metre high-performance ketch.

Not a cat… it’s a panther

Who says you need to compromise? McConaghy’s Eco Panther catamaran series may be the total package: luxurious and eco-conscious, efficient and high performance. The hybrid electric series is all about lightweight construction and maintaining simplicity through press-button operations, including a self-tacking headsail and carbon mast and boom. 

Thanks to the weight watching, the 22-metre Panther 68, motoring at six knots, uses only 10kW of power, supported by hydro generation and 127 square metres of solar panels integrated into the topsides, side decks and cabin top. The yacht can cruise all day, sailing and motoring, without using the backup 22kW genset, while running all systems, including A/C and Starlink. 

An ultra-modern interior, with floating lightweight furniture, soft lighting and satin black finishes with carbon accents, brings the luxury.

The grandest Soleil

Grand Soleil’s Plus line of yachts over 18 metres has a new flagship. At a smidge under 24 metres, the 80 is offered in Long Cruise or Performance versions, designed inside and out by Nauta Design, with naval architecture by Matteo Polli.

The first hull, launching next year, is the 80 Long Cruise with four cabins for guests and two for crew. In keeping with larger yachts, it features twin rudders and a telescopic keel. There’s clear separation between the central guest cockpit and the manoeuvring area, as well as between the guest and crew areas below. The interior, to be finished in warm oak, centres around a large, bright raised saloon with 270-degree views.

“Designing an 80-foot yacht is a particularly demanding challenge,” says Massimo Gino of Nauta Design. “[It] must encompass the qualities, functions and features typically found on yachts ranging from 95 to 100 feet.”

Zero is the goal

Builder of the world’s largest multihull superyacht, White Rabbit, Echo Yachts is at it again with another record setter – this time the future largest sailing catamaran. At 58.6 metres long and 18.7 metres wide, massive is the only way to describe it. 

Dykstra Naval Architects says it drew inspiration from the shipyard’s 2023 56-metre multihull Charley 2, giving it similar accommodation, helicopter landing abilities and water toy capacity, yet the Dutch design firm added its sailing yacht aesthetics and topped it with twin Dynarig masts and sail system by Southern Spars.

It’s pretty impressive that a craft this big will achieve zero emissions cruising under sail. Two 90kW shaft generators will feed power to a 90kW battery storage system, which can handle the hotel load and sail control, navigation and safety systems. 

Can’t catch this cat

When you think of a yacht capable of cruising from the Arctic to Antarctica, with the owner’s cabin enjoying a 180-degree view of the ocean ahead, a 70-metre-plus expedition yacht comes to mind. But that also describes JFA Yachts’ 26-metre Long Island 87 catamaran, in build to be delivered at the end of the year.

The boutique French yard’s Long Island series of cats are built to cruise the world, as two 85s have already proven. With aluminium hulls and a composite deck and superstructure, they have a sloop rig and naval architecture by Marc Lombard.

The first 87 is under way with hulls completed and deck installed this summer. Its redesigned superstructure has more modern lines and a longer flybridge. Inside, Darnet Design is lending its expertise to the 124-square-metre interior. 

Fast, but not furious

Master builders of composite yachts, Baltic Yachts has its next blue-water beauty in build, a 37-metre contemporary design by Malcolm McKeon with a carbon hull and all-glass deckhouse. The Baltic 121 Custom performance cruiser is destined for a family who requested safe and reliable systems and proven technologies. 

It will have a fixed bimini, telescopic keel and generous sailplan. The nature-inspired interior by Adam Lay Studio will feature textural materials chosen for their practicality and longevity. It will be launched as soon as the ice breaks in the spring of 2026.

Rocket launch

As Wally’s wallyrocket51 proves itself on the racecourse, the brand has unveiled its big sister, the wallyrocket71. Designed by Botin Partners, it was conceived with the ambitious goal of creating the world’s most successful maxi yacht.

“We started from a blank sheet of paper, asking how we could beat the most competitive Maxi 72s on corrected time,” Botin Partners’ Adolfo Carrau says. “When they were designed, it was to a box rule, so many parameters were already set. Now, as everyone is optimising their boats under IRC rules, there is a lot more freedom.”

With twin rudders, a high-performance bulb keel and 2.7 tonnes of water ballast, which can be pumped from one side to the other in around six seconds, the 71 comes in two tonnes lighter than the Maxi 72s. The first hull, called Django, made her debut at the Loro Piana Giraglia in June, where she won Race 7 in the IRC 0 Maxi A class, and finished first in the offshore race in the Maxi Grand Prix class. 

All maxed out

The largest Swan in the Maxi range and the second-largest in Nautor Swan’s history, the 39-metre 128 launched in May and will make her world debut at the Monaco Yacht Show.

Naval architect Germán Frers led the performance-focused design, refined through CFD analysis to ensure optimised hull shape. Its dual rudder system and a generous sailplan offer responsive handling and sailing speeds predicted to exceed 17 knots, while the moderate heel angle helps with comfort under sail.

With deck and coachroof design by Micheletti+Partners and interior by Misa Poggi and the in-house design team, the Swan 128 emulates her smaller Maxi sisters but ups the game on performance, aesthetics and layout. Highlights include a fully customisable owner’s area free of structural constraints forward and a beach club and tender garage aft.

Never out of style

Although Hoek Design Naval Architects has some modern projects in its vast portfolio, the Dutch studio tends to be synonymous with the classic aesthetic. “I was raised in a sailing family, and we’ve had classic yachts,” says principal Andre Hoek, who points out that they hold their value a lot longer than modern designs. 

“I’ve been a lifelong admirer, and we at Hoek Design, with business partner Ruurt Meulemans, have done a wide variety of classic designs, ranging from day sailers to J Class yachts to very big ocean-going classic yachts.”

Right now, the biggest of these, a 68.4-metre aluminium ketch, is taking shape at Vitters Shipyard. The firm is responsible for the naval architecture, including structural engineering, and both the interior and exterior design, with Williams Lawrence collaborating on the interior decor. 

It’s being built for a repeat client, who’s been around the world on their current yacht. In the same vein, this larger yacht will have a Panamax rig and will be able to cover more nautical miles in less time with more guest accommodation, including an owner’s area made up of two cabins that can be combined into one large suite.

While the interior style matches the exterior’s timeless look, below the waterline the yacht is high-tech and has carbon spars and rigging. Vitters plans on delivering it in autumn 2026.

Largest Lagoon launches

And the flagships just keep coming… The highly anticipated Lagoon Eighty 2, the brand’s biggest cat with sails, has splashed at the Bordeaux shipyard, unveiled to press at the end of July and to the world at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September.

With this 24-metre model, Lagoon crosses over into superyacht territory, incorporating an owner’s cabin with a private unfolding terrace, a nearly 50-square-metre customisable flybridge and a spacious aft platform that can serve as a cockpit extension or dive deck.

Integrated solar panels on the coachroof and a greener build process show an eco-commitment. The Eighty 2 is constructed using a bio-sourced resin that saves an estimated 10 tonnes of carbon emissions per boat. The first hull, called Imladris, will be based in Greece and available for charter.

First published in the September 2025 issue of BOAT International's Life Under Sail. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.