Lagoon 50 Review: The Floating Apartment

Quick Verdict

The Lagoon 50 exists for one reason: to put more people in more comfort on the water than any monohull could pretend to match. At 14.75m with an 8.10m beam, this boat dwarfs the Lagoon 46 in every dimension that matters to charter guests: cabin count, saloon volume, cockpit dining capacity, and flybridge square footage. It does all of this while remaining manageable under power, adequate under sail, and genuinely pleasant to spend a week aboard. The 3-cabin owner version turns the port hull into something close to a hotel suite. The 6-cabin crewed charter version turns the whole yacht into a floating hostel with a skipper's quarters forward.

This is not a yacht for people who want to sail. Full stop. If your idea of a sailing holiday involves trimming a genoa, watching telltales, and feeling the boat respond beneath you, read our mono vs cat guide and consider a Dufour 530 or Sun Odyssey 490 instead. The Lagoon 50 is for groups of 8 to 12 who want a week on the water with space to avoid each other when necessary, a galley that can feed a crowd, and a flybridge where half the holiday happens. At this price point, nothing else delivers the same package.

Specifications

Under Sail

Start with the numbers: 128 m² of sail area pushing 19 tonnes. That ratio tells you everything. In 12 knots of true wind the Lagoon 50 moves, but it doesn't thrill. Expect 6 to 6.5 knots on a beam reach. Bump the breeze to 15 knots and the boat wakes up properly: 7 to 7.5 knots with the sails well set, the hulls tracking straight, and the motion absurdly comfortable. At 18 knots and above on a reach, this cat earns its keep. I logged 8.2 knots on a broad reach in 20 knots of true wind off Martinique, and the boat felt planted rather than pressed.

Pointing? The Lagoon 50 manages 50 to 55 degrees to the apparent wind on a good day, and if you're honest about VMG you're often better off cracking sheets and footing fast. This is standard catamaran physics. The shallow 1.45m draft and the absence of a deep keel mean the boat slides sideways more than it bites upwind. Tacking is an event, not a reflex. The boat carries way poorly through the tack and needs crew weight aft to keep the rudders loaded. In anything under 10 knots, fire up the twin 57hp Yanmars. They'll push you at 7.5 knots burning roughly 4 litres per hour each, which is acceptable given the 500L total fuel capacity.

The self-tacking jib option simplifies short-handed sailing considerably. I'd call it essential on a charter version. Expecting charter guests to manage a large overlapping genoa across an 8.10m beam is optimistic at best. The mainsail, managed from the cockpit via Lagoon's standard lead arrangement, is straightforward with a single reef. Two reefs and things get more physical than you'd like without powered winches, which Lagoon offers as an option. Anyone buying rather than chartering should order them.

Living Aboard

This is where the Lagoon 50 justifies its existence. The 3-cabin owner version dedicates the entire port hull to a master suite that genuinely defies expectations. Step down from the saloon into a private companionway leading to an island double berth at 1.60m × 2.00m, a separate shower stall, a heads compartment, a walk-in wardrobe with enough hanging space for a fortnight's clothes, and a dedicated desk area with its own port light and USB charging. It makes the already generous owner's cabin on the Oceanis 51.1 feel like a compromise.

The starboard hull in the owner version holds two guest cabins, each with their own heads and separate shower stalls. The aft cabin gets slightly more volume. The forward cabin gets more natural light through the hull windows. Both berths measure 1.50m × 2.00m. Adults can live comfortably in either for a week without any particular grievance.

The charter fleet configuration runs to 6 cabins and 5 heads, with a crew cabin in the starboard bow. This version sacrifices individual cabin quality for raw berth count. The cabins shrink and storage diminishes, but for a crewed charter carrying 10 guests the arithmetic works. Everyone gets a real bed, a real door, and a real heads. That's more than most 50-foot monohulls can offer four people.

The saloon is the social centre, and it's enormous. The full-size dining table seats 10 without elbows touching. The galley runs along the aft bulkhead, a layout Lagoon has used across the range and one that works. Counter space is residential-grade: a three-burner stove, an oven, a front-opening fridge/freezer at 240L capacity, and enough prep surface to handle meal production for a large group. The panoramic windows flood the space with light. The Lagoon 42 uses the same formula, but the 50's scale makes the result qualitatively different.

The cockpit functions as an outdoor living room. Seating wraps the port and starboard sides with room for 8 people lounging comfortably. A separate cockpit table handles 8 for meals. The transom steps on both sides drop to water level for easy dinghy and swim access. Smaller cats simply cannot match the sense of openness here.

On Deck

The flybridge is not an afterthought. On the Lagoon 50 it's a genuine second living level: roughly 15 m² of useable space with a second helm station, a wet bar option, sun pads forward, and enough seating for the entire crew while the cockpit sits empty below. I spent more time on the flybridge than anywhere else during a week in the Grenadines. The visibility is superb, the breeze is constant, and the separation from the saloon and cockpit creates three distinct living zones aboard.

Sail handling from the flybridge helm is workable but not ideal. All primary halyards and sheets lead to cockpit level, so you'll want someone below during manoeuvres. The flybridge helm is best suited to motoring, harbour approaches, and keeping watch while the autopilot runs. The mainsail traveller sits on the coach roof, accessible from both levels, and Lagoon's standard hardware is adequate if not exciting. Winch placement at cockpit level is sensible and within reach of the helm.

Foredeck space is generous but not brilliantly arranged for anchoring. The anchor locker sits centrally between the two bows, with a powered windlass that handles the standard 25kg Delta anchor competently. The trampolining between the bows is the obvious spot for teenagers and sunbathers. Side deck access from cockpit to foredeck narrows to roughly 450mm at the shroud bases, which demands attention in a seaway. This is not unusual for cats of this beam, but keep it in mind for your handover checklist.

The Catamaran Question

If you've spent years on monohulls, stepping aboard the Lagoon 50 is disorienting in a way that goes beyond heel angle. The wind, as a sensory presence, effectively vanishes. On a Dufour 470 you feel every gust through the tiller, through your feet on the sole, through the angle of your coffee cup. On the Lagoon 50, a gust registers on the instruments and perhaps as a slight increase in speed. The boat doesn't lean. The boat doesn't talk to you. It just goes, flat and steady and enormous.

For some monohull sailors this is a relief. For others it's a betrayal of what sailing is supposed to feel like. I fall somewhere in between. The Lagoon 50 is honest about what it is: a platform for living on the water, not a vehicle for engaging with the wind. The catamaran conversation always comes down to this. What do you want from your week? If the answer involves helming, trimming, and the physical sensation of a boat working through waves, this cat will disappoint you. If the answer involves your parents-in-law being comfortable, your children having space to run, and your partner not feeling seasick, the Lagoon 50 delivers that with room to spare.

The 8.10m beam creates its own practical reality. Mediterranean stern-to berthing requires a double-width slip in most harbours. At Croatian marinas, that can mean €200 or more per night in high season, or being turned away entirely. Budget for anchoring out more than you would on a 40-footer. The trade-off is total: you get the apartment, but the apartment doesn't fit in every car park.

Charter Market

The Lagoon 50 sits at the premium end of the bareboat charter market and at the entry level of the crewed charter market. In the Caribbean, particularly the BVI, Grenada, and Martinique, it's frequently offered as a crewed charter with skipper and hostess, targeting groups of 8 to 10 guests at €9,000 to €12,000 per week in high season. In the Med, bareboat availability exists in Croatia, Greece, and the French Riviera at €7,000 to €10,000 per week, though you'll need demonstrable catamaran experience on your CV to get past the charter company's vetting. Our real charter costs breakdown puts that budget in context.

Fleet positioning is straightforward: this is the big cat for the big group. It competes with the Fountaine Pajot Saba 50, the Bali 5.4, and the Leopard 50, a comparison covered in our catamaran brand comparison. Lagoon's market dominance means availability is better than its rivals, particularly in the Caribbean where Lagoon's partnership with The Moorings and Sunsail puts these boats in the major bases. Our best charter catamarans guide ranks the full field if you're weighing the options at this tier.

For a first catamaran charter, the Lagoon 50 is arguably too much boat. Start with a Lagoon 40 or the Lagoon 42, learn the beam, learn the windage, learn the slow tacks. Then move up if the group demands it.

Used Market

The Lagoon 50 has been in production since 2018, giving a reasonable spread of used inventory. Current asking prices for 2018–2020 models sit between €580,000 and €680,000 depending on hours, configuration, and charter history. Later models from 2021–2024 range from €680,000 to €780,000. The predecessor Lagoon 500, produced from 2010 to roughly 2018, offers a different proposition at €380,000 to €520,000: larger in some dimensions but older in design language, deck layout, and systems.

When inspecting a used Lagoon 50, focus on three areas. Engine hours relative to sail hours: a charter boat with 3,000 engine hours and 200 sail hours tells you exactly how it was used, and that pattern is typical. The helm station and flybridge gelcoat: UV degradation on a white flybridge in the Caribbean is relentless, and respray costs are significant on a surface this large. The sail drives: the twin Yanmar SD60 sail drives are robust but service-interval sensitive, and missed services show up as seal leaks and alignment issues. Budget €15,000 to €25,000 for a proper post-charter refit on a five-year-old boat, covering rigging inspection, sail replacement, upholstery refresh, and a systems audit. Our piece on what charter wear really looks like applies here in full.