Bali

There is no trampoline. That single fact tells you everything you need to know about what Bali set out to do when it launched in 2014. Where every other production catamaran builder left a net between the bows, Bali fitted solid GRP — and then moved the cockpit forward to sit on top of it. The result is a boat that looks like nothing else on an anchorage and divides opinion the moment anyone sees it.

That polarisation runs deeper than aesthetics. The open-plan interior removes the walls and bulkheads that sailors expect, which means the 4.2, 4.4, and 4.8 feel less like a sailing yacht and more like a floating apartment. For buyers spending between €400,000 and €950,000, that is either exactly the point or a serious problem. People who charter Balis tend to arrive having already decided they want one; people who stumble across one without prior research often leave confused. The boat suits liveaboards, charter operators chasing guests who prioritise space and light, and buyers who have consciously rejected the nautical aesthetic of traditional sailboat interiors.

What Bali is not well suited to is impressing sailors who measure a yacht by its sailing performance first and its livability second. The design trades convention for a specific vision of life on the water, and it makes no apology for that. The models we cover reflect a brand that picked a side and has stayed there.