- Founded
- 1997
- Headquarters
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Shipyard location
- Same as headquarters
- Official website
- https://www.leopardcatamarans.com
Brand Overview
South African builder of bluewater cruising catamarans, established in 1997 and built by Robertson & Caine in Cape Town under the Travelopia group.
Overview written fromleopardcatamarans.com/about-leopardread 9/7/2026
YachtCodex Analysis
AI-generatedAn independent reading of this builder written by AI. Unlike the specifications and descriptions elsewhere on this page, it is interpretation rather than a sourced fact — treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
What this builder is
Leopard Catamarans is a South African-built line of bluewater cruising catamarans produced by Robertson & Caine and sold under the Travelopia group alongside charter brands The Moorings and Sunsail. The brand sits in the volume production-cruising-catamaran segment, competing with builders like Lagoon and Fountaine Pajot, distinguished by its close ties to charter operations and Simonis Voogd naval architecture.
Who sails them
Leopard owners range from experienced bluewater cruisers doing long offshore and transatlantic passages to first-time catamaran owners who buy into charter-management programs with The Moorings or Sunsail to offset ownership costs. Boats are typically used by couples or families for extended liveaboard cruising, and a large share of the fleet also sees heavy charter-guest use in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
Signature models
The Leopard 43, 46 and 52 make up the current sailing range, with the 46 typically serving as the volume mid-size cruiser, while the Leopard 40PC, 46PC and 53PC form its power catamaran line extending the brand beyond sail. Across its history the brand has produced 26 different models, with mid-40s to low-50s foot sailing cats historically its bread-and-butter for both private owners and charter fleets.
Strengths
Leopard catamarans are widely credited with reliability, sea-keeping performance and comfort proven over long ocean passages and heavy charter use, backed by decades of cumulative owner and charterer feedback feeding into design refinement. Their strong charter pedigree also supports good resale demand and an active in-house brokerage network.
Considerations
As production catamarans built at scale primarily for a dual charter/private-owner market, Leopards prioritize proven, standardized layouts over bespoke customization, and buyers often overlap with heavily-used Moorings/Sunsail charter hulls on the brokerage market, which can affect perceived exclusivity and resale differentiation.
Analysis generated 9/7/2026
Part of
Where they build
The building sites this yard publishes, in its own order.
Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
Robertson and Caine
Fleet at a Glance
6 models in total
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
Sailing range
- Models in catalog
- 3
- Length range
- 12.98–15.75 m
- Hull forms
- Sailing Catamaran 3
- Cabins
- 3–6
Motor range
- Models in catalog
- 3
- Length range
- 12.19–15.4 m
- Hull forms
- Motor Catamaran 3
- Cabins
- 3–4
Models by this brand
6 models
History
The foundation of Leopard was laid for The Moorings in 1993, when the charter company held to its belief that the future of charter lay in multihulls against the opposition of the boatbuilding industry and of the traditional sailors who then made up most charter clients. John Robertson, building boats since 1977, and Robertson and Caine Custom Yacht Projects were chosen as the build partner, and in 1996 R&C secured The Moorings' first order of eight catamarans. R&C's capacity grew into multiple sailing and power catamaran production lines across Cape Town, a family business of more than 2,000 people combining modern technology with the city's hand-crafted tradition; Franck Bauguil, driving yacht sales across The Moorings, Sunsail and Leopard since 2001, built the brand's present position in the US and Caribbean markets.
History written fromleopardcatamarans.com/about-robertson-caine· About Robertson & Caineread 9/22/2026