- Founded
- 1967
- Headquarters
- 9-11 Tatura Avenue, Gosford, NSW 2250, Australia
- Shipyard location
- Zhuhai, China and Sydney (Gosford), Australia
- Official website
- https://mcconaghyboats.com/
Brand Overview
Australian composite boatbuilder founded by John McConaghy in 1967 — maxi race yachts and one-designs, and from its Zhuhai yard in China the semi-custom MC and electric Panther sailing catamarans, the Sapphire, GT, Platinum and Explorer multihulls.
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
McConaghy was founded in 1967 by John McConaghy, who built skiffs and Tornado and A-class catamarans from materials new to boats; in the mid-1970s it was among the first to use prepreg carbon in sailing boats, and in 1987 it built the first prepreg Nomex-cored maxi. Employees Jono Morris and Mark Evans took over in 2000, a shipyard in Zhuhai, southern China, opened in 2006 to support semi-custom ranges, Hong Kong-based Tiger Group Investments invested in 2014, and today the company is privately owned by Mark Evans and Tiger Group, with more than 200 staff in Australia, China and Hong Kong. The yard says it has more maxi line-honours wins than any other builder — Wild Oats XI among them — and 64 Rolex Sydney Hobart podiums since 1983; it built AC40s for the 37th America's Cup. The first McConaghy catamaran was launched in 2018. The range, described as production boat building with full-custom capability, covers the carbon MC55, MC62 and MC68 sailing catamarans, the full-electric Panther 48, 56 and 68, the S80 Sapphire, the GT86 and PL115 Platinum power catamarans, the EX82x and proposed EX131x Explorer, and the MC38 and MC31 one-design racers.
Who sails them
McConaghy owners are performance-minded sailors and adventurous cruisers: racing owners and class sailors in the MC38 and MC31, multihull buyers who want a light carbon catamaran that sails like a monohull and can be configured to their own layout, and long-range owners drawn to electric Panthers, explorer power cats and the yard's race-boat engineering.
Signature models
Maxi racers such as Wild Oats XI made the McConaghy name; today the semi-custom MC Multihulls — the MC55, MC62 and MC68 with indoor twin helms and hydraulic centreboards — and the full-electric Panther 56 carry it into cruising, alongside the MC38 one-design.
Strengths
McConaghy is known for advanced composite engineering from aerospace-style prepreg carbon onward, a race record the yard counts in maxi line honours and Sydney Hobart podiums, America's Cup AC40 builds, semi-custom multihulls with full-custom flexibility, electric and hybrid projects, and yards in Australia and China.
Considerations
Model pages use several layouts and some figures are approximate; the MC55 prints two different tank capacities, the MC62 page reuses the MC55's introduction and interior renders and prints an LOA of 20.50 m; several series boats (Sapphire, Platinum, Explorer) are shown as renders and the EX131x is a proposal; Panther motors are given in kW only; older MC model pages remain online; prices are not published.
Analysis generated 10/17/2026
Part of
McConaghy Boats · since 1967
Fleet at a Glance
13 models in total
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
Sailing range
- Models in catalog
- 9
- Length range
- 9.15–23.98 m
- Hull forms
- Sailing Catamaran 7 · Sailing Monohull 2
- Cabins
- 3–5
Motor range
- Models in catalog
- 4
- Length range
- 24.78–40 m
- Hull forms
- Motor Catamaran 4
Models by this brand
13 models
EX131x Explorer
LOA: 40 m
EX82x Explorer
LOA: 24.78 m
GT86
LOA: 25.54 m
MC31
LOA: 9.15 m
MC38
LOA: 11.35 m
MC55
LOA: 17.94 m
MC62
LOA: 20.5 m
MC68
LOA: 20.7 m
Panther 48
LOA: 15.69 m
Panther 56
LOA: 17.94 m
Panther 68
LOA: 22.04 m
PL115 Platinum
LOA: 35.36 m
S80 Sapphire
LOA: 23.98 m
History
John McConaghy founded the company in 1967 and set out to build skiffs, Tornado and A-class catamarans from materials never before used in boats. In the mid-1970s McConaghy was one of the first to apply prepreg carbon to sailing boat construction, and its first 18-foot prepreg carbon skiff set a benchmark for years. In 1987 it built the first prepreg Nomex-cored maxi yacht, at the time the largest composite structure in the world. In 2000 employees Jono Morris and Mark Evans took over from John McConaghy and his long-time partner Steve Moxham and went on to build some of the most successful maxis — Alfa Romeo took Sydney Hobart line honours in 2002, and Wild Oats XI won line honours from 2005, seven times in all. In 2006 the company opened a shipyard in China, which supported several semi-custom ranges; in 2012 it helped build James Cameron's DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible, and in 2014 it delivered the 42.5-metre trimaran Adastra from Zhuhai, its largest build. Hong Kong-based Tiger Group Investments invested in 2014. The first McConaghy catamaran was launched in February 2018. By 2020 the company, privately owned by Mark Evans and Tiger Group, had tripled in a decade to more than 200 staff in Australia, China and Hong Kong; it was chosen to build the AC40 for the 37th America's Cup in 2022 and a hydrogen chase boat in 2023.
History written frommcconaghyboats.com/our-story/· Our Storyread 10/17/2026