- Founded
- 1984
- Headquarters
- La Grande-Motte, France
- Shipyard location
- Same as headquarters
- Official website
- https://catamaran-outremer.com/en/
Brand Overview
French builder of bluewater cruising catamarans, founded in 1984 in La Grande-Motte and now part of the Grand Large Yachting group.
Overview written fromcatamaran-outremer.com/en/about-outremer/our-story/read 9/11/2026
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
Outremer is a French specialist builder of high-performance bluewater cruising catamarans, founded in 1984 and now part of the Grand Large Yachting group. It occupies a premium niche distinct from volume production catamaran makers, emphasizing light, fine-hulled, seaworthy designs intended for serious offshore passage-making rather than coastal charter use.
Who sails them
Typical owners are experienced couples or families preparing for long-distance bluewater passages, sabbatical years, or full circumnavigations rather than day-sailing or short coastal cruising. Crews are usually small (a couple or family) seeking a fast, seaworthy multihull for liveaboard or extended voyaging, and boats are sometimes chartered but are primarily bought for private long-term cruising.
Signature models
Outremer 45, Outremer 51 and Outremer 5X, and the current Outremer 4X/48/52/57/64 range define the brand: the 45 is the single-handed entry point, the 51 was twice awarded European Yacht of the Year and Boat of the Year in the United States, and the 2007 relaunch under Grand Large Yachting introduced the fully infused structures the current range is built with.
Strengths
Outremer is widely credited with building genuinely seaworthy, lightweight, fast bluewater catamarans with strong offshore pedigree, multiple 'Best European Boat' and 'Boat of the Year' awards, and a loyal owner community; it also exports the large majority of its production internationally.
Considerations
Outremer catamarans are performance-oriented bluewater cats built in relatively limited numbers, so they command a premium price versus mainstream production catamarans and buyers may face longer lead times and fewer standard cabin-layout choices.
Analysis generated 9/11/2026
Part of
Grand Large Yachting↗ · since 2007
Also in the catalogue
Where they build
The building sites this yard publishes, in its own order.
La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte, France
Fleet at a Glance
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
- Models in catalog
- 9
- Length range
- 14.54–20.5 m
- Hull forms
- Sailing Catamaran 9
- Cabins
- 3–4
- Production years
- 2014
Models by this brand
9 models
Outremer 45
LOA: 14.54 m
Outremer 48
LOA: 14.63 m
Outremer 4X
LOA: 14.54 m
Outremer 51
LOA: 15.65 m
Outremer 52
LOA: 15.73 m
Outremer 55
LOA: 16.73 m
Outremer 57
LOA: 17.38 m
Outremer 5X
LOA: 18.28 m
Outremer 64
LOA: 20.5 m
History
In June 1984 at La Grande Motte, Gérard Danson, a young architect from the Conati yard, joined the yard's best technician, Daniel Cailloux, to build a powerful, seaworthy 40-foot catamaran for offshore cruising. Danson's conviction was that lightness, fine hulls and low windage are what make a bluewater multihull behave at sea. A second boat was under way before the first had launched, others joined, and the small firm needed a name: Outremer -- overseas. The early cruising multihulls were built to their owners' wishes, open cockpit or not, small coachroof or large, outboard or inboard, and they placed well in the races they entered. A 50-footer followed with more space, new sheds were built, the teams grew and a design office was set up; the first Outremer 45, Bagnoles de l'Orne, won the OSTAR under Didier Levillain, and families began to see the catamaran as a safe boat for a sabbatical year or a circumnavigation. Danson's death in 2005 closed the first era. In 2007 the Grand Large Yachting group restarted production and brought in leading multihull architects, and the Outremer 49 -- fully infused structure, balanced hulls, level spaces, all-round visibility -- renewed the bluewater catamaran. Close to 400 Outremers have sailed since 1984; the yard is present in fifteen countries and exports 70 per cent of what it builds.
History written fromcatamaran-outremer.com/en/about-outremer/our-story/· Our storyread 9/25/2026