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Garcia Yachts

Garcia Explocat 52

In production
Garcia Explocat 52 — photo 1

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EXPLOCAT_52-GARCIA-Yachts-EXPAND-3240 — Garcia Yachts

Design

Designer
Darnet Design
Naval architect
Pierre Delion

Summary

55.6 ftLOA80.7 ftAIR DRAFT4.9 ftDRAFT26.9 ftBEAM
Sailing CatamaranSail
Length overall
55.6 ft
Beam
26.9 ft
Draft
4.9 ft
Air draft
80.7 ft
Displacement
41,006 lb
Sail area (upwind)
1,830 ft²
Cabins
3–4
Berths
6–10

* A standard reference image, not the actual boat — shown to help visualise this model's published dimensions.

Best Suited For

Tags are derived from certified class, length, sail area, accommodation and tankage using the criteria described on the Sources page; an editor may add or remove one.

Sailing Ratios

Classic yacht-design ratios worked out from the builder's published figures, each shown against the bands designers read it by.

Sail area / displacement

How much sail the boat carries for its weight — its power in light air.

ModestCruiserPerformanceRacing162024Garcia Explocat 52: 24.6
  • 24.6· Racing
How it is worked out

sail area (ft²) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅔

published upwind sail area

Displacement / length

How heavy the boat is for its waterline length. Lower is lighter and quicker; higher is steadier and roomier.

UltralightLightModerateHeavyVery heavy100180270350
  • not published: waterline length
How it is worked out

displacement (long tons) ÷ (0.01 × waterline length in ft)³

Most builders publish a light displacement. The ratios were defined on a loaded boat, so every boat here reads a little lighter than a surveyor's figure would — all alike, which keeps them comparable.

Tanks

What the builder publishes about how fast, how strong and how much the boat carries.

Fuel and water on one scale: a tank twice the height holds twice as much.

  • Fuel291 gal
    Water174 gal

    17 gal of water per berth

Dimensions

LOA
55.6 ft (16.95 m)
Hull length
—
LWL
—
Beam
26.9 ft (8.2 m)
Draft (min)
4.9 ft (1.5 m)
Draft (max)
—
Air draft
80.7 ft (24.6 m)
Displacement
41,006 lb (18,600 kg)
Ballast
—
Cabins
3–4
Heads
—
Berths
6–10

Sail Plan

Main sail
—
Jib
—
Genoa
—
Sail area
1,830 ft² (170 m²)
Downwind sail area
2,045 ft² (190 m²)
Rig type
—

Engine and Tanks

Engine
60 hp
Engine count
2
Engine manufacturer
—
Propulsion type
—
Fuel capacity
291 gal (1,100 L)
Fresh water capacity
174 gal (660 L)
Black water capacity
—

Construction

Mast material
—
Hull material
Aluminium
Deck material
—
Keel type
—
Rudder type
—
Steering wheels
—

Builder's Own Figures

Gennaker
190 m2
Diesel capacity
2 x 550 l
Displacement
app.
Engine
2 x 60 HP

Figures read fromBROCHURE_GARCIA-EXPLOCAT-EN-d_ppp.pdf(PDF linked from the builder's page)read 9/13/2026from the brochure PDF and the site's comparison table

Layouts & Drawings

2 drawings from the builder's page: general arrangement, sail plan, profile.

Brochure

Download the official Garcia Explocat 52 brochure (PDF)

About Garcia Yachts

Semi-custom

French builder of aluminium blue-water cruising and exploration sailing yachts, founded in Normandy in 1974 and now part of the Grand Large Yachting group.

In 1974 two metalworker brothers, Jean-Pierre and Jean-Louis Garcia, founded a shipyard in Normandy and, inspired by Moitessier and Slocum, built some sixty steel boats that made the yard's name on ocean-cruising routes. Aluminium arrived in 1984 with the 36.15 MET, a minimalist 60-footer built with Jean-Luc Van den Heede that took third place in the first Vendée Globe, followed by the Passoa range of 43 to 55 feet and the Nouanni. The 2000s were the one-off years -- Zurbagan, a 90-footer by Vaton and Couedel, won the Super Yacht Design Award in 2006 -- and in 2010 Garcia joined the Grand Large Yachting group. In 2013 the Exploration range was launched with the navigator Jimmy Cornell, whose Exploration 45 made the Northwest Passage in 2015; the concept grew to a catamaran in 2020 and to 60-footers in 2021, and three more Exploration 45s made the Passage in 2024. More than four hundred bluewater cruisers have left the workshops in fifty years.

Visit brand page

The Garcia Yachts Range

Every model Garcia Yachts publishes, by length — where this one sits in the range.

  1. Garcia Exploration 6064 ft
  2. Garcia Explocat 52· this model55.6 ft
  3. Garcia Exploration 5254.6 ft
  4. Garcia Exploration 4548.8 ft

By the Same Designers

Boats this boat's designers also drew, for other builders too. Credits are grouped only where the names clearly agree, however each builder spelled them; an unclear one is left out.

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