The Excess 14’s attractive performance (and price) is turning heads in the industry. Now, Nautilus Sailing, our official sailing school partner with liveaboard courses around the world, has acquired an Excess 14 for their operations – a notable testament! Here’s what you need to know…
The newly released 2024 Excess 14 is gaining momentum in the sailing world, with talk of impressive performance undersail without compromising on comforts – all at a very attractive entry price point.
As the official dealer for the Caribbean, Dream Yacht has many Excess catamarans in their global charter fleet and with more arriving in the future, and Excess catamarans are also available to be placed in a Dream Yacht charter management program. Now, Dream Yacht clients are confirming the earlier reports – the Excess 14 is a standout particularly with regard to handling and performance.
The performance to comfort balance
Most catamaran brands state as a part of their mission achieving a balance of performance and comfort. And in recent years, yacht builders have reached new heights in terms of comfort, with massive lounging sunbeds, multiple seating areas, full size refrigerators, and more.
Nautilus Sailing, a Dream Yacht partner offering ASA certifications and liveaboard “fast track” courses has felt the changes from catamaran builders. Tim Geisler, Nautilus Sailing’s Lead Sailing Instructor notes, “Boats are getting more spacious and livable, which makes them extremely comfortable while at anchor, but the price has been that sailing performance has been severely compromised. As a sailing school we have desperately wanted a catamaran that strikes a better balance of sailing performance, while still being comfortable.”
While the Excess 14 provides a very nice level of comfort as well, there’s a greater focus on a fun and satisfying catamaran sailing experience. VPLP naval architects and ocean racing experts analyzed every aspect from a performance standpoint, and has broken the old mold with the Excess 14’s re-imagined design. They pursued weight savings, with changes in build materials and lighter interior furnishing, as well as optimized keel hydrodynamics with innovative asymmetric hulls.
The result? An ultra- modern and sleek hull design with greater stability, reduced drag, and at least a ton of weight savings compared to similar sized cruising catamarans.
Nautilus Sailing meets the Excess 14
Geisler continues, “We were thrilled when the Excess 14 catamaran was launched, as the company wanted to get back to the joy of sailing and build a catamaran that was fun and fast to sail. We were lucky enough to get a test sail in Tampa Bay on hull #1, before she made her North American debut at the Miami Boat show. We were blown away! In 9 kts of true wind, on a flat water day, we were hitting speeds of 7 kts with the code 0. We had ear to ear grins as we put the Excess 14 through her paces, enjoying the acceleration, the nimble steering, and the joy of wind in your face from the outboard helm stations.”
Nautilus Sailing’s purchase of a new Excess 14 is a glowing endorsement and we’re looking forward to seeing what’s next for the sailing school . For now, Nautilus Sailing is offering their alumni students an exciting opportunity to sail in the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, and more before making the Atlantic crossing to deliver the yacht to its new Caribbean home in Grenada. In the future, the company plans to offer liveaboard sailing courses aboard the new yacht, as well.
“Excess has designed and built a catamaran that fits a truly unique niche in today’s catamaran market. The Excess 14 sails like a performance catamaran, at a production catamaran price, while not compromising on interior space and comfort. We can’t wait to run live aboard sailing courses on our new Excess 14, scheduled to be completed in March 2024. We know this boat will be a huge hit with our students and can’t wait to spend more time on her!” says Geisler.
Interested in learning to sail your own 40 to 50-foot yacht? Reach out to Nautilus Sailing and learn about their plans for future Excess 14 sailing courses, as well as current offerings aboard other yachts around the world!
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Dream Yacht is an official dealer for Excess catamarans in the Caribbean. Contact our professional yacht sales consultants for more information about retail purchase, or placing an Excess catamaran in our global charter fleet.
