For the past ten years, Comar Yachts has focused on the production of catamarans, the C Cat: a line that fits into a precise market segment, that of performance cruiser catamarans. They are boats in tune with the current trend of multihull cruising as a winner and, at the same time, able to enhance the sailing aspect as well.
The sporting spirit that has always distinguished Comar boats has not been lost. On average narrower and with sharper hulls than pure cruising hulls, C Cats represent a good compromise between performance, sailing feel and interior volume.
Sail models
After the first 37-footer designed by Marc Lombard – a model that sold well in Italy, France, and China – there followed a 48-footer (designed by François Perus), which was very popular in Italy; however, it is interesting to note that the last two delivered in 2024 are from a German and an Austrian owner.
Last year the 37’s upgrade of went into the water: the C Cat 38. The first unit, built for Massimo and Flavia Guardigli, owners of Comar Yachts, left immediately for the Atlantic crossing with the Arc 2024 (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers), winning it in its category (it should be noted that it was the smallest multihull present).
A crossing that is just the first step for a round-the-world voyage that the Guardigli will begin at the end of the year.
An expanding fleet
In addition to these sail models, there is also a powercat: it is a 40-foot fishing boat wanted by a Chinese owner.
And the fleet is expanding; at this fall’s boat shows we will see the C Cat 65, a boat designed by Enrico Contreas with Luigi Cirillo, optimized with the shipyard’s Technical Office and Studio Amadio & Partners for detailed work on the hull, deck and interior to make them more modern, bright and welcoming.
Interview with Amerigo Guardigli, COO Comar Yachts
Last winter the shipyard unveiled a new concept: the Comet Maxi. A return to monohulls, but focusing on luxury and large size. The range of these sporty, well-sailed but not exaggerated boats was developed with Studio Amadio & Partners and includes models between 24 and 30 meters. Initial input, which kicked off the development of this concept, were requests that came to the yard from Comar owners looking for larger hulls. The boats will be built at the shipyard; Comar in Fiumicino has no space problems.
Comar does all the work in-house: lamination, carpentry, painting, steel processing, and now even carbon mast production.
Catamarans and more: the new Comet Maxi
Currently under construction are four catamarans: the 65-foot model, two 38-foot models, and one 48-foot model. The 65 will be the flagship of the C Cat line. But the shipyard is already looking beyond that; we talk about it with Amerigo Guardigli, son of Massimo and Flavia Guardigli, an engineer, sailor, and great boating enthusiast like the whole family and now the shipyard’s operations manager.
A construction site with a long history. Could you ‘snapshot’ Comar today?
Today Comar is a shipyard that focuses on cruising boats with a strong sporting disposition. To achieve these goals we use high-tech materials. For our boats, weight control is crucial. A lightweight catamaran performs very well, clearly weight alone is not enough sporty hulls are also needed, which while giving satisfaction under sail, have slightly smaller interior volumes. This is something our customers know very well. They are sailors who appreciate the fact that they can really go sailing, that they have remarkable speeds, and that they can safely sail long distances.
You mentioned technological materials: how are your boats built?
Apart from the 38, which is the smallest and all made of glass, the decks are made of biaxial and unidirectional carbon fiber: on the basic structure we insert reinforcements in the most stressed parts, such as those around the chain plates or near the mast.
For the hulls, however, we opted for a hybrid construction: the base lamination is glass, while the reinforcements are carbon. We use only epoxy resins both for their technical characteristics and because they solve the osmosis problem.
We chose to build a hybrid hull because – although glass construction is heavier than a full carbon – it allows the boat to be scrambled a little more: in short, it is less ‘delicate’. And our boats sail a lot and around the world. Just think that 3 of the 4 boats launched in 2024 (two C Cat 48 and one C Cat 38) are currently already ‘elsewhere,’ overseas: in the Caribbean, Brazil, and the United States.
What about the production process?
Our boats are laminated by infusion, a process that is widely used today. What makes the difference is all the design work and the care with which we turn the project into reality.
I would also like to point out all the work that has gone into fine-tuning the lamination to reduce weight without affecting the strength of the boat.
How did the Comet Maxi decision come about?
This concept was developed as a result of several requests; we are currently in negotiations with a number of owners. Our shipyard is ideal to make this type of boats, including the possibility of customization, which is crucial on these sizes. By dealing with all stages of the production process internally, and working handcrafted, we can follow owners and their requests without any problems.
Catamarans and Maxis. What about the medium and small Comets that have made the history of the shipyard?
Although we have made a few smaller monohulls in recent years, we are focusing on catamarans and maxis for now. However, we are talking about ‘replicas’: boats that old owners have asked us to build exactly the same as the ones they had. A curious but understandable phenomenon, given the success of our boats that continue to sail and win regattas.
You have also recently started producing pre-preg carbon masts in-house. Why?
We have always tried to do things in house, so that we can control the entire construction process. This allows us continuous verification of quality and optimization of construction and delivery times.
Specifically, we took the opportunity to start making carbon masts in-house when Franco Manzoli’s Velscaf stopped producing them: Manzoli handed over the technologies to us and guided us along this nontrivial path. To his know-how, we added the ability of new, highly specialized workers who have been dealing with prepreg carbon for more than 10 years on boats of the highest level. Thus, we succeeded in achieving a high-quality product. Today we can say that we produce truly Made in Italy boats.
In addition to the Maxi’s, any other news?
We are considering a new 53-foot catamaran and also something larger, around 80 feet. For now, however, these are barely hinted at projects, stimulated by requests from our owners who want to ‘get bigger’.
C Cat 38: a winning catamaran
The C Cat 38 is the evolution of the first sailing catamaran launched by Comar, the C Cat 37
Compared to the C Cat 37, the new C Cat 38 is 73 cm longer and with a larger mainsail and code 0, as well as a more comfortable cockpit layout.
At 11.73m long and 5.84m wide, the C Cat 38 was designed to be the smallest catamaran that could offer all the amenities during a round-the-world voyage. In fact, the first unit “Bellamossa – Città di Fiumicino” – which the Guardigli family built for their round-the-world trip – is a blue water version.
An energy and water self-sufficient unit
While lightweight, Bellamossa is equipped to be energy and water self-sufficient. The solar panels have a capacity of about 1 kW 700w, and those mounted on the tender davits at the stern are swiveling. Added to these is a wind generator.
“We decided not to mount the hydro-generator as well,” explains Amerigo Guardigli, “because – although we are aware of its efficiency – it is still a propeller in the water and, as such, it makes a bit of friction. During Arc 2024, solar panels and wind generator proved to be more than enough.”
The sleeping area
To give more livability to the sleeping area in the hulls (the boat is optimized to have 2 or 3 double cabins and 2 bathrooms) without interfering with the hull lines, redans were inserted, which widen the hull and allow for 1.60-m-wide beds. A solution that, Amerigo Guardigli points out, “on a technical level has not added particular weight and also helps moderate pitching”.
New models
There are 2 C Cat 38s under construction in the yard, different versions than the “Bellamossa – City of Fiumicino”:
- the first one, which will be displayed at the International Multihull Boat Show in La Grande-Motte, will be the standard model;
- the second one will be a sportier version.
While the larger C Cats make extensive use of carbon, the C Cat 38s are made of glass with the use of epoxy-vinyl resin.
C Cats are laminated by infusion, they have glass hulls with unidirectional and biaxial carbon reinforcements and carbon deck.
Dry fabrics are placed using a special glue that mixes with the resin during infusion. After skins, fabrics, and cores are placed, vacuum bags that cover the entire mold are placed as well. Pumps extract the air and, once a vacuum is created, resin is fed in, starting from the center of the vessel toward the side flanges; this allows the resin to fill all spaces, preventing water seepage or bubbles inside the laminate.
The joint between the hull and deck is bonded and clamped with biaxial fabrics of considerable thickness: “This makes the structure much stronger than bonding alone” points out Davide Caroselli, Production Surveyor.
“Our owners sail a lot, so we have several buoyancy reserves and crash boxes on board. On the C Cat 65, for example, at the bow – in addition to the crash box in the first 30 cm – there are watertight sail lockers, and 4 m from the bow there is another watertight bulkhead. Also, rudders and engines on the 65 are in a single watertight compartment”.
A special feature of C Cats is that they have lower masts on average than others: “This might seem like a contradiction, since we are talking about sport catamarans with high performance; however, it isn’t” Caroselli explains. Our boats are light and, therefore, need less power to move, so a ‘reduced’ mast is ideal; it also makes the boat more maneuverable and easier to handle. Even in very light wind situations, they cope well”.
C Cat 65 will be the flagship of the C Cat range; her launch is expected in the summer, then official presentations will follow at the fall boat shows. Work continues apace at the shipyard, with the catamaran now having its interior almost completed.
The result of a partnership The C Cat 65 is the result of collaboration between the shipyard, Enrico Contreas and Luigi Cirillo, and Studio Amadio&Partners.
“From a design point of view,” Amerigo Guardigli points out, “we worked a lot, for example, on the shapes of the deckhouse, which manages to harmoniously integrate the inverted windshield with its soft, streamlined lines. As for the engineering part, important fluid dynamics work was done with CFD models to define what the best shapes of the hulls could be”.
In detail The layout of the first example will have the left hull dedicated to the owner (and with the crew cabin at the extreme bow) and the right hull will have two doubles with associated facilities. A nearly completely disappearing sliding door will join salon and cockpit, and the helm station will be both external and internal.
On deck, the rigging has been made ad hoc by Antal and Harken; Harken’s FlatWinder 1000 solution has been chosen for the mainsail traveler: a key maneuver on catamarans which allows the sail to be adjusted electrically in a powerful and fast manner. The hull is made of glass with unidirectional carbon reinforcements, while the deck and bulkheads are made of carbon.
“This workmanship has allowed for a nice weight saving, the displacement is 18.5 tons” Amerigo Guardigli chimes in.
