“When Olivier Poncin , president of Catana Group, decided to build Bali catamarans, he couldn’t afford to run after the other shipyards which already produced more affordable cruising multi-hulls; so, he decided to reinvent them”. Luigi Coretti of Adria Ship, the Italian society importing Bali boats, uses these words to explain the commercial root and the philosophy of the French brand, which exhibited the Bali 4.0 at the last Boot Düsseldorf.
The immediately perceivable differences between Bali products and competitors’ ones concern, above all, the way they can be experienced. First of all, the inclusion of a cockpit and a fore sun pad has doubled the equipped space available in the deck for the benefit of conviviality, while maintaining the same sizes. “Moreover – explains Coretti – the presence of a structure between the two hulls makes the whole stronger while preventing them from twisting. The heavier weight is compensated by the Pvc sandwich construction technology with closed cells core”
The opening fore glass wall is another innovative solution which floods interiors with air and natural light and contributes to provide with a pleasant sensation of space in the living zone. The tilting door in the salon, too, which opens like a car box, doubles the usable space with the creation of a unique space between the cockpit and the dinette. Finally, the fly bridge, which hosts the wheel house and additional long seats, creates a large sun pad outside.
The fleet of the brand currently includes four sailing models and a motor one, all conceived by Poncin and designed by Xavier Faÿ for the naval architecture and Hervé Couedel for interiors.
The “heart” of the production is the Bali 4.0, the smallest catamaran of the range (just 11.93 m) currently built in two different versions: Lounge, available in six different interior layouts, featuring two cabins and two bathrooms or even six cabins, each with an en-suite toilet. And Day-Charter, specifically designed for charter companies and with a 28-passenger capacity. ” A very successful boat: 62 units sold over the total 100 ones sold by the shipyard in two years“.
The larger model, the Bali 4.3, features usable spaces and wide volumes worthy of bigger yachts. It is available in two versions: sailing and motor. Yachtsmen, in fact, are increasingly asking for boats able to combine the advantages of a motoryacht and those of a multi-hull: spacious interiors, stability and low consumption. Interiors are available in two different layouts, with three or four cabins, all with en-suite bathroom.
The Bali 4.5, the only model with no tilting door, is built in two versions. One is more traditional, with the wheel house located in the cockpit; the other, on the contrary, has the helm station on the fly bridge. Like the other models, it preserves the exteriors layout, with the possibility to stay in the cockpit, the fore sun pad or the fly bridge.
Finally, the first Bal 5.2 is currently under construction and will be presented at Cannes Yachting Festival next September. The peculiarity of this new creation lies in the possibility to create a unique considerably large open space between the dinette, the kitchen and the fore cockpit. Sleeping quarters will include four, five or six double or twin-bed cabins.
