Good things come in pairs with Sunreef’s Houbara.

When Sunreef introduced the 82 Double Deck as a more fuel-efficient alternative to a motoryacht, little did the company executives imagine the first buyers would be a couple dissatisfied with their own powerboat—or that they would take the catamaran, christened Houbara, around the world.

The couple, French nationals, really liked catamarans, but the husband says they were persuaded to buy a motoryacht years ago because of the shorter wavelengths in the Med. He adds that they were also told it would be hard to find a marina with wide slips. As fate would have it, he and his wife were aboard their motoryacht in Barcelona one day and spotted the Sunreef 102 sailing catamaran Ipharra.

“That’s the boat we need,” he exclaimed to his wife.

After meeting the Sunreef Yachts team, the couple initially commissioned a Sunreef 70, but they changed their minds when they saw the plans for the 82 Double Deck, a sailing catamaran. At 82 feet (24.99 meters), and containing a mezzanine area inside, the semi-custom model enhances the already voluminous feel of a cat.

The mezzanine area aboard the 82 Double Deck is actually two raised sections within the main salon. One is a seating/conversation area perched to port. The wife, passionate about painting, uses it as an art studio, complete with special stowage beneath the seats for her supplies. The other raised section is directly opposite and features the interior helm. Both are within sight and sound of a bar to starboard, keeping conversations easy.

As nice as that is, first and foremost, Houbara is a sailing catamaran. The wider stance of the twin hulls—in this case, a 37-foot (11.28-meter) beam—provides the stability normally associated with a catamaran, paired with a sailplan devoted to good performance. The husband says that Houbara, fitted with a carbon-fiber canoe boom and mast, has achieved 10 to 11 knots on most trips.

“Depending on where you are, you hear the engines when you’re on a motoryacht,” he says. “When you are sailing, you hear nothing. You see dolphins play off the front of the boat.”

Equally good, when the twin 355-horsepower Cummins diesels are engaged, he says, Houbara has averaged 13 knots. Better yet, he explains, in covering 11,000 miles to date, Houbara has burned just 423 gallons of her 2,113-gallon capacity.

Many, many more miles are to come: Cuba, followed by a trans-Atlantic crossing for summer in the Med, then the Maldives, South Africa and much of the Pacific.

For more information: (954) 999-5121; sunreef-yachts.com

LOA: 82ft. (24.99m)
Beam: 37ft. (11.28m)
Draft: 6ft. 6in. (1.98m)
Displacement: 58 tons (light)
Construction: fiberglass
Engines (standard): 2 x 355-hp Cummins
Speed: 13 knots on engines
Fuel: 2,113 gal. (8,000L)
Water: 412 gal. (1,560L)