Neel 45 vs the Neel 47

How these two performance sailing trimarans compare.

Being Neel 45 owners for quite a few years now, Amanda and I find ourselves having to explain our 45 model, defending against the latest generation of Neels, namely the 47 and 51 (now replaced by a 52). Generally the discussion revolves around performance, which in our opinion, the boats differ greatly, perhaps more than some understand. I want to be clear I don’t have a negative view of the newer Neels, it’s just that every boat has it’s design purpose, and the later generations don’t match the 45 in terms of performance, among a few other points of consideration. Conversely, the 45 can’t match the later models in other regards, such as living space and accommodations.

Let’s first take a look at each boat’s overall dimensions, weight, sail area, and hull slenderness ratios:

Neel 45

LOA 47ft - LWL 45.4ft - Beam 27.7ft - Displacement (Cruising Mode) - 8.6T - Sail Area (S.A.) 106m2 - Waterline Beam Ratio Central Hull (13.8m / 1.38m) 10:1 - S.A./Displacement (8.6T / 106m2) - 25.6

Neel 47

LOA 47ft - LWL 44.8ft - Beam 27.0ft - Displacement (Cruising Mode) - 12.6T (Est.) - Sail Area (S.A.) 120m2 - Waterline Beam Ratio Central Hull (13.6m / 2.1m(est)) 6.5:1 - S.A./Displacement (12.6T / 120m2) - 22.5

Most surprising is the length overall. Generally, boat builders will market a boat as their LOA. But occasionally, you get branding tricks to either market them longer, or shorter than they really are. In the case of the 45, that is essentially LWL, excluding the bow sprit, while the 47 includes the sprit.

When speaking about performance, the first dimensions usually discussed are displacement and sail area. It’s equivalent to ‘power to weight ratio’ of a sports car. The 45 is a fairly light boat, considering her accommodations. Our manual actual says 6.08T light ship displacement, but I am listing real world cruising values, of which a recent 45 was weighted at 8.4T loaded. I generously added a little more to 8.6T for ‘full of people’ weight. I have only heard rumors of the 47 actual weight, for a less equipped boat, to be 12.6T, and even heavier if you add A/C’s thrusters, and a host of options, non of which ‘add lightness’. Next for sail area, you generally find the more the boat weighs, the more SA must be installed, which in turn adds weight (larger rigging, taller mast, etc). The 45 can hoist 106m2 of canvas compared to the 120m2 on the 47, lending each to a SA/D value of 25.6 vs 22.5, respectivly. Now, 22.5 is very respectable, especially when comparing to cruising monohulls which generally are less than 20. But, as you can see, even with generous weight allowances, the 45 simply has more umph.

Another important design aspect is the slenderness of the hulls. Disregarding living space, a designer would wish to make the hulls as slender as possible, decreasing drag and improving high-speed and capability. But, we do have to put people and things in our boats, so they tend to get fat. The 45 was designed with a very slender center hull, and extremely slender amas, giving the main hull a ratio of 10:1, respectable for a trimaran. Now the 47 got wider in both the center hull, and the amas (to include double-wide living space in each hull), resulting in a less-slender ratio of 6.5:1. I can personally attest to our 45’s ability to take-off and go fast as we easily surf with maxes usually around 15-20kts in a good breeze, and not over-canvased. Over a long passage, each little surf really pays off as we can clock in 200+nm downwind days, thanks to all her combined dimensions.

A quantity which is harder to measure, but easy to see in pictures, is the bridge deck clearance. this is more commonly discussed in catamarans, but shares the same aplicability to trimarans. When sailing in a sea state, a sailor would wish to have the highest bridge deck possible to limit ‘slamming’ and ‘slapping’ of incoming waves. Now trimarans have a little benefit where the center hull tends to dampen the wave energy, so for our 45, we never have ‘slamming’, and only in the roughest weather, occational ‘slapping’. Looking at the latest Neels you will see a much lower bridge deck, which does result in more noise, even in a less moderate sea state.

So what do you give-up for this extra performance? Living space. It’s no secret a boat with big living spaces sells at boat shows, and in my opinion, the current Neels have taken this tack. The 47, and others, have a central master with panoramic views, galley forward, and guests living in comfortable air conditioned accommodations in the amas. This is a fantastic platform for certain buyers, especially those sailing in the tropics, with occasional guests.

I can summarise my thoughts with the old addage about boats, that everything is a compromise. Every boat has it’s place and purpose, and most important, if the boat pleases it’s occupants, then mission accomplished! For us, purchasing our Neel 45 was about finding a lightweight performance cruising multihull which sails well. This it does, and has exceeded our expectations. We love going fast and so do our guests. The boat put’s smiles on faces as it eats those miles and motors less.

To whatever you sail, fair winds and enjoy those following seas!

Darren Seltzer