Leopard 46 Review: Innovative Cruising Cat with Hybrid Power
In not a lot of wind, maybe 10 to 15 knots, a square-top main and code-zero headsail had the Leopard 46 catamaran skipping across Chesapeake Bay at 7 knots and change, and sometimes quicker in the puffs. The steering was responsive. The helm, raised to deck level and protected from weather by a hardtop Bimini, was comfortable. From the two-person driver’s seat, I found good all-round visibility, and all sail-control lines were close at hand and easily managed by the electric Harken winches on the cabin top.
On a Boat of the Year sea trial of any other big cruising cat, the sailing capability alone of this latest model from South African builder Robertson and Caine would have had my full attention.
But even more than that, I found myself glued to a small display screen mounted near the wheel. On it, an easy-to-understand graphic showed that we were not only hauling the proverbial mail, but we were also generating electricity and recharging the lithium phosphate batteries without expending a drop of diesel. In theory, with the assistance of an array of solar panels mounted on the Bimini top, if we sailed long enough, we’d arrive at our destination with the battery bank fully charged and without ever having to run the range-extending generator.
In a year when we encountered several approaches to hybrid or all-electric propulsion, the system that comes as an option on the Leopard seemed the simplest for an owner to master. My colleague Tim Murphy would conclude later in a story written by our fellow judge Herb McCormick: “We’re seeing more and more electric options, and this is a solid step in the right direction.”
The Leopard 46, designed by Alex Simonis and the team at Simonis Voogd, replaces a popular 45-foot Leopard that was also available for charter ownership under The Moorings and Sunsail brands. Introduced at the Annapolis Boat Show in 2016, the 45 had a model run of 379 boats, with the last one delivered in 2024. The brands, all owned by Travelopia, have an unusual relationship with R&C, in that they are the builder’s only customer. And for several years now, Simonis has been the chief designer of all R&C sail- and power-cat models.
During our dockside briefing at the most recent sailboat show, Franck Bauguil, senior vice president of yacht ownership and product development at Travelopia, explained some of the challenges in developing the new model. It had to offer new features to set it apart from its predecessor, and it had to come in at a similar price to remain attractive as a charter investment. It also needed to reflect the elements that private owners expect to find on a yacht with a price tag approaching $1 million—or even a couple hundred thousand more if equipped with the hybrid package.
For his part, Simonis has faced these tensions before. The 45, introduced in 2016, brought similar considerations and earned Cruising World kudos as Best Charter Boat. The 46, meanwhile, was named 2025 Best Full-Size Multihull 45 to 50 feet.
Apart from the hybrid propulsion system, there are a number of new features included in the 46, starting with its construction. Previous R&C boats have been built using three molds for the hull, with the pieces then glassed together along the bridge deck. The mold for the 46’s infused hull is one piece, a process the builder will employ in all future models, Bauguil said. And on this boat, aluminum mullions support the cabin top while glass windows replace the acrylic ones used in other models.
Compared with the 45, the transition between the salon and cockpit feels more open. This was achieved by eliminating the after bulkhead and replacing it with a composite ring frame. Revamping the cockpit door with four glass panels that slide out of the way allows for a dining table indoors to be in close proximity to another one in the cockpit. In good weather, the crowd can have a banquet.
A nav station is forward and to port in the salon. With just about 360-degree visibility, it would be a fine place to spend night watches. Between it and the galley to starboard, a watertight door opens onto the forward cockpit.
The 46 is available with several layouts. The boat in Annapolis included an owner’s stateroom aft to starboard and a VIP stateroom forward, each en suite with its own companionway. The port hull held a third stateroom aft; forward was a workshop/utility room with a washer and dryer. For chartering, four- and five-stateroom layouts are available.
On deck, a portside stairway just outside the cockpit leads to a lounge atop the Bimini top that has couch seating, a table and sun pads. Access to the raised helm is from the starboard deck or via steps up from the cockpit.
Boats for the Leopard brand have a lifting swim platform that can also hold a dinghy. Charter boats have a stainless frame to lift the tender.
The standard sail plan for all models is a regular-cut main and genoa from Ullman (a square-top mainsail is an option). Upgrades are available, and Leopard models have a spit for flying a code-zero reaching sail or a code-D downwind sail.
For power, the standard engines are 45 hp Yanmars with saildrives; 57 hp upgrades are available.
The hybrid system might be what appeals most to a buyer with early-adopter tendencies, but there’s also a lot to be said for the proven reliability of a couple of a modern, efficient diesels. Either way, the Leopard 46 offers loads of fresh ideas in an attractive cat that’s cruiser-friendly and fun to sail.
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Price $1.2 million (as tested)
leopardcatamarans.com
Greener Sailing
The hybrid electric propulsion system being offered as an option on the Leopard 46 relies on technology developed in France by a company named Joool, which was launched in 1998 as Alternative Energies. It has systems installed on a number of European ferries and workboats. It recently became a part of the group that owns Fountaine Pajot and Dufour Yachts, and is working with other builders as well.
At the heart of its hybrid system is the OneBox, a sealed unit that the company says enables “energy conversion and distribution for your boat.” On the Leopard 46, the OneBox collects energy generated by multiple sources: four 400-watt solar panels, propeller pods capable of regeneration under sail, shore power, and electricity produced by a 24 kW diesel generator. The system then stores that energy in two 27 kW lithium phosphate battery banks—one in each hull. As it’s needed, power is transformed into DC and AC current of various voltages to run house loads and the two 25 kW electric motor pods.
When sailing, one or both motors can be set in regeneration mode to replenish the battery banks, along with power coming in via the solar panels incorporated into the Bimini top, according to an engineer aboard the day of our test sail. The system senses when the battery banks reach a certain level of discharge and automatically starts the generator.
It’s a complex system, but in practical terms, an owner needs only to monitor displays mounted at the nav desk and the helm station, then decide how much or how little power to draw from batteries or the diesel generator underway. The goal when passagemaking is to use as little fossil fuel as possible and still arrive with a topped-up battery bank that will take care of house loads which include LED lighting, efficient air conditioning and refrigeration systems, and cooking appliances such as a microwave/convection oven and electric cockpit grill. The boat we sailed in Annapolis had no propane gas aboard.
While the Leopard in Annapolis had a price tag of $1.2 million (compared with a sticker price of just under $1 million for a boat with standard diesel engines), most buyers of the 46 will want options that include a generator and a bank of lithium batteries large enough to cover overnight house loads, says Franck Bauguil, senior vice president of yacht ownership and product development at Travelopia, owner of the Leopard brand.
When you factor in that additional equipment, plus diesel-engine upgrades, the difference in price might not be all that significant.
CW editor-at-large Mark Pillsbury was a 2025 Boat of the Year judge.
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