Publications in small, salamitactic morsels, a Competition The film even features a complete boat to be won, lavish performances including an Oscar Wilde quote ("Nothing is as successful as excess") and the Image film then the big show at boot Düsseldorf with its own stand, the only thing missing was an Excess Cat itself: Beneteau went all out to give the new series a brilliant start. The presentation beat the product itself, as it was a little more conventional than expected, at least on paper.
Nevertheless, the Excess range aims to offer customers a better combination of comfort and performance. According to the shipyard, 90 per cent of catamarans today are designed for cruising and only ten per cent for performance. With the Excess, they want to offer a modern, aesthetic and efficient boat that also satisfies sportier sailors. The aim is to achieve this with slightly less weight and more sail area. Without a flybridge and with the mainsheet on deck instead of on the roof, the structure of the superstructure has been reduced, which means several hundred kilograms. The boat is steered with double wheels in the sterns. According to Beneteau's sailing yacht boss Bruno Belmont, the aim is "not only to have fun in the bay, but also when travelling. The engine should not be started at ten knots of wind, but only below six knots."
Optional higher rigs, which increase the sail carrying capacity by around 10 per cent, are intended to provide even more speed. The hulls with inverted freeboards in the bow area are partly produced in the same moulds as the Lagoons. The construction materials and production process are also identical to the sister line. The interior also offers similar variants: Four cabins and two larger or four smaller wet cells are possible for the Excess 12. The prices are higher than those for a corresponding Lagoon catamaran: the Excess 12 costs from 362,000 euros, the 15 690,200 euros. The shipyard emphasises that the boats are fully equipped and ready to sail.
The series starts with the Excess 12 and Excess 15 models, both of which will be launched in autumn at the Yachting Festival Cannes are to be presented. The brand will be expanded to include the 11, 13 and 14 models, which will allow the shipyard to target the core of the market with the entire line. The smallest, the Excess 11, will be on show for the first time at boot Düsseldorf 2020.
The goals are ambitious: Beneteau wants to sell 800 catamarans under the Lagoon and Excess brands by 2020. The shipyard is taking a special approach to sales: Excess will not be offered by the established Lagoon cat salesmen, but through a new sales network, which can also include dealers of the monohull brands Oceanis and First. This means that there is not only internal competition between the lines, but also within the dealer network.
For comparison: this is what the similarly sized Lagoon 42 looks like
Conceptually comparable: Bavaria's Nautitech with deep steering positions
