Excess 14: Sporty cruising catamaran for the young at heart put to the test
Johannes Erdmann
· 11.11.2023
If you leaf through the brochures of catamaran shipyards, you will usually see young couples on deck, standing at the helm, sailing into the sunset or enjoying a cocktail on the roof lounge of the superstructure. But although shipyards like to depict new boats with sailors aged between 30 and 40, the reality is usually different: Because unless a house is sold at the same time and the centre of life and activity is moved on board, such catamarans are almost always unaffordable for younger sailors. It is usually older people who buy such boats.
The Beneteau subsidiary Excess is therefore breaking new ground with its catamarans between eleven and 15 metres in length in order to reach younger and young-at-heart sailors in particular, for whom good sailing characteristics and an affordable price are more important than pomp and luxury. In return, the buyer can expect an Ikea-style interior - not in the negative sense of cheap, but rather in the positive sense of cost-conscious and pragmatic. A boat that is built for sailing, offers plenty of space and combines all the advantages of a catamaran with a more attractive price. With a hull length of just over 13 metres, the Excess 14 is roughly the same size as the Nautitech 44 - but costs around 100,000 euros less.
The Excess 14 is the second completely newly developed catamaran in the line
In the early days, Excess initially relied on Lagoon hulls, which the boat builders fitted with a new deck layout. After the Excess 11, the new model 14 is now the second completely newly developed catamaran in the line. In addition to the classic three- and four-cabin layouts, the Excess 14 is also available in a third version that we tested: with three cabins and a multifunctional and storage space in the bow of the starboard hull, in which two additional berths can be folded out if required. A concept that should particularly appeal to owners who are travelling with the boat for longer periods.
How will the new Excess 14 perform? Can it live up to its sporty looks, or will it turn out to be a sheep in wolf's clothing? The very wide hulls in the bow area already suggest that living space played a somewhat more important role than performance during development.
Beneteau subsidiary Excess relies on two steering positions aft
On board welcomes Hervé Piveteau, who used to be a respected Mini-Transat skipper and even won the race in 2007. He is still a conscientious weight and propulsion optimiser today and, together with the designers at VPLP, has shed almost two tonnes of weight overboard in the course of developing the Excess 14. Of course, he doesn't want to reveal exactly how he achieved this. One special feature, however, is that many wooden panels that are structurally hardly stressed were milled out from the rear, such as the lid of the chart table (see gallery above).
More catamarans in the test:
Another special feature is the asymmetrical design of the hulls, unlike the other boats in the range. "We wanted to think a little outside the box and asked ourselves: 'Why do you actually design the hulls symmetrically? The asymmetry moves the centre of buoyancy closer to the outside of the hulls and upwards, creating a higher righting moment. Thanks to the internally optimised hulls, the bow waves of the hulls do not overlap as much and cause less drag.
Just like Nautitech, Excess has two helm stations, which are located aft on the outside. Unlike on a flybridge, the lower helm position allows the skipper to be much closer to the water, has a good view of the sails and can even cast off the aft lines single-handed.
The catamaran surprises with its agility when tacking
We sail the boat in the Pulse version, which comes with a longer mast and a square top mainsail for an extra charge of around 25,000 euros, and also brings around twelve square metres more sail area to the wind. The Elvstrøm sails are also made of grey eXRP Ekko laminate instead of white Dacron. In light winds of between ten and twelve knots, the cat starts immediately and runs at 6.1 knots at a really impressive 40 degrees (for a catamaran). This means that the Excess 14 sails even five degrees higher upwind in the test than the Nautitech 44, which has significantly narrower hulls. The cruising characteristics are outstandingly good for a catamaran, and the work of Hervé Piveteau seems to have paid off.
Naturally, the Excess performs even better at a wind angle of 60 degrees (6.8 knots) or 90 degrees (7.0 knots). In slightly more aft winds, we can roll out the Code Zero and even reach 8.1 knots at 120 degrees. The boat now immediately converts gusts into speed and literally takes off. The cat also surprises with its agility when tacking, turning immediately through the wind like a sporty keelboat without delay. This behaviour may be due to the unusually deep keels (1.48 metres). "We actually wanted to design the boat with centreboards," explains Piveteau, "but then we decided to develop fixed performance keels instead. We found the draught just about acceptable for the size of the boat."
Furniture hinges and screw heads can be found in the cupboards. The comparison with Ikea is obvious
Unlike the Lagoon and Fountaine Pajot, the steering transmission is not hydraulic, but uses Dyneema lines. They seem a little tight because the wheel is very firm, no feedback can be felt and a little force is required to turn it. The seating position on the fold-up rowing bench is very comfortable. The two biminis cost a good 17,800 euros extra, but only provide effective protection when the sun is at its zenith. If it is a little lower, only the head is shaded. The sails are operated via three winches (two electric) directly within reach of the starboard steering position. With a little practice, the boat can therefore be sailed single-handed. Even the traveller for the mainsheet can be operated electrically.
Inside, the saloon and cabins offer excellent space. The shipyard has found a good balance between maximising the volume of the hulls without compromising performance. The interior design is rather pragmatic, the gap dimensions are similar to early Tesla cars and vary from time to time. If you open a cupboard, you can see barely sealed cut edges, hinges and carcass connectors from furniture construction as well as screw heads. The comparison with Ikea comes to mind. The woodwork reveals little of the art of boatbuilding. The cabins look light and appealing, almost Swedish. Rope eyelets were used instead of catches and door fittings. Customised solutions are part of the Excess brand identity. If you take a closer look at the interior fittings, you will see that there are always visible, but reasonably inconspicuous cut-outs to save weight.
The interior of the Excess 14: more pragmatic than elegant
Topcoat has been completely dispensed with in the bilges and also in the sail locker in the bow; you can see right through to the balsa wood core. The layout is similar to that of a classic owner's version: two cabins including bathrooms on the port side, whereby the forward double berth is unusually the larger of the two with a length of two metres and a shoulder width of two metres (with a foot width of 1.70 metres). At the stern, the double berth is 2.02 metres long and only 1.60 metres wide, which seems relatively narrow considering that the aft berth of the much smaller sister Excess 11 measures two by two metres. On the starboard side, the aft berth is identical, with a desk attached to it (as usual), but the bathroom with shower is not located in the bow, but aft, but in the forward third on the starboard side. This has the disadvantage that the bathroom is surprisingly small for an owner's version, with a narrow passage of just 60 centimetres between the toilet and washbasin. The shower is also rather cramped for an owner's version, measuring 61 by 67 centimetres. However, the smaller and offset bathroom made it possible for the developers to accommodate a multifunctional space in the foredeck, which can either be used as a walk-in wardrobe and storage space or as a fourth cabin by folding down two mattresses.
Some of the installations on the test boat look a bit crude. In the engine room, for example, cables that have not been shortened and are far too long are tied together with cable ties. A few things on the boat are also so deliberately different that there is little room for conventional solutions or individual ideas. One special feature of the Excess series, for example, is that only one plotter is offered at one helm station and a tablet in a fixed holder is used in the saloon to mirror the data from the plotter. However, if an owner wants to mount a second, fully-fledged plotter in the saloon, this is only possible in a cumbersome and, so to speak, inconvenient way because there is no panel provided for this purpose. Not even for other instruments, neither outside nor inside. So you have to live the "Excess" concept yourself or make it your own in order to be "d'accord" with all the detailed solutions. However, the comparatively favourable base price of 618,800 euros for a very large and excellent sailing boat makes it easier for the new owner to make some concessions in case of doubt.
The measured values from the test of the Excess 14:
The Excess 14 in detail
Technical data
- Design engineer: VPLP Design
- CE design category: A
- Torso length: 13,34 m
- Total length: 13,97/15,99 m
- Width: 7,87 m
- Depth: 1,48 m
- Mast height above WL: 19,78/21,54 m
- Theor. torso speed: 9.7 kn
- Weight: 12,8 t
- Mainsail (standard): 83 m²
- Furling genoa (standard): 40 m²
- Sail area (total): 123 m²
- Sail area (Pulse Line): 135 m²
- Code Zero (Pulse Line): 86 m²
- machine (Yanmar): 2x 33 kW/45 hp
- Fuel tanks (2): 160 l
- Fresh water tanks (2): 600 l
Hull and deck construction
GRP sandwich construction with polyester resin, hull in vacuum infusion, deck in injection moulding process
Sail
The square-top size and the longer mast provide twelve square metres more sail area
Motors
Two Yanmar diesels with 45 hp each. An upgrade to 57 hp is available for an additional charge (2,629 euros)
Equipment and prices*
- Base price ex shipyard: € 618,800
- Price ready to sail: € 639,618
- Comfort price : 673.461 €
- Warranty/against osmosis: 2/2 years
As of 11/23. You can find out how the prices shown are defined here !
Sail-Away Package
The obligatory package (31,900 euros) makes the Excess ready to sail. It includes a shore power connection, Garmin navigation electronics, an electric winch, the helm seat and other extras
Pulse package
For 25,347 euros more, the Excess 14 becomes a light wind racer. Carbon fibre wheels and better sails included
Useful extras
Two biminis (17,838 euros), electronic throttles (12,423 euros) and solar panels (16,124 euros), an additional water tank (1,451 euros) and a Code Zero (19,560 euros) complete the package
Shipyard
- Excess Catamarans
- 162 Quai de Brazza, F-33072 Bordeaux Cedex
- excess-catamarans.com
YACHT review Excess 14
A successful boat for performance-orientated sailors. For owners who feel at home on Ikea furniture, the Excess 14 offers good value for money.
Design and concept
- + Well thought-out design
- + Spacious and fast at the same time
- + Good price
Sailing performance and trim
- + Very good sailing characteristics
- + Pleasant sea behaviour
- + Can be sailed single-handed
Living and finishing quality
- + Good layout with storage space
- + Lots of living space
- - Quite simple timber construction
Equipment and technology
- + Extensive basic equipment
- - Hardly any room for own solutions
- - Some rough electrical installation
