We have been fortunate to be able to chat with Jon Madinaveitia, (aka Madina) about some of the merits of the Broadblue catamaran range.
Many of you may already know of him, he is a respected yacht broker at the UK's leading Brokerage and Broadblue Agent, Multihull World.
He has a seemingly unfathomable depth of knowledge about multihulls. Anything you need to know about cats and tri's he probably knows already. He refers to himself as a bit of an "anorak" when it comes to multihulls, but this clearly is very handy given his job!
As well as selling boats he has also owned plenty of multihulls. His list includes a Shuttleworth, Dragonfly 25, Aquilon, Rory Carter 28, and a Broadblue Rapier 400, so he has real hands-on experience and extensive "time on the water".
He admits to having owned a monohull, or "half a boat" as he calls them, but he is a multihull advocate.

"It's really about the performance and consequently shorter passage times. It means you can go further, more quickly, with less stress and in comfort. It's much easier to make a cup of tea (or use the head!) on a catamaran while still cranking along to your destination. And you don't arrive there tired and exhausted".

And a cat is also good for shorthanded sailing or sailing with the family. In the early days he would set out with just a crew aboard, and then later with his wife and young children. "it's a good solid platform and you can power up or down depending on who is on board."

"And the great thing is there is a multihull for everybody, be you someone wanting to liveaboard, go day-sailing and have weekends away, or go on extended cruises and ocean passages".

Multihull World has a steady stream of buyers for both used and new boats across a wide spectrum. So, I asked, as you'd expect me to about the Broadblue range and why people choose them.

"Well first of all they are designed as real cruisers, both the cruising range and the more performance oriented Rapier range.  They are well built, and hand finished, and we see this reflected in how the older boats retain their quality feel".

The Broadblues are not mass produced and each one does have a more personal feel. Each boat is bespoke to its owner when it is built.
"I had a Rapier 400 for several years and had some great sailing. I was the second owner, but she had been spec'd in a way that appealed to me. It has the galley up and a long roof which is one of many combinations Broadblue offers. We sailed her all over, I think the most memorable was one of the sails from Alderney back to Chichester - it was quick, it was blowing that day - fantastic sailing".

"I could have chosen the Broadblue 385 as a very comfortable cruising cat and I am sure would have been very happy, (they are very popular and are always in demand) but I wanted a little more performance so chose the Rapier".
Jon kept his Rapier in Chichester and would happily go to Poole or Swanick over the weekend, and further afield when they had more time

"The 400 sails very well and the saloon/galley layout meant we could sail comfortably as a family, safely and at speed". 

He has also sailed the bigger Rapier 550, Blue Wonder, which was recently sold to an Australian family who have just crossed the Atlantic. They are now planning to have a season in the Caribbean before selling her on.

"The 550 was almost a boat ahead of its time, a unique design when it came to the market in 2014. It's single level enclosed helm/cockpit/saloon gives an unparalleled fully integrated single space. It’s only recently that other manufacturers have begun to introduce similar features. It's light and impressively quick”. And of course, it is great to have her re listed, hopefully she will go to another good owner”.

On a different level I asked about the Broadblue 346, the smallest production catamaran being built today.

"It's a good little cat, with a surprising amount of space bearing in mind it's only 33 feet long. I think it's best for couples or families who want to go coastal cruising and bay hopping, and it has king size beds which would be good for me" (Jon is 6'4" tall!)
One of the innovative aspects of the boat is the sail-station which is unique to Broadblue. It was trialled on the 345, and now fitted on all 346's, 385's and the new 425.
"The sail-station works well and means you can actually sail this boat single handed, everything is right there easy to hand next to the helm, the angled winches are a good idea too".

The 385 model maintains its traditional lines and so far to date has been Broadblues most popular model.

"It is a robust design, and the new Series 4 is a jump up from the earlier models. They have raised the bridge deck clearance, modernised the rig and introduced the sail station, these changes will make this model even more desirable."

And Broadblue's have a good reputation in the used catamaran marketplace.

"We don't see Broadblues that often as the owners tend to keep them for many years and they look after them. When they do come up, they don't usually hang around, so if you see one listed on our website, move quickly!"