Seawind 1170 2024 review

Lifestyle is a major driver of catamaran ownership. This, along with building boats that sail well, has always shaped multihull specialist Seawind Catamaran’s designs.

The latest evolution from the Australian-based boat maker is the sleek-looking Seawind 1170, an 11.9-metre mid-level bluewater cruiser that expands on Seawinds’ 42 years of boatbuilding experience.

The global COVID-19 pandemic had significantly delayed the Seawind 1170’s arrival in Australia, so it is good to see it finally arrive. We jumped aboard this new model on Sydney Harbour to gauge how well the new looks suit the extended liveaboard cruising lifestyle.

Catamaran and trimaran specialist Multihull Central has the Seawind 1170 priced from $US500,000 ($A750,000) ex-factory. That is because while the Seawind 1170 is designed in Australia, it is made overseas – our test boat was built in Vietnam.

However, Seawind will soon move its 1170 production line to the Mediterranean Sea at a new yard in Izmir, central western Turkey.

The tall, angular profile of our 1170 test boat, hull No.2, stands out at Multihull Central's marina amid the older, less voluminous Seawind models around it. 

It’s distinctly a Seawind, featuring the trademark triifold cockpit doors maximising the access to the saloon and the helms to make working with the wind or docking easy.

Standard rigging includes an aluminium boom and mast with a single spreader and base-mounted turning blocks; wire side stays; fully battened Dacron mainsail with lazyjacks and a boom cover; and a self-tacking Dacron headsail on a furler system.

The mainsail is controlled via a curved mainsheet track fitted to a Targa top with uprights from the coamings fitted to the aft section.

Two-speed winches include one on the mast, a 40 and a 45 on the starboard helm, and a 40 on the port side. The helm has twin stations with 32.0-inch wheels linked independently to the rudders for built-in redundancy should one fail, and windows built into the hardtop to help with sail visibility. The Targa roof also doubles as dinghy davits.

The Seawind 1130 comes equipped with two 200Ah AGM house batteries in the nacelle and a starter battery, trickle-charged via two 160-watt solar panels. Our test boat was optioned with three 400Ah lithium-ion batteries and a Mastervolt inverter, as well as 900 watts of solar panels.

Our test boat was also fitted with a 32,000BTU 24-volt air conditioning system.

The onboard electronics are controlled via a CZone digital switching system that provides easy control of balancing the electrical needs of the Seawind 1130 between modes including sailing, cruising, anchoring and laying up back at the marina, as well as advanced troubleshooting.

The Seawind 1170 is built using a foam core sealed inside an inner and outer fibreglass skin, making it as tough but much lighter than solid fibreglass, which accounts for its relatively light 9200kg displacement. The build process includes using triaxial fibreglass in key areas to build strength and rigidity.

It’s the second Seawind model to adopt a new reverse-angled wave-piercing bow, alongside the Seawind 1370, that helps maximise the interior volume in each hull.

Seawind uses infused vinyl ester resin for the hull and infused polyester resin for other parts of the catamaran. The boat is finished with an exterior gelcoat that includes moulded-in non-slip surfaces on deck areas.

The boat measures 11.6 metres in length overall, which means it sneaks inside the 40-foot category – important when it comes to mooring fees or even finding a berth.

The Seawind 1170 is built with small fin keels that protect the saildrives, fitted with twin-bladed folding Gori propellers, when the catamaran is beached or travelling through shoal-depth water. The 0.7-metre bridge deck clearance is ample enough to allow the hulls an easy motion.

The bow uses an aluminium forebeam fitted with a pelican striker integrated with a fibreglass-foam sandwich catwalk.

The Seawind 1170 uses two 29hp Yanmar saildrives equipped with an overdrive mode to improve cruising fuel economy. Access to the engines is via the hulls rather than the deck.

Access to the Seawind 1170 is via two small hull extensions aft of the transom, with steps leading up to transom gates that close off the cockpit. The port side extension has a built-in telescopic stainless steel swim ladder with a flat tread to make it easier to climb aboard.

The saloon coachhouse sits inside the hulls, leaving broad sidedecks running forward framed in tall stanchions with wire rails.

Similar to its smaller Seawind siblings, the saloon is dedicated to entertaining with the galley housed below in the starboard hull, bucking the modern trend for galley-up designs.

The upside is a generous amount of open space in the saloon, which has generous headroom and is framed with deep windows. The saloon features an aft-facing U-shaped dinette table, one side of which doubles as a navigation station. The dinette table drops down to create a temporary berth once the space is filled with cushions, and opposite, mounted to the aft bulkhead, is a TV.

 The navigation area on the forward port quarter has bulkhead space for electronics and a large worktop for those digital nomads requiring laptop space. 

Quality finishes are evident throughout the area with Sunbrella coverings and polished solid wood with rounded edges. Sloping bulkheads forward reduce windage and large, opening windows provide natural airflow. 

Immediately below to starboard is the compact galley with twin sinks on the opposite end of the bench to a three-burner gas cooker and oven. The space has an open bulkhead so anyone in the galley can talk with those in the saloon, while a hull window provides panoramic ocean views while doing the washing-up.

Strong design points here include a large 150-litre chest freezer and front-opening fridge, as well as ample worktop space and cupboard storage.

Forward of the galley is the main guest cabin with a queen-size foam mattress and enough room to sit upright for reading. 

Skylights above and longitudinal portlights let in natural light, while lockers below provide storage.

A bathroom is built into the bow with a head, sink, mirror and towel rack with a spacious bathroom in the bow.  

The volume of the hull allows the Seawind 1170 to have another double berth in the aft section of the starboard hull. This berth also houses access to the engine below, which would make it a noisy space while under power rather than sail. Again, storage space is good with a large locker beneath the berth, and portlights and skylights feeding natural light.

Similar to the larger Seawind 1730, the 1170’s port hull is dedicated to the owner’s stateroom, making privacy a big plus in favour of ownership.

The design features a forward athwartships island bed and stern bathroom with a head and separate shower stall with a clear glass door.

Between the berth and the bathroom is a locker space that includes the electrical control panel. 

The views outside are excellent down here with large windows hull windows. Ventilation is also good, with opening hatches fitted to both hulls. 

Both forward berths sit high off the floor to give them enough width, so you climb up to, rather than crawl on them.

The spaces below are finished in light-coloured ash laminate offset with natural-toned soft furnishings.

The boat is built to CE Certifications so should the Seawind 1170 invert, escape hatches are built into both hulls.

Our test boat has an Australian survey for chartering.

The cockpit of the Seawind 1170 is protected overhead by a large hardtop that extends from the saloon. The aft section of the hardtop houses the mainsheet track. The mainsheet is controlled using a self-tailing winch.

The extended hardtop also supports hoists for a tender, so the Seawind 1170 does not need separate davits. 

The aft side of the cockpit features a four-seat lounge with storage below alongside a box-mounted electric grill.

Our test boat’s helms are fitted out with B&G electronics, featuring a 12-inch Zeus 3S multifunction chartplotter mounted behind the port side bulkhead.

Below it on a deep dashboard and beside the telegraph-style throttles are a pair of Triton 2 digital displays and a Pilot autopilot keypad, all mounted below analogue rev gauges for the engines.

The helms are well shaded by the hardtop, but wisely, skylights above each give a view of the mainsail, while forward, the saloon windows drop down at the press of a button for clearer views forward. 

Our review boat came fitted with an electric Lewmar 50 fitted to the port side with a manual one starboard. Twin Lewmar 40s with jammers were fitted for the spinnaker, while another winch was fitted to the mast for spinnaker halyards. 

The helm’s layout works well, with both sides comfortable and running rigging controls stowing into rope boxes. 

Another plus is the flat coamings that allow the skipper to give up the two-seat helm chair and sit more outboard, similar to a racing monohull.

Good design is evident throughout this area, including the helm backrests that move to face the seat forward or aft – a big improvement on the metal ones fitted to earlier boats.

Setting sails on the Seawind 1170 is a fairly easy affair given the boat maker’s extensive experience in deck layouts. 

Wide and flat side decks make moving forward easy with support from handrails fitted to a coachroof that features sills for collecting rainwater. 

The Seawind 1170’s forward area is uncluttered with all systems in lockers, including the Maxwell vertical windlass with a 55-metre galvanised chain primary rode and a Delta-style anchor running below the main crossbeam and using one of the two rollers. 

Cleats are all around, including midships, but are a bit undersized for my liking. 

Hoisting the mainsail to face a blustery Sydney Harbour is easy via the lazyjacks and electric winch. The big-topped mainsail fitted to our review boat is a Doyle Sails laminate optimised for cruising, with full battens and single-line triple reefing, all controlled via the cockpit.

The self-tacking jib is an ideal cruising feature of the 1170, and once it rolls out it is set and forget.

Our review boat also came with a screecher and an asymmetric spinnaker for flying off the carbonfibre bowsprit. 

Supporting all the rigging are Dyform wire shrouds and diamonds, with substantial chainplates moulded into the gunwales and attached to a single-spreader alloy mast from Brisbane’s Allyacht Spars.

Beating hard on the 22.0-knot breeze, the B&G gauges show 7.5 knots SOG at 35 degrees apparent; impressive given the Seawind 1170 relies on mini-keels integrated into the hull.

Sharp tacking, through 95 degrees, was hands-free via the self-tacking jib. There are clear views forward through the coachroof windows, so confidence was high while navigating through the busy waterway. 

The large Lewmar 50 did all the grunt work when trimming.

Unfurling the screecher allowed us to go 60 degrees upwind, as well as broad reaching where we managed 9.0 knots with the wind on the beam. 

Confidence high and in 24.0 knots of wind, we hoisted the spinnaker and released it from its snuffer, a brave manoeuvre double-handed but made easier by the sock.

Under spinnaker, the 9200kg Seawind 1170 felt lively with decent feedback via the composite steering wheels. Gybing it to avoid a race fleet, again a difficult task for just two people, rewarded us with 10.0 knots of boat speed. 

Seawind has always excelled at producing user-friendly and practical 40-footers, and the new 1170 confirms this yet again. 

It combines a functional layout, both outside and inside, with solid build quality, so the Seawind 1170 should reward its owner with many years of comfortable cruising.  

A blustery Sydney Harbour is an excellent test for the Seawind 1170, highlighting its ability to allow sail changes, along with tacking and gybing, with a short-handed crew. 

Overall, the most surprising element of the Seawind 1170 is its windward pointing, given it relies on mini rather than full keels.

Priced from: $US500,000 ($A753,000) ex Vietnam factory including aluminium mast and boom; standard rigging; halyards; fully battened Dacron mainsail and jib; lazyjacks and mainsail cover; 12 line clutches; 1x45, 2x40 Lewmar self-tailing cockpit winches, 1x40 Lewmar self-tailing mast winch; 2x32.0-inch composite steering wheels with redundant steering; compass at both helm stations; helm seats with ice box (port) and gas storage (stbd); hardtop with Targa bar and dinghy davits; synthetic timber flooring; timber dining table; navigation station with chart table; tri-fold cockpit doors; electric helm windows; 3x USB outlets; Polystone galley countertops; twin-burner LPG stove and oven; twin bowl stainless steel sink with mixer tap; pressurised hot and cold water system; fridge and freezer; cabin mattresses; 2x200Ah AGM house batteries, 1x AGM starter battery; 2x160W solar panels with 25A regulator; automatic bilge pumps; 2x4.5 galvanised gas bottles; 45lb Delta-style anchor with 55.0m 8.0mm chain; 2 coats antifoul; 2x29hp Yanmar saildrives

Price as tested: N/A including 1200Ah of lithium-ion house batteries with 900W of solar panels;32,000BTY 24-volt airconditioning; screecher and spinnaker; upgraded Lewmar 50 electric winch; B&G electronics; CZone digital switching system

Supplied by: Multihull Central