Aquila 45 Sail and Aquila 50 Sail Named SAIL Top 10 Best Boats 2027 Nominees

The Aquila 45 Sail and Aquila 50 Sail are both on SAIL magazine’s 2027 Top 10 Best Boats nominees list. Explore the two cruising catamarans.

Two models from our new sailing range have landed on SAIL magazine's 2027 Top 10 Best Boats nominees list. The Aquila 45 Sail catamaran and the Aquila 50 Sail catamaran are both in contention. Every sailing catamaran we've launched so far is now a SAIL Top 10 nominee, a milestone in our first year of sail.

What is the SAIL Top 10 Best Boats award?

SAIL's Top 10 Best Boats is the magazine's annual recognition of the best new sailboats on the market. SAIL's review team of industry experts spends the fall boat show season researching, touring and sea trialing the nominees. The team judges each boat on how well it fulfills its own design brief rather than ranking boats against each other. Winners will be published in the January/February 2027 issue of SAIL.

SAIL has called 2027 "the year of the cat", with new catamaran debuts outnumbering new monohulls by nearly two to one. Two of those catamarans are Aquilas.

Meet the nominees

THE AQUILA 45 SAIL

The Aquila 45 Sail catamaran pairs a 25'5" beam with approximately 1,544 square feet of living space, more than any comparable cruising catamaran we measured. A fixed bow cockpit sits where most builders put a trampoline, bridge-to-bow stairs run from the helm straight down to the bow, and a signature bar joins the galley to an aft cockpit that seats eight. Choose 3- or 4-cabin layouts sleeping up to 12, each with a private companionway and ensuite head with walk-in shower.

THE AQUILA 50 SAIL

The Aquila 50 Sail catamaran pairs a 25'9" beam with 1,844 square feet of living space, more than any comparable cruising catamaran we measured. A fixed bow cockpit sits where most builders put a trampoline, bridge-to-bow stairs run down both port and starboard, and a signature bar joins the galley to an aft cockpit that seats twelve. Choose 4, 5 or 6 cabin configurations, each with a private companionway and ensuite head with walk-in shower, delivering the space and quality Aquila is renowned for.

Aquila's first year in sail

When we announced we were moving into sail, it raised a few eyebrows. The usual path runs from sail to power, and we were going the other way. For us, it made sense. Our leadership team has been sailing their whole lives, and we brought the same strategy that made us the world's leading power catamaran manufacturer to sail: innovation, manufacturing and distribution. So we didn't announce one sailing catamaran. We announced three!

Working with J&J Design, we carried over signature Aquila designs from our power catamarans, like our aft cockpit bar, bridge-to-bow access and patented single-point tender crane. Then we added new designs for sail, like a fixed bow cockpit and a private companionway into every cabin. Every Aquila sailing catamaran is built by Sino Eagle Yachts, the same shipyard behind our power catamarans, and sold through The Catamaran Company in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, along with a growing network of sail dealers worldwide. 

The Aquila 50 Sail, our first, premiered at the Miami International Boat Show in February 2026. It was nominated for the 2026 Multihull of the Year award in the Sail 45'–55' category and made its European debut at the International Multihull Show in La Grande Motte, where it won the Premiere award. It then made its Asia-Pacific debut at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May 2026.

The Aquila 45 Sail followed with its world premiere at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September 2026 and was quickly named a nominee for 2027 European Yacht of the Year. In October 2026, both boats come together at the Annapolis Sailboat Show for their joint Americas appearance.

The third, the Aquila 65 Sail, arrives in 2028 as the flagship of the range.

That's two sailing catamarans, debuts on three continents and recognition from European and American judges in our first year in sail!

See both boats at Annapolis Sailboat Show

The Aquila 45 Sail makes its Americas debut at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, October 15–18, 2026, alongside the Aquila 50 Sail. It's the first time both of our sailing catamarans will be on display together, and your chance to step aboard the two nominees before SAIL's review team names its winners. Find us at dock B at City Dock, where our team and The Catamaran Company will be ready to walk you through both boats. Book your personal tour.