SAIL Magazine
Boat Review: Lagoon 450S
ZUZANA PROCHAZKANOV 6, 2017
Lead-sailing-shot
It’s good to have choices. That’s why I like Lagoon’s approach to its 45ft catamaran, which now also comes as a “SporTop,” as the French builder calls it. The new 450S is the refreshed version of the 450F (flybridge), which was introduced in 2011 when it replaced the very popular 440. The addition of the sporty version adds variety and lets owners choose more than just fabrics and wood colors.
Design & Construction
The naval architects at VPLP designed the 450F seven years ago. In the SporTop refresh, larger hull windows bring more light below, and the mold was modified with a chine that makes the hulls wider above the waterline to add volume inside the cabins. The glazed vertical windows of the coachroof continue as Lagoon’s signature look, even as they reduce heat inside. Weight—an all-important factor for any catamaran—is minimized by the model’s infused, balsa-cored construction and reconstituted Alpi wood interiors.
https://www.sailmagazine.com/boats/boat-review-lagoon-450s
Cruising World’s Review
Lagoon 450
The popular Lagoon 440 was a tough act to follow, but the new 450 is a very worthy successor. From our June 2011 issue.
By Herb McCormick June 8, 2011
You’d have to imagine that the builders and designers of Lagoon Catamarans thought long and hard before making the commitment to replace their highly successful Lagoon 440—they sold more than 400 of the popular cats in a five-year production run—with a new, slightly larger model, the Lagoon 450. After all, the 440 had been well received both critically and in the marketplace, and it’s always challenging and risky to tinker with a proven entity. But through owner feedback and their own intuition and experience, they identified several items that they believed could be improved upon and/or refined. Some were rather major; others were quite subtle. Ultimately, they concluded that they could indeed create a bigger, safer 45-footer that was also more comfortable and luxurious.
And as we discovered last fall during the introduction and a test sail of the Lagoon 450 at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, they have pretty much succeeded on each count.
There are several features from the 440 that the Lagoon design team of Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) considered irreplaceable, namely the boat’s fine performance under sail (which we’ll address momentarily) and the signature flybridge around which the entire deck layout was centered. The redesigned flybridge on the 450, then, retains its predecessor’s intent but is improved in its new iteration. On the 440, to gain access to the stairwell that led to the second tier, one had to first leave the cockpit and go out on deck. Now, via sets of stairs incorporated directly into the cockpit to port and starboard, you can easily stroll up to the bridge—with its steering station, engine controls, sheets and related running rigging, and a new, dedicated sunbathing lounge directly forward on the upper deck—in seconds flat. It’s not only a better use of space, but from a safety standpoint, it’s also a significant upgrade.
https://www.cruisingworld.com/sailboats/lagoon-450-cruisers-cruising-cat
InstantSailing.com’s Review
Lagoon 450 F: prestige at its peak
LAGOON 450 F REVIEW
All-around comfort is the ultimate objective of every luxury boat design. Here is one that accomplishes this beautifully, while being spacious, classy and elegant.
The Lagoon 450 F – 4 + 2 Cab presents the elaborate chic typical of Lagoon-Bénéteau-designed boats. Spanning 13.96m in length, this 450 model is an obvious progression from the preceding 440 model, which itself was a fantastic piece of craftsmanship. The 450, however, is a worthy successor, leaving little to nothing to be desired.
THE DECK AND COCKPIT
It is apparent that the designers of the Lagoon catamarans invested a lot of thought into this improvement of their 440 model. They created a much more significant, much safer 45-footer that is also more luxurious and comfortable. The flybridge around which the entire deck layout is centered (the “F” in “450 F” actually stands for “flybridge”) has been redesigned, retaining the original idea rendered by its predecessor, but portraying an improved iteration.
https://www.instantsailing.com/en/news/yacht-reviews/lagoon-450-f-prestige-at-its-peak/3007
Catamaranguru.com’s Review
Lagoon 450S Catamaran Review
Lagoon 450SExterior, Design, Construction & Sailing Ability (Part 1)
In the last three months, we have completed 3 blue water sailing trips, totaling 2400+ NM, on our Lagoon 450S catamaran. We are ready to share our thoughts about its performance, as well as our likes and dislikes about the catamaran overall. When we first saw the drawings of the Lagoon 450S, we really liked the design. It had many of the features we wanted in a cruising catamaran, the most important feature being the semi-raised helm station. This was always a non-negotiable point for us and the Sportop fit the
bill perfectly. The other catamaran choice offering a semi-raised helm would have been the Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 (review and pictures). The FP Helia is a nice boat, but we didn’t like the interior as much (purely personal preference) and it is substantially smaller than the Lagoon in volume (click on the picture below to see the comparison).
Good cruising performance was another important feature but since living space is equally important to us, we opted to go for a cruiser rather than a racer cruiser like Outremer or Catana. We live and work aboard and we occasionally do educational charters. Therefore, we wanted good interior space, but we certainly did not want a slug either.
Based on previous sailing reports and the Lagoon design team’s projections, the Lagoon 450S seemed the right choice for us (Read our post about “Why we chose the Lagoon 450S” ).
Catamaranguru.com’s Review
Lagoon 450S Catamaran Review: Interior & Cockpit
lagoon 450s Saloon
The Living Space plus button
We’ve all heard the term “floating condo” used for these big-volume cats. That may be true, but what space! We love how much live-able space we have on our boat, inside and out! The contemporary accommodations and furnishings is designed by the Italian interior specialists Nauta Yachts.
The overall design maximizes space and adds small touches that makes the interior feel and appear very luxurious, e.g., the indirect lighting, a “hideaway” cabinet for the flat-screen TV, soft-close drawers and lockers, a washing machine with a nice adjoining hamper, and island beds to name a few.
plus minus legendThe furniture is well designed and finished. The Alpi teak wood finish that we chose (the other available option is light oak), is a rich warm color and made of reconstituted wood. See the choices of wood colors here. The quality finishes are evident also in the hardware such as the door handles, door catches, and sliding door trim. It has all the characteristics of an elegant luxury yacht.
https://catamaranguru.com/brokerage/catamaran-reviews/lagoon-450s-catamaran-review-interior-cockpit
Trade-A-Boat
REVIEW: LAGOON 450 S
By: Kevin Green, Photography by: Kevin Green & Supplied
Date: 13.07.2016
The Lagoon 450S sailing cat proves that voluminous and comfortable cruising catamarans also sail competently.
The Lagoon 450S focuses on functional and user-friendly sail handling. This sailing catamaran’s interior is very comfy. There is a lot of useable space on three levels.
The Lagoon 450S is, however, relatively heavy. A foredeck saloon top step is needed, and there’s a small skylight in bimini for mainsail viewing.
Cruising catamarans are big business nowadays, which is good news for buyers as manufacturers jostle for your hard-earned dollars. The mid-40 foot range of sailing cats is a particularly competitive category with strong new offerings from Nautitech, Outremer, Fountain Pajot and several others. Lagoon knew it had to do something special to maintain its number one ranking, and that’s what it’s done with the Lagoon 450 Sport, launched in February. The first one was imported by the recently appointed Australian dealer, The Multihull Group (TMG), under the experienced eye of former Beneteau representative John Cowpe. TMG are part of the Windcraft Group, which until now lacked a brand in this burgeoning cruising sector, so the arrival of the Lagoon 450 Sport has set them on a new course.
https://www.tradeboats.com.au/tradeaboat-reviews/boats/1607/lagoon-450-s
Cruisingsea.com’s Review
Lagoon 450 Catamaran Review – Lagoon 450 Key Features!
By Daniella Wender – June 4, 2015
This Lagoon 450 catamaran review introduces a boat based on designs few cruising catamaran enthusiasts thought needed changing.
The changes made produced a comfortable cruising catamaran. This boat is stable when anchored, offers wonderful visibility, space and a great comfort. The features incorporated makes the Lagoon 450 a near perfect cruising boat at an affordable price.
The Flybridge
One of the best key features of this cat 450 is the raised flybridge, located 15 feet above the waterline, over the interior cabin.
This gives the 450 great visibility and acts as the main cockpit except during inclement weather. The flybridge provides access to all power and sail systems, increasing passenger space for relaxation.
https://cruisingsea.com/lagoon-450-catamaran-review-lagoon-450-key-features/
Boats.com’s Review
Lagoon 450: Fine-Tuning a Chartering Favorite
This upgrade to the successful 440 tweaks safety and transom design features and adds yet more comfort belowdecks.
By Doug LoganDecember 2, 2010
Lagoon catamarans have been on the water since 1984 – a full generation for humans and several generations in terms of yacht design, materials, construction techniques, and outfitting. The design team of Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost have long steered development for the Lagoon cats, continuously shaping, adapting, and adopting positive features in the line, so that these cruising multihulls, especially popular in charter fleets around the world, have been able to advance steadily both technically and in terms of purpose.
Fun on deck and luxury below continues with the Lagoon 450.
Two main focuses have always been evident in the Lagoon line: fun on deck and luxury below. The Lagoon 450, just introduced, is a successor to the well-known 440 model, which has been in the charter trade for about seven years. That’s a lot of use for boats that work most days of the year with different charter crews cycling through. It was time for a fleet renewal, and the Lagoon designers used the chance to make some incremental changes.
The 450 is only 14” longer overall, and 6” beamier than the 440, but any increased dimensions make a big difference in a boat this size. Attention was given to making accommodations even more comfortable. Pathways to the upper helm were made safer, with direct access from the aft cockpit. Transom platforms were redesigned. As a result, displacement has increased substantially from 26,791 lbs. to 34,178 lbs. To help offset this weight, working sail area has been boosted from 1248 sq. ft. to 1442 sq. ft. The main interior design changes in both three- and four-cabin layouts are rearrangements of the saloon and aft cockpit layouts, with some minor changes in the heads.
https://www.boats.com/reviews/lagoon-450-fine-tuning-a-chartering-favorite/
Multihulls-world.com Review
LAGOON 450: A CONCEPT’S MATURITY
The test of the Lagoon 400 allowed us to appreciate a comfortable, agile catamaran, more playful than its predecessors. The renewal of the range today concerns the 450 and 560, presented at the autumn Boat Shows, and seems to be inspired by the same values. I invite you to a discovery test aboard the 450.
The inheritance of a breakaway model
In 2004, the concept defended by the 440 dared to stand out clearly from the dominant culture, and completely rid itself of the dogma in force. Off the beaten track, it opened up its own route, going out to meet a developing family clientele. Not really obsessed by aerodynamics, over-engined as an option, this iconoclast with the slightly clumsy looks, joyfully trampled the classic references underfoot, and sent the helm and manoeuvring ‘upstairs’! This breakaway positioned the guests, the wife, and the children at the centre of the preoccupations. Ulysses wavered! The heroic posture of the skipper, dripping wet in front of a curled up crew took a step in the direction of happy memories! 400 orders later, the adventure illustrates the relevance of the market study and the company’s strength. Not having been one of the first to be full of praise, left with the memory of unwanted windage, and laborious performance in moderate conditions, I was impatient to see how the VPLP-Lagoon-Nauta trio had reinterpreted this ambitious and difficult specification. Would the magic potion used for the 400 still be effective?
https://www.multihulls-world.com/review/catamaran/lagoon-450-a-concept-s-maturity
GROUPE BENETEAU
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