Bali's largest catamaran yet gets a home-port tour in Collioure — galley first, engine room included, and a rooftop built for twenty.
Some boat tours begin at the helm. This one begins at a market stall. Filmed in Collioure, on the French Mediterranean coast just north of the Spanish border — where the boat is built — the walkthrough of the Bali 5.8 opens with a host welcoming yachting journalist Sam Jefferson aboard and promptly producing local leeks, Toulouges onions, garlic, shallots, chorizo and prawns for a Catalan lunch. It’s a telling framing device, because the galley turns out to be the heart of the argument for this yacht.
The biggest Bali yet
The 5.8 is described in the video as the largest catamaran the yard has built: 17 metres long and 9.06 metres wide, at roughly 25 tonnes, with overall length extending further still once the hydraulic platform and the bowsprit for the headsails are counted. It’s positioned as a deliberate step up from the 5.4 — bigger, and reworked in response to what Bali’s growing customer base has been asking for.
A galley designed for a chef
The cooking sequence doubles as a genuine equipment tour. The galley sits amidships, sheltered but open to the outside, connected to the forward cockpit on one side and the guest dining table on the other. There’s a dishwasher, a double sink, an oven, a large hob, dedicated spice storage, deep drawers for big pots, and a bin — plus, crucially, something to hold onto in a seaway. The host’s logic is blunt and practical: this boat is built for private owners and for charter, and at this size there will nearly always be crew aboard. Give the chef a poor galley and you won’t keep a good one.
Three cabins plus an owner’s suite
Layouts run from three to six cabins plus crew quarters. The boat on camera is a 3+1: a forward cabin with a queen berth facing the sea and a view over Collioure, hanging locker, under-berth stowage and its own heads and shower, with access to the forepeak from inside. A midships cabin suits two children or two friends and converts to an island queen, again with separate shower and WC. Aft sits a cabin that can serve guests or crew, with a large double facing astern, wardrobe, drawers and a bathroom with separate shower — and no internal access from the rest of the boat, which the video flags as a real privacy advantage. The skipper’s cabin has been enlarged specifically to keep good crew aboard.
In the saloon there’s a rising television that disappears out of sight, air conditioning with heating, and a dining table seating around twelve. Under the sole runs a full-length dry storage space — some technical equipment, the rest essentially empty for provisions.
Engine room and systems
Refreshingly, the tour goes below. Two people stand comfortably in the engine compartment, which the host argues is non-negotiable if you actually want to service filters and equipment rather than contort around them. Inside: the hydraulic system and pump for the aft platform, a large water heater in each hull, a fire extinguisher, and a 240 litre-per-hour watermaker — roughly 55 to 60 US gallons an hour depending on water temperature, which matters when you’re feeding twelve. Power comes from Nanni diesels; 80 hp is standard, with 110 hp and 135 hp options. The boat filmed carries the 110 hp, cruising at around 9 knots under 2,000 rpm — unstressed, quiet and economical.
Rooftop, not flybridge
The upper deck is called a rooftop rather than a flybridge, and after a look at it the distinction seems fair. Enlarged over the 5.4, it’s split into three zones: an aft sunpad formed using the seating backrest, a lounge and cocktail table for around twenty (the dining happens below, so this is aperitif territory), and the helm. There’s a fridge for the beers, deep lockers under the seats on both sides, and a small unit with fresh water for rinsing glasses with a cupboard beneath. The helm seat takes four and converts to a leaning post, so the skipper can drive without turning their back on guests — or let them sit alongside the instruments. Winches, sheet stowage and working gear are kept forward, away from the lounge, and the engine panels carry screens, chartplotter, windlass, radio and bow thruster, with clear sightlines for anchoring. A rigid hardtop keeps the breeze and loses the sun.
The weather, as the host notes, turns “more English” mid-tour — a Pyrenean thunderstorm — which neatly proves the open-space concept: inside and outside at once, and dry.
On the market
| Active Bali 5.8 listings | 1 |
|---|---|
| Asking price | $1,458,000 |
The 2026 S/V Bali 5.8 is listed with broker Eric Macklin.