The Lagoon 420 is a French

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by

Van Peteghem/Lauriot-Prevost VPLP Design (Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost) is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently ...

as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

and

yacht charter Yacht chartering is the practice of renting, or chartering, a sailboat or motor yacht and traveling to various coastal or island destinations. There are three main kinds of charter: bareboat, skippered and crewed. Bareboat charters require the ...

boat, first built in 2006, as a 2007

model year The model year (sometimes abbreviated as MY) is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured. ...

introduction. The boat was introduced at the 2006 US Sailboat Show in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. The Lagoon 420 has a unique hybrid diesel-electric drive system and sold as the first production hybrid sailboat. When a more conventional dual

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

arrangement was installed, the boat was designated as the Lagoon 421.

Production

The design was built by

Lagoon catamaran Lagoon catamaran is a brand of twin-hulled boats that are designed and produced in Bordeaux, France. The company began in 1984 as a specialist multihull division of Jeanneau, a volume monohull constructor. Jeanneau sold the division to Construct ...

in France, starting in 2006 with 270 boats built, but it is now out of production. The Lagoon 420 was replaced in production by the Lagoon 42-2 in 2016.

Design

The Lagoon 420 is a recreational

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

, built predominantly of

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, with wood trim. It has a fractional sloop rig. The hulls have

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

reverse transom In some boats and ships, a transom is the aft transverse surface of the hull that forms the stern of a vessel. Historically, they are a development from the canoe stern (or "double-ender") wherein which both bow and stern are pointed. Transom ...

s with swimming platforms, dual internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

s controlled by a

wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...

and twin fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

s. The helm station is mounted to the aft port salon bulkhead and has a rigid

bimini top A Bimini top is an open-front canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), s ...

. The catamaran displaces . The boat has a draft of with the standard twin keels. The Lagoon 420 is fitted with a single 13.5-KVA 110-volt

Onan Story of Onan Onan was a figure detailed in the Book of Genesis chapter 38, as the second son of Judah who married the daughter of Shuah the Canaanite. Onan had an older brother Er and a younger brother, Shelah as well. Onan was commanded ...

diesel generator, which charges two banks of 12 volt batteries. The batteries power two 72 volt DC Nidec Leroy-Somer

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

s, one in each hull, for docking and maneuvering. While sailing the electric motors can provide regenerative charging of the batteries via the propellers. The fuel tank holds and the

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

tank has a capacity of . The Lagoon 421 has dual

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, cons ...

diesel engines, powering two

saildrive A saildrive is a transmission system for a boat whose inboard engine has a horizontal output shaft. The saildrive's input shaft is therefore also horizontal. That input shaft is geared so as to drive a vertical intermediate shaft extending dow ...

s. The design was built with an interior in "owner's" or "charter" layout. The three-cabin owner's version has the port hull equipped with a queen-sized double berth aft, a lounge amidships and a large

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

with a shower forward. The starboard hull has a double berth-equipped cabin fore and aft with two heads amidships, with a shared shower. The four cabin charter version has sleeping accommodation for eight people, with both hulls arranged the same as the starboard hull on the owner's version. There is also a central salon, including the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

and navigation station. The design has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of .

Operational history

In a 2007 ''Cruising World'' review, Jeremy McGeary wrote, "it's too early yet to see where the future of electric drive in sailboats is headed, but Lagoon has taken a bold step with the Lagoon 420 Hybrid, its first production sailing cat that marries a diesel generator and electric propulsion motors. In other respects, the 420 delivers what the world’s biggest catamaran builder always does: a comfortable ride in well-appointed surroundings."

References

{{Lagoon catamaran Catamarans 2000s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailing yachts designed by VPLP Sailboat types built by Lagoon Catamaran

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References