Before I start going over the options and design choices we have selected for Wildling, I thought I would explain the various parts of the boat and how it is laid out. Many of the terms used to describe the different parts of a cruising catamaran are used by pretty much everyone, but there are some things that are called different names by different people, which can get confusing. For example, the interior living area between the hulls is called the saloon or the salon. The lounge area around the table is sometimes called a dinette or a lounge. Robin and I call it a banquette because it’s built into the forward bulkhead like the banquette in a house, and the table in the salon we call the dining table vs the table in the cockpit, which we call the cockpit table, (even though we eat dinner at this table a lot), which may not be correct, but it works for us, so I will use our terminology on this blog. We also tend to use land based terms for the interior parts of the boat and nautical terms for the exterior parts.

Here are two drawings of the standard 5X layout with some labels to identify the different areas and features. If you click on the diagrams you will get a full sized version which is a bit easier to read.

Outremer 5X upper deck layout. Not shown in this drawing are the structures covering the salon, which is called the salon roof, and the rigid cover over the cockpit which is called the bimini

Outremer 5X cabin deck layout. This shows what they call the Owner’s layout which has the entire port hull fitted out as a master suite.

So now that you are familiar with the different parts of a 5X, in the next series of posts I will explain how we are customizing Wildling during construction. This is one of the great benefits of purchasing a new boat, just like building a new house, you get to modify it to suit your needs.

In the meantime here’s a great video of a 5X during the construction process at the Outremer factory in France: