Jason Decker's walkthrough of this South African-built catamaran reveals a bluewater platform where every system, from lithium banks to the dive fill station, was chosen with long passages in mind.
Some catamarans are designed to fill a charter brochure. The St Francis 50 was designed to cross oceans, and in his walkthrough of S/V Octavia, broker Jason Decker of The Multihull Company makes the distinction clear from the first minute. With more than two decades in production and an extraordinary number of hulls having completed circumnavigations, this is a model that earned its reputation the hard way.
Stepping Aboard
The tour begins at the stern, where extended sugar scoops sit low to the water — easy dinghy boarding, easy swim access. The dinghy itself stows on chocks directly on the aft deck rather than swinging from traditional hanging davits, which Decker notes eliminates the noise and chafe that plague many cruising cats underway. It also means the aft deck becomes, in his words, a waterfront patio at anchor.
Divers will appreciate that Octavia carries a dive compressor in the port forward bow with a fill station right beside the dedicated locker holding four steel tanks. A quick-connect fitting lets you top off the bottles without ever removing them from their storage compartment.
Cockpit and Helm
The cockpit is protected by a rigid hardtop and sized for real use — lounging space, table seating for the full crew, and generous lockers throughout. What Decker keeps returning to is how the sailing systems stay out of the living space: davits fold away, the traveler is positioned overhead on the hardtop, and the primary sail controls run directly to the helm.
That helm is his favorite feature. From the seat you see all four corners of the boat, communicate easily with the cockpit, and keep an eye on the sail plan. Electronics are a complete B&G suite — dual Zeus 2 chartplotters, radar, AIS, autopilot and Triton instruments. Lewmar 65 electric winches handle the loads, and a Stidd helm chair handles the watchkeeper.
Sail Plan and Construction
Octavia carries North Sails 3Di main and genoa, an asymmetric spinnaker, standing rigging renewed in 2021, and a Leisure Furl in-boom furling system — a combination aimed squarely at a shorthanded cruising couple. Beneath it all is an Angelo Lavranos design built with vacuum-infused vinylester laminates over Corecell foam, producing the stiff, durable platform the yard is known for.
Forward, the decks are wide with substantial handholds and an uncluttered foredeck. Ground tackle is serious: a 40 kg Rocna, Maxwell electric windlass with remote helm control, and 200 feet of 3/8″ galvanized chain. One rare touch — fitted to only a few hulls — is a drop-down stairway between the trampolines that lowers into the water on an auxiliary halyard.
Living Aboard
Inside, the priorities differ from volume-chasing production cats: large glass windows, strong natural ventilation, and bamboo joinery reflecting the yard’s semi-custom work. The galley reads as one designed by people who cook — four-burner Eurokast stovetop and oven, dishwasher, microwave, ice maker, real counter space, and in-counter access to the trash bin.
Systems are where this particular boat separates itself. The owners built out a single Victron ecosystem: a 14 kW Victron lithium NG bank, 2.8 kW of solar, a Quattro inverter-charger, and Cerbo GX monitoring, backed by a 9 kW Cummins Onan generator. In practice that means quieter nights and far less generator time off-grid. A forward-facing nav station serves as command center with its own B&G plotter, Triton instruments, VHF, SSB and electric throttles.
The owner’s hull is arranged for months aboard rather than weekends, with a spacious head and separate shower. The port hull holds two queen guest suites, each with ensuite head and shower, plus a second refrigerator and 150-liter deep freeze in the passageway.
Machinery
Decker closes where experienced buyers linger. Interior access hatches allow daily engine checks and routine maintenance from inside the boat. Twin 75 hp diesels drive SD60 saildrives, and the space also houses a Spectra Newport 700 watermaker rated at 30 gallons per hour, twin Racor filters, and a 50-liter water heater also heated by the starboard engine.
Market Snapshot
The St Francis 50 trades quietly and rarely — here is what the recent record looks like.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Sold, last 24 months | 2 |
| Median sold price | $771,250 |
| Median days to sell | ~141 |
| Active listings | 1 |
| Asking range | $735,000 |
| Median sold (24 mo) | $771,250 | |||
| Current asking | $735,000 |
As Decker puts it, these boats were never designed around trends — they were designed around purpose, and Octavia’s upgrades follow that same logic.