African Cats FastCat 445

AFRICAN CATS FAST CAT 445 - “NINA”

Stunning, Performance Oriented African Cats Fast cat 445

Nina is a stunning-looking, 43 ft performance-orientated catamaran, designed by Angelo Lavranos and commissioned in August 2010.
The FastCat 445 was designed by Angelo Lavranos based on first principles to be light, strong and fast. With her double-owner layout, she was built with the private owner cruiser in mind, rather than the typical charter market catamaran. She is well equipped to be a safe, fast, passage-making vessel. Her light but strong design facilitates a maximum payload of 5 tonnes - a very useful feature when living aboard. The cockpit layout allows her to be sailed without ever needing to leave its safety. Unlike many other production catamarans which are constructed with polyester resin, Nina's deck and hulls are epoxy resin-infused, ensuring she remains osmosis free. She also boasts built-in buoyancy chambers and is constructed with tabbed-in fittings that remain silent under way. One owner since launch, she sailed from Durban in South Africa, round the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Town, then across the South Atlantic to the Caribbean. Due to family commitments the owners have decided to end their cruising days on Nina and now this beautifully maintained and lovingly cared for boat is all ready for her new owners to move aboard and sail away.

CONSTRUCTION:
Nina is both strong and light-weight, ensuring she sails fast and safely. This is achieved by the use of an epoxy vacuum resin infusion construction process (the use of epoxy, the premium boat-building resin, ensures the hulls remain immune from water-absorption and osmosis). The boat was built in two halves using female moulds layered with woven glass fibre mat, a Divinycell core and a final layer of woven mat. The hulls are also reinforced with the Twaron woven mat (similar to Kevlar) for improved impact resistance.
The keels, rudders, mast step and high load elements of the structure are also reinforced with carbon fibre. Many of her internal furniture fittings are constructed from Nomex honeycomb material - often used in aircraft manufacture (high strength / low weight). The structures then fibre-glassed into position ensuring rigidity and no movement when sailing, making her quiet when under sail - i.e. none of the creaking noises so common to many production catamarans. The structure of the boat includes sufficient Divinycell foam to make the
boat unsinkable. In addition there are 6 (3 in each hull) water-tight buoyancy compartments.

 

TANKAGE:
Fresh water: 2 at 315 lt. (630 lt. total)

Fuel tanks: 2 at 66 US gals each (500 ltrs total)

Holding tanks: 2 at 14 US gal each (55 ltrs total)

INTERIOR LAYOUT:
Number of double berths: 2 x full king size (220cm x 180cm)

Note: 3 x additional sleeping berths are available

2 x electric heads and 1 x separate showers with electric pumps out

Interior finishes: vinyl foam liner, cherry wood veneer, Wilson Art laminate, and 2 pack Awlcraft paint (shade: off white)

Type of flooring thoughout interior: natural treated cork

Saloon dining table can seat 8 (150cm x 110cm)

Storage space: exceptional internal storage space including 2 x hanging lockers, 26 x cabinets and 5 x drawers and 12 x shelves. Also 1 safe box

lockers, 26 x cabinets and 5 x drawers and 12 x shelves. Also 1 safe box for valuables.

Nav station, including chart storage facility, and galley are up on the bridge deck

Interior lights are all LED including dimming facilities, reading lights, and red lights for night sailing.

Watermaker: 15 gals /hr (60 lts) Schenker. NEW 2020

Hot water tank Isotherm dual spiral 40 lts ( heating from electrical energy and port engine)

Cabin fans x 4

ELECTRONICS:
Garmin GPS Map 5212 chart plotter

Depth sounder, log, wind speed, Direction: Raymarine i70: NEW 2025 wind vane and arrow on mast top

Auto pilot: Raymarine ST70 with X10 smartpilot

Compass, Raymarine fluxgate and Plastimo magnetic

VHF Radio Icom IC-M506

SSB Icom IC-7000

DSP Multimode Pactor Controller

Iridium SatPhone 9555 with installed aerial

Radar Raymarine

Send and receive AIS Easy TRX (signals integrated into chart plotter)

Radio Fusion MS-RA70

Hand held radio Raymarine

Wi-Fi aerial Banten Bullet

TV set with Philips dolby surround

Apple Mac Mini onboard computer and monitor both running on 12V

MECHANICAL and ELECTRICAL
Webasto heater Air Top EVO M

Solar panels 2 x 315 watts (630 watts total)

Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50. NEW 2023

Victron Smart Battery Sense

Generator: Stand alone Honda EU 2000 (2 kw)

Inverter Charger Victron Quattro 12 | 3000 | 120 – 50|30 – 230V

 

Each engine has 1 x 100 amp alternator and 1 x 80 amp alternator (4 alternators total)

Each alternator is controlled by a Sterling smart controller

House batteries Lifeline GPL-4CT 6V 220AH agm 8x (total 880AH). NEW 2022

Engine Batteries Ac Delco BCI 51R470 2x. NEW 2022

In an emergency the house batteries can be switched to start the engines

Battery monitor is via the Victron BMW700

There are 7 x 220 volt sockets and 3 x12 volt sockets

 

GALLEY

Front-opening Isotherm Inox air-cooled fridge/freezer model

Top-opening air-cooled chiller unit can be switched to either fridge or freezer

2 x stainless steel galley sinks each supplied with hot and cold fresh water as well as salt water. Fresh water faucet Hansgrohe new 2024

Moulded Corian work-surfaces and draining recess

Smeg Inox 5 burner stove

Smeg full size oven

Candy aquamatic 3.5 kg washing machine

Full set of cutlery, plates , glasses, cups, cooking utensils, saucepans ,food mixer, blender, electric whisk.

 

SAILS (ALL SAILS ARE NORTH SAIL)
Fully battened main sail 3 reefs 69 sq mt. NEW 2025

Furling genoa 41.5 sq mt Harken roller furler. NEW 2025

Gennaker with sock 95 sq mt (mint conditions, always on dry storage)

Gennaker with sock 140 sq mt (mint conditions, always on dry storage)

Storm jib

Mast: Southern Spars

Bow-sprit: Southern Spars 1.5 mt

ON DECK
2 x lockers forward (very large) and 4 x cockpit lockers

3 x composite gas storage tanks. New 2022

Winches:
powered primary winch (most sheets and halyards can be fed to this winch)
Harken 46
2 x Harken 44 winches for main sheet control
2 x Harken 53 winches for genoa sheets / gennaker sheets
12 x rope clutches
10 x docking cleats
2 x Bow pulpit seats
2 x Stern seats
Retractable Swim ladder (retracts inside sugar scoop)

Dinghy: Highfield Aluminium 310 mt
Outboard: Yamaha E8DMHS. NEW 2021

Twin helm seat

Cockpit seating for 7 persons

Cockpit table converts to double bed / sun lounger

Cockpit has LED lights including, red for night sailing, table lights, spreader light, sugar scoop lights

Cockpit has fresh water hot/cold shower and salt water shower

Salt water deck wash / anchor chain wash

Large carbon fibre rigid bimini

Cockpit enclosure awnings

Standing rigging: Compact Strand (Dyform) 8/10mm. ALL NEW 2018

All running rigging is Dyneema

Stack pack with lazy jacks. NEW 2025

Primary anchor: Rocna 88lbs (40 kgs) on 300ft of Stainless steel 8 mm

high test calibrated anchor chain (breaking load 7 tonnes)

Secondary anchors: 2x Rocna 35 lbs (16 kgs) with chain and lead weighted line

Windlass Muir Storm 2200 SS 12v 1200W. NEW 2022

Dyneema netting Trampoline

Bumpers (fenders) x 10

Dock lines x 8

Carbon fibre davits

Hatches Moonlight x 12

Portholes Moonlight x 12

Fishing rod /reel and lures

Diving Tank 20 lt Steel with GAV

SAFETY

A key safety feature of the boat is that she was designed to be sailed single-handed without the need to leave the cockpit. Both the fullybattened main sail and the roller-furling genoa can be deployed, lowered and reefed (single line reefing) from within the safety of the cockpit.

Life raft: 6 man Zodiac

Life vests: 8 x inflatable Plastimo Pilot 165

Safety harnesses x 1

Epirb

Fire extinguishers x 3

Automatic engine fire extinguishers in engine room x 2

Fire blankets

Automatic gas detection shut off and alarm

Floating anchor

Hydraulic steering with Octopus hydraulic-powered autopilot

Back up auto pilot steering using a linear actuator

Emergency tiller bar deployed from starboard sugar scoop

12 x electric bilge pumps

Mast-mounted remote operation spotlight and hand-held 1 million candle

power search light

Ship's barometer, clock, air temperature and humidity gauge