Excess Catamaran Walkthrough [Boat Review + Video]

Take an extensive tour of the Excess XCS15 Catamaran in Fort Lauderdale, FL with Eric Macklin.

This article is a transcription of the Excess 15 video from Denison’s Youtube Channel. Tune in daily to discover the latest yacht video walkthroughs from the world’s largest yacht video collection. Watch the full video below:

Hi, everybody. I’m Eric Macklin with Denison Yachting and we are in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida today for a test drive on the Excess 15 Catamaran. The Excess range is defined by 3 specific features that separate it from other types of cruising Cats, the first one being the helm stations down inside each hall towards the back of the boat rather than up on a flybridge and there are several advantages to that which we’ll take a closer look at a bit later.

The second thing that separates it is the sail plan. This boat has a pulse line rig which is a taller mass with a square top main that gives it horsepower to sail in even lighter breezes and makes it a lot of fun to sail. It also has a self-tacking jib and as you’ll see a bit later, the code zero which is like a turbo charger off the wind.

The third feature is the opening sunroof over the cockpit which provides a great environment, nice social atmosphere, plenty of ventilation and we’ll take a closer look at that a bit later too.

Even though this boat is fun to sail rather sporty actually that doesn’t mean it’s all about performance. There are plenty of comfort features on board Excess 15 hull number, two air conditioning, generator, refrigeration, water maker. This boat can cruise. It’s got plenty of capacities both the fuel and fresh water. So you can take it for a long cruise and enjoy the sailing performance along the way.

In addition to this amazing cockpit which is a terrific place for plenty of people to hang out, this boat really shines on the interior. It’s nice and comfortable right now. We’re running the air conditioning on gen set and it’s a nice difference from being out in the cockpit where it’s a bit hot.

Over the past 40 years I’ve had the opportunity to sail on so many different types of boats. The Excess 15 is special and it separates from other boats in this category just in the pure joy of sailing and being able to take a bunch of people out, enjoy the experience, feel the acceleration of the sails, the feedback from the helm and being able to have a good time together in one space. We’re going to go over all the different things that make this boat special but what we’re going to start with right now is a closer look at the helm stations.

So here we are at the starboard helm station where you have very nice composite steering wheel, terrific visibility looking forward and then a number of different control elements here that are duplicated on the other side. First you have your electric engine control, throttle and shifting here, the windlass so you can operate the anchor windlass from right back here at the helm station. Up on the console we have your navigation display, autopilot control and bow thruster. We have a nice grab rail here on the outboard side of the console leading up to the rigging controls. So here very close to the helm station, you’ve got two powerful electric winches to control your main halyard, your jib sheet, topping lift, jib halyard all your controls are right here as well as the reefing lines. So everything is very easy to access right from the helm station.

Underneath each home station is a large opening hatch that provides access to the Yanmar engines with plenty of space around to take care of all your maintenance items. Here on the port side, you’ve got a single electric winch which controls the code zero halyard and the code zero sheet on this side which is a sail you do not want to be without.

Moving aft, you have an electric winch for the dinghy davits which will make it really easy to haul that dinghy up out of the water. On a lot of Catamarans the most difficult adjustment to make for the best performance is adjusting the traveler and the folks at Excess and Harkin have come up with an ingenious method, the electric traveler which makes it as easy as pushing a button. As we transition from one end of the boat to the other, there are a few things on the side deck that I just have to point out. First being these flush deck hatches with ventilation built in, so they don’t have to worry about kicking your toes on them. Side opening gate, when you’re tied side on the dock to make getting on and off super easy and then of course these hand rails on the cabin top which keep you fully secure as you move from front to back.

The foredeck is broken down into three separate areas. Here you’ve got your lounge area with sunpad luxurious seating, in the center you have your trampoline and then in the front you’ve got your working area, your jib furler and your sprint pole. This is your bow sprint which is the business end of the code zero your turbocharger for off the wind. That red line will attach to a continuous line furler which makes it super easy to retract and deploy. Nice big plow anchor with plenty of chain that connects to a bridle so the boat can be very stable at anchor. All that leads back to the windlass right here just after the main beam. On either side of the anchoring setup you’ve got your trampoline which is a terrific place to sit when the water’s spraying up through on a hot day, helps you cool off and really enjoy the ride.

The very front you have sail lockers or storage lockers which on a Catamaran storage space is always a premium. These lockers are massive. Here we’ve got a code zero on this side and the other side is completely empty. Plenty of room for paddle boards, fenders, dock lines anything that you might want to store there. Just after the trampoline are these luxurious sunpads. This is where your crew is going to want to spend the majority of its time whether you’re at the dock or underway. It’s just a terrific view, breeze in your hair, super enjoyable.

Just after the sunpads tucked up right underneath this brow on both sides are a pair of cameras. These feed right back into that navigation display so that when you’re at that starboard helm station, you’ve got complete visibility forward. Earlier we talked a little bit about the pulse line rig you can see the extra sail area at the top with the square top main, then you’ve got a self-tacking jib which just makes it so easy to tack this boat through the wind. Really there’s nothing to do. So this boat is all about enjoyment and we’ve already taken a closer look at the first half of that which is the sailing experience. Now we’re going to dive into the lounge area which makes that sailing experience even more comfortable.

So we’ve taken a little look at these helm stations from a functional point of view. But one thing we didn’t talk about is how beneficial it is for the owner operator to be in the social environment with all of his crew and guests. We’ve got three primary seating areas here in the cockpit of the Excess 15. You have the aft bench which gives great visibility for the inside of the cockpit, then you have your L-shaped dinette with a nice big teak table.

Here on the starboard side you’ve got another lounge seat as well as a wet bar with a refrigerator and an ice maker. Coming into this comfortably air-conditioned space of the salon from the cockpit, we’re going to take a look at some of the features that make the Excess 15 as comfortable inside as it is outside. Taking up the forward half of the salon is this very large seating area with a multi-function table. The adaptability of this table to help you enjoy whatever environment you’re in is absolutely amazing. The first thing that it does is it slides back and forth so that you don’t have to squeeze between the settee and the table itself. It lowers down to make a smaller coffee table or you can raise it up and fold out the leaves for a full dining table.

Just aft of your dinette area is an amazing split galley. Here on the port side you have a gas range and oven, very nice solid surface countertops as well as upper storage cabinets, a dishwasher and then a trash bin. Here on the starboard side again the solid surface countertop material, two awesome drawer style refrigerators, a wine cooler, cabinet storage here, more upper cabinets and again that open storage on the outboard side. Wrapping up in the salon let’s step down into the starboard hall to take a closer look at the owner’s accommodations which span almost the entire length of the hull. Stepping first into the aft portion where you’ll see this nice big double bed, plenty of natural lighting as well as electrical lighting and storage underneath.

Found on the midship outboard side is a nice lounge seat with more drawer storage as well as natural ventilation and a very nice desk that can be used as a makeup table or a computer workstation. The inboard side has even more storage, drawers hanging lockers all lit and easily accessible. Moving forward from the midships, we have our head compartment with an electric toilet, twin vanities on inboard and outboard sides with that nice solid surface material and then access into the massive shower compartment.

Stepping out of the starboard side owner’s cabin we’ll go over and take a look at the portside twin guest accommodations. One of the benefits of a boat this size is that it can accommodate two full guest cabins with dry heads and separate shower stalls. The guest accommodations on the port side have a full berth head and shower forward as well as a separate shower and bed for the aft end.

Thank you so much for joining us today for a test drive on the Excess 15. This particular boat again is located right here in Fort Lauderdale and we are assisting potential owners with charter placement opportunities so that you can earn a little bit of money when you’re not using it. In addition to that we’ve got special pricing on this Hull Number 2, a 2020 model. If you’re interested in getting on board here in Fort Lauderdale for a closer look on your own, give us a call or send us an email.

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