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Bluewater Catamaran · For Sale

Simpson 1201 · built 1989 professionally by Henze Boatyard, Germany

A wood and epoxy catamaran that has been home to our family of six for almost nine years, and carried us 20,000 nautical miles from Greece to French Polynesia.

42 ftLength
20,000Nautical miles
3 + 1Cabins
2026Last refit
€119,000Asking price
The Boat

Nine years of home

Zoë is a Simpson 1201 design, built in 1989 by the renowned Henze boatyard in Germany, a yard that is still building today. She is constructed in wood and epoxy, with cedar strip-planked hulls and a plywood deck: light, strong and beautifully quiet under way. Every surface on the outside is sheathed in glass. That makes her stronger, and the elasticity of the epoxied glass takes up the natural movement of the wood.

For almost nine years she has been the home of our family of six. She is a reliable, strong and fast boat, easy to handle even single-handed and forgiving on a long passage. Her sleek hulls slip through the water and make miles feel effortless.

We keep her constantly in the very best shape, maintaining and improving her professionally, without pause.

She is the boat that taught our children the ocean.

Zoë alongside a quay at sunset in the Tuamotus
At a glance
Design
Simpson 1201
Built
1989 · Henze
Length overall
42 ft
Beam
21 ft
Draft
3.3 ft
Air draft
52 ft
Construction
Wood / epoxy
Lying
Tahiti
The Voyage

From the Aegean to the South Pacific

Twenty thousand nautical miles under the keel, and the finest cruising ground we have ever found waiting at the end of them.

Zoë under full sail with the family on deck near the Gambier Islands

We sailed Zoë from Greece across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Honduras and Guatemala to the San Blas, and on across the Pacific to French Polynesia.

French Polynesia is, for us, the best sailing ground in the world, and friends who have sailed everywhere say the same. We love it more than Europe, more than the Lesser Antilles, more than San Blas, more even than the Bahamas. This is where the voyage arrived.

Zoë is, as people keep telling us, a real beauty - slender lines, pure white, with laser-cut stainless steel surrounds to her windows. None of it is by accident. The pure white is deliberate, dropping her surface temperature noticeably under a tropical sun.

The stainless window surrounds are not only handsome; they protect the window bedding, and it took us a few iterations to get it exactly right. We tried to make everything pretty, but on Zoë form always follows function.

We would dearly love to keep her. She is reliable, strong and fast, and she has never let us down. But our four children are growing quickly, and Zoë, with her lovely slim hulls, has simply become too small for us. And by chance we found a bigger catamaran in Tahiti, just as old and so just as solidly built.

We lived aboard Zoë until the beginning of September, the six of us, and everything on this page was in daily use until we stepped off. We know of nothing major waiting for the next owner.

Zoë is ready to cross oceans. You could step aboard tomorrow and sail her to New Zealand or anywhere you like.

Self-sufficient

Built for independence

Solar arranged for intake at any point of sail, paired with a reliable water maker, lets Zoë stay out for as long as you like. Webasto propane heating keeps her comfortable well south of the tropics.

2000 W
Solar across transom, bimini and deck
800 Ah
LiFePO4 lithium, two banks for redundancy
18.5 gal/h
Water maker running off the solar
3000 W
Victron MultiPlus inverter / 120 A charger
The Refit

Rebuilt to cross oceans

We spent years in shipyards around the world bringing Zoë up to true bluewater standard.

Zoë hauled out and moved through the boatyard on the travel lift

Our longest stretch in a yard was in southern Spain, through the Covid years. There we stripped the whole deck and cockpit back and laid on around 2,700 sqft of new glass. The aluminium toerails had corroded, so we replaced them the whole way round, another big job. We also built a hardtop and a new platform at the transom, and fitted the water maker, the lithium batteries and the first 800 W of solar. The trampolines came from that yard too, black mesh so the water shows through.

In Saint-Martin we hauled out to fair the hulls and renew the antifouling, and built a pair of sugarscoops for easy boarding and swimming. And, because of a longer waterline, this made Zoë even faster.

In Guatemala we rebuilt both rudders from scratch after finding pitting corrosion in the stainless rudder shafts, replacing them with the best duplex stainless we could source from the US: Aquamet 22, so the new shafts will hopefully last forever. We rebuilt the mast base in solid teak and stepped the mast again alongside a barge in the Rio Dulce. We rebuilt the engine controls. We overhauled the whole hydraulic steering system.

On the passage from the Rio Dulce to the San Blas we hit a floating tree trunk. The damage to the starboard bow was small, a good sign of how solidly she is built. We hauled out quickly at Linton Bay Marina, Panama, and repaired and refaired the bow. While she was ashore we fitted a keel cooler for the freezer.

We do all of this work ourselves, professionally and thoroughly. It takes longer, but the end result is worth it, and nothing here is cosmetic. Every part of it was done to go to sea, and much was tested straight away on the Pacific crossing.

In 2026 we hauled out one last time, at the yard in Raiatea, and left Zoë ashore while we went to visit friends and family. We came back at the end of August to put on the fresh antifouling. Nothing needed fixing, only new outer saildrive rubbers, and then we sailed her back to Tahiti upwind, in a cross sea: close to 10 ft of swell from the south, steep wind waves from the east. Through it she held 7 knots at 35 degrees to 20 knots of apparent wind. She goes to her next owner freshly painted below the waterline.

Southern Spain · 2020-2022 · deck, toerails, hardtop and platform
Fairing the underside of the new transom platform after dark
The finished transom platform, faired and painted
The new hardtop moulding resting on blocks in the yard
Saint-Martin · 2024 · haul-out, fairing and sugarscoops
Zoë hauled out on the hard, both hulls
Close view of the faired hull below the waterline
Laying out the sugarscoop shape on the transom
The new sugarscoops shaped at the stern
Zoë alongside the shipyard dock
Rio Dulce, Guatemala · 2024 · mast, rudders and systems
New teak hatch cover beside the old one
The mast base laminated in fresh glass
Sealing the rebuilt mast step
Rebuilt teak mast base
Stepping the mast alongside a barge in the Rio Dulce
Working on the rigging at the mast
A newly rebuilt rudder beside the old one
Two freshly finished rudders
Engine instruments at the helm
Linton Bay Marina, Panama · 2024 · quick haul-out and repair
Zoë lifted out on the travel lift at Linton Bay Marina
The small damage to the starboard bow from a floating tree trunk
The orange is our own epoxy primer, pigmented red so any scratch through the antifouling shows at once.
Repairing the starboard bow in the yard
The starboard bow repaired and refaired
The new keel cooler fitted for the freezer
San Blas, Panama · 2025 · washing machine installed
The new plywood base for the washing machine epoxied in place
The base finished in gloss white
The new washing machine installed aboard
Gambier, French Polynesia · February 2026 · rig work, also done ourselves
Working the foredeck rigging at anchor below green hills
Pulled up the mast to do our own rig work
Raiatea, French Polynesia · August 2026 · outer saildrive rubbers and fresh antifouling
Zoë ashore at the Raiatea yard with fresh antifouling
Tahiti, French Polynesia · October 2026 · new diamond shrouds
Looking down from the masthead at Zoë in the lagoon, the new diamond shrouds running down the mast
Layout

Three doubles and a single

Plan of Zoë seen from above, bows at the top, with the spaces numbered

Seen from above, bows at the top and port on the left. Overall 42 ft long and 21 ft wide. The plan is based on an old drawing made from paper cutouts, so the dimensions are approximate.

  1. Trampolines, and down the middle a removable aluminium gangway with wooden boards across
  2. Heads, one in each hull, with the washing machine to port
  3. Owner's cabin
  4. Atelier, with the single berth and the freezer
  5. Saloon
  6. Chart table
  7. Galley, with the fridge on the hull side
  8. Cockpit with a fold-down table, and the helm
  9. Aft cabins, one in each hull
  10. Platform and sugarscoops, with the swim ladder to starboard
Latest photos

Zoë today

We took every photograph in this section in October 2026, and they show Zoë honestly, as she is today. We have painted the galley and the saloon and varnished much of the woodwork. Finishing the renovation is a task for the new owner. The upholstery inside is tired and due for replacement; the cockpit upholstery is in good order.

Saloon
The saloon looking forward to the galley
The saloon and the galley, freshly painted
The galley and the chart table seen from the settee
The settee and table seen from the chart table
The saloon table and settee under the windows
The saloon table with its inlaid compass rose
The dolphin inlaid in the saloon table
Saloon sole
The saloon sole between the galley and the chart table
The teak sole with its inlaid panel, between settee and galley
The inlaid sole at the entrance
Galley
The galley with the stove, the sinks and the lockers above
The galley, freshly painted
The stove and the counter beside it
The double sink and the stove in the galley corner
The galley seen from the other side
The two galley sinks
A galley counter beside the fridge, with the saloon beyond
Chart table
The chart table with the switch panel and instruments
The switch panel and Garmin display above the chart table
The Victron control panel beside the Philippi switch panel
Port hull
A shelf under the windows in the port hull
Down into the port hull, with the heads at the far end
The washing machine in the port heads
The door to the aft cabin in the port hull
The aft double berth in the port hull
Owner's cabin
The owner's berth under the long hull window
The owner's berth
Looking aft from the owner's cabin along the hull
Starboard hull
The passage in the starboard hull, with the heads at the end
The heads in the starboard hull, with lockers either side
The basin and the toilet in the starboard heads
A freshly varnished door frame
One of the many frames we varnished
The door to the aft cabin in the starboard hull
The aft double berth in the starboard hull
The cabins still need to be painted
Atelier, with the single berth
The desk in the Atelier under the long hull window
The single berth, with the window through to the saloon
The stainless freezer beside drawers in the Atelier, with work in progress
The freezer, an Isotherm CR 63 F Inox
Cockpit
The cockpit with the wheel and the companionway
Cockpit seating with its cushions
The engine controls at the helm
Deck, rigging and chainplates
Solar panels on the bimini
More solar panels on the bimini
Solar panels on deck, forward by the trampoline
A shroud and turnbuckle beside the stainless window surrounds
A chainplate with its cover removed
With its cover off, the chainplate shows no sign of corrosion. The chainplates look like new.
Hulls and bridgedeck · 30 October 2026
Zoë at anchor in clear water
A sugarscoop with its steps, and the hull beyond
The topsides with Zoë's name
A bow at the waterline, with the anchor bridle
The inboard side of a hull under the trampoline
The underside of the bridgedeck between the hulls
Where the bridgedeck meets the inboard side of a hull
Along the inboard side of a hull, under the bridgedeck
Engines · 30 October 2026
The port engine seen from above
The port engine
The top of the port engine with the oil filler cap
The injection pump on the port engine
The alternator side of the port engine
The front of the port engine with the Ford badge
The starboard engine under its open hatch
The starboard engine
The starboard engine seen through its access door
The Detail

Full specifications

Everything aboard, listed in full. Dates show when equipment was last renewed or added.

01 Dimensions

  • Length overall 42 ft
  • Beam 21 ft
  • Draft 3.3 ft
  • Air draft 52 ft
  • Dry weight 7.2 t

02 Accommodation

  • Double cabins 3
  • Berths Owner's 4 ft 11 in, two aft 4 ft 7 in
  • Single berth 1 × 2 ft 7 in, in the Atelier
  • Heads 1 electric

03 Sails

  • Mainsail 506 sqft heavy Hydranet
  • Genoa 377 sqft heavy Hydranet
  • Gennaker 840 sqft on bowsprit furler
  • Spinnaker 1,292 sqft
  • Spinnaker 1,184 sqft
  • Main and genoa both heavy Hydranet, in very good condition. The gennaker's lightweight UV strip is due for replacement; the material for the repair is already aboard.
  • Both spinnakers are second hand and patched, and the cloth on both still crackles nicely. We have a snuffer aboard.

04 Rigging

  • Main shrouds Replaced February 2026
  • Diamond shrouds Replaced October 2026
  • Standing rigging From 2016
  • Mast base Rebuilt in teak, 2024
  • Winches Andersen stainless, 2 × 56, 1 × 46, 3 × 40

05 Engines

  • Engines 2 × 54 hp Ford LT, 1.6 L diesel, marinised by Bowman
  • Drives Volvo 120S saildrives
  • Saildrive diaphragms Replaced in Tunisia, 2019
  • Propellers Brunton Autoprop, self-pitching
  • Controls Rebuilt 2024
  • Starter batteries Both renewed in Saint-Martin, 2024
  • Original engines, rebuilt and repainted in 2019, well maintained throughout. Oversized for a boat of this size, with power to spare, and the Brunton Autoprops self-pitch for top efficiency under sail and full torque when it is needed. She comes with a deep spares kit, down to a complete spare saildrive.
  • The Volvo 120S drives take their oil change afloat, so a service can be done at anchor. The saildrive diaphragms were replaced in Tunisia in 2019, and the outer rubbers again at Raiatea in 2026.

06 Steering

  • System Hynautic hydraulic
  • Ram and console Hynautic, ram on the port rudder
  • Rudder linkage Stainless bar, pin release
  • Emergency tiller Two deck posts
  • Overhaul Whole system, 2024
  • The ram drives the port rudder and a stainless steel bar inside the boat links it to the starboard one. Pulling a single pin releases the linkage, so a jammed starboard rudder leaves her steering on port alone. Both rudder posts come up through the deck and take the emergency tiller.
  • The Hynautic ram and the steering console were both fully serviced in Guatemala.
  • A spare hydraulic pump for the autopilot is kept aboard.

07 Electronics

  • Instruments Garmin, TD 50 display in the cockpit
  • Chartplotter Garmin
  • Autopilot Garmin Reactor 40 hydraulic, GHC 50 at the helm
  • Radar Garmin
  • AIS Simrad
  • VHF Icom
  • Starlink Fixed antenna, 12 V
  • Autopilot, wind sensor, log and depth sounder, main instruments and the VHF were replaced in 2025 before our Pacific crossing. All instruments are optimised for interoperability and fully functional.
  • The fixed Starlink antenna runs on 12 V, converted from mains to draw less power off the batteries.

08 Electrics & power

  • Solar 2000 W total
  • Panels All rigid, latest fitted 2026
  • Batteries 800 Ah LiFePO4
  • Inverter / charger Victron 3000 W / 120 A
  • Generator Hyundai 2000 W portable
  • AC voltage 230 V
  • Switch panel Philippi
  • Winston cells wired as two banks for redundancy. Solar spread across transom, bimini and deck for intake at any point of sail. Battery and Victron system all 2022; the Philippi switch panel is cleanly wired.

09 Galley & appliances

  • Fridge 8.8 cu ft water-cooled
  • Freezer Isotherm CR 63 F Inox, 2.2 cu ft, keel-cooled
  • Washing machine 11 lb (2025)
  • Cooking Portable induction cooktop
  • Heating Webasto propane
  • Two-burner Force 10 gas stove and oven aboard for redundancy.
  • The Webasto heating runs on propane as well, so Zoë stays comfortable well outside the tropics: a European winter, or New Zealand and further south.

10 Water maker

  • Unit Seawater Pro (2022)
  • Power 12 V off the solar
  • Output 18.5 US gal per hour
  • The pump was replaced in 2025 before the big crossing; the old pump is kept aboard as a spare.

11 Tanks & storage

  • Diesel 2 × 48 US gal
  • Water 79 US gal
  • Holding tank ~16 US gal
  • The starboard tank was converted to storage (our "beer bilge") and can be returned to a tank at any time. With the water maker there is little need to carry water, and the bimini is rigged to catch rain efficiently.
  • In all Zoë has 114 lockers, bilge spaces and cubbies - surprisingly ample storage.

12 Construction

  • Hulls 1.2 in cedar strip / epoxy
  • Deck Plywood, re-glassed, ~2,700 sqft
  • Trampolines Black mesh, renewed in Spain
  • Insulation Styrodur in every deckhead
  • Keels Long, sacrificial
  • Rudders Protected by skegs
  • Through-hulls TruDesign composite
  • The 1.2 in cedar hulls give genuine impact security, and the long keels give great stability under sail. The keels are sacrificial and the rudders are protected by skegs, so a grounding is taken by parts designed to absorb it.
  • The deck and cockpit were re-glassed in southern Spain, then faired and painted. The outside carries glass everywhere.
  • Custom hardtop, new transom platform and sugarscoops, and aluminium toerails renewed all round.
  • Every deckhead is insulated with Styrodur board between the timber battens, joints taped, and the wiring runs behind removable panels on lever connectors. It keeps the cabins cooler in the tropics and holds the condensation down in colder latitudes.
  • The through-hulls are TruDesign composite, so there is nothing below the waterline to corrode.

13 Tender

  • Dinghy 9.5 ft aluminium RIB
  • Outboard 15 hp Yamaha two-stroke
  • The RIB is tired and due for replacement. The Yamaha is old by choice - we picked the oldest two-stroke we could find for its reliability - but in good health, and powerful enough to get all six of us plus the groceries up and planing.

14 Ground tackle

  • Primary anchor 84 lb Bügel
  • Chain 295 ft × 3/8 in
  • Secondary anchor Dela-type stainless
  • Windlass Lofrans Cayman 1000 W
  • The 84 lb Bügel is a bit oversized for Zoë, but that extra weight makes anchoring extra safe. The stainless plate anchor holds well in seaweed. The 295 ft of 3/8 in chain is due for replacement in the near future; the windlass was rebuilt in 2022.

15 Safety

  • Liferaft Zodiac, 6 person, hard case
  • Lifebuoys 2
  • Lifejackets Several, all aged
  • We have no record of the liferaft's last service, and the lifejackets are all aged. Both should be checked before the next offshore passage.
Asking price
€150,000
€119,000

For a boat this good, this price is frankly a joke. Zoë is a stronger, faster and far better-built boat than a production catamaran of the same size. And far longer-lived - a 2020 Lagoon is unlikely to still be crossing the world's oceans 37 years from now.

But we are running out of time, because we want to go back to the Tuamotus. Leaving Zoë on a mooring in Tahiti is out of the question for us; we love her too much for that. So we are now offering her at the price we paid almost nine years ago. Adjusted for inflation and with the roughly €100,000 of improvements we have put into her, her value is around €250,000.

Enquiries

Come and see Zoë

She is lying in Tahiti, French Polynesia, and can be viewed by arrangement. For the full history, more photographs or a chat, we would love to hear from you.

Enquire about Zoë

Download the dossier as a PDF

Get in touch at zoe-catamaran.punkrats.com

Asking price€119,000
LyingTahiti
DesignSimpson 1201, 1989 Henze
ViewingBy arrangement