Before you tick those boxes, ask yourself, do you really need it.

Most Builders add very little in STANDARD Options and work from a Basic Boat Price, there is a reason for this and that is because starting from this point it generally shows the true selling price compared to the competition also you may not want the make or type fitted by the Yard.

There are certain major items that you really should have factory fitted, such as Generator, Autohelm, Air conditioning Bow Thruster, that type of stuff as it's a nightmare to retro fit at a later date. I would also want Eberspacher or Makuni heating and before you say it reverse cycle a/c takes care of that, maybe, but it does not work, if the water temperature is that cold.

I heard someone say, why is everything extra?
With Prout in the old days, even the helm seat was an extra!
Well remember when Henry Ford said “you can have any colour you like as long as it's Black” It's a bit like that really, any production line to keep costs down and stick to a build schedule, they don't make Helm seats, so normally they have to be ordered in advance just the same as the engines, rigging, sails and any other components that have to be ordered in advance and fitted within the timeline. You can't when the process has started change your mind and say you want a three cabin version after ordering a 4 cabin version halfway through the build.

While some yards offer a slight degree of customisation most do not.

I have had customers tick every item on the options list, but others looking to retro fit a lot at a later date.

One of the items on any wish list that in a way should come first is a decent sized reliable water maker, which gives you a lot more freedom cruising, no need to come into the marina so often to pay for your water, no need for such large water storage tanks. Extra Refrigeration is another good option and a nice Plancha for freshly cooked fish without bringing stinky fish inside the boat.
Nice to have that aft platform also, hydraulic or other and a boom crane is useful, I would go for one of those electric tenders that plug into your boats systems with the inboard Zero Jet engines built from lightweight carbon fibre. (Which, I just happen to be a dealer for SPARK Tenders, built in Latvia)

You also have the space between the hulls or on the aft platform for a decent sized lightweight tender or on the davits. With 8 people on board it's good to have the option of a good tender to match ferrying your guests back and forth to the boat without having to make several trips.
You can also anchor off without coming in to the marina and pay the expensive fee. Only needing to visit the marina to visit the fuel dock. I have had friends, clients who have only come into the marina twice inside two years.

Personally I would have a bow thruster on modern designs, along with high bridge deck clearance comes high freeboard and together with flybridges = windage!
Windage sort of acts as a big sail driving you towards the dock at the wrong angle, so I would recommend ticking that box. I can hear all those experts shouting at me saying that you do not need one with a catamaran, it will turn in its own length, easy to dock. Trust me tick that box!

A stack pack to put the sail away, sail bag maybe or a park avenue style boom. Electric winches. I know, I am good at spending your money, but all these goodies you will thank me later!
If I was cruising one big thing I would like is a self tacking jib on an electric furler (and again those experts voices in my head). If you're short handed press that button and your sail disappears or you accidentally gybe much less to worry about and you can concentrate on reefing your main at the right time.

A must have these days is an Ice Maker!

Upgrade those engines, maybe, punching into a head sea it helps, but it is a sailing boat and the standard engines will normally do the job 99.5% of the time.

Auto pilot, goes without saying, it's an extra member of the crew, then there is a chart plotter, with systems these days combined with GPS and being a multi functional display (MFD) and can be a functional display for most of the boats electronics, Electronic Charts, position, route planning with waypoints, tides, currents, AIS, Radar, Doppler target highlighting, auto tracking, depth, seabed profile 3d or side scan imaging. The auto pilot can engage/ disengage, change heading, follow a route, sail to a wind angle from the plotter. It can talk to the apparent /True wind speed, depth gauge, heading, lay lines, VMG and polar performance, It can also display engine information, RPM, Oil Pressure, fuel consumption, alarms, range, depending from info on the engines and interface, Fuel, water, holding tank levels all through the boats network. VHF/ DSC radio integration including position information and AIS , Forward facing Sonar, Fish finder. Interfaced with cameras, engine room, docking and security cameras, Thermal night vision cameras, Weather information, Digital Switching of all lights, pumps, Battery management, charging, solar.

Seems like you're no longer needed captain, you just need to sit back, relax and drink gin and tonic with the rest of your guests!

Is all this necessary? The answer is NO! Captain Cook had a Length of string with knots tied in at intervals a compass, sextant and a chart.

It seems that today you need a degree in computer science to leave the dock!
I would need instruction to turn the damn thing on and off and all those buzzers and alarms would turn me into a nervous wreck!
Learning all this, secondary posts, tide tables, tidal diamonds, cocked hats and dead reckoning does not sound, so hard!

The KISS Method suits me fine (Keep It Simple Stupid) I saw a Joke in a Sailing magazine with a whiskery old seafarer in a glass case holding a sextant and a roll of charts and a hammer on the bulkhead with a caption “In an emergency, break glass”. I would rather have separate systems personally in case the main system goes down you have lost everything. Maybe I am old fashioned on this point and stand to be corrected.

I want Weather info, depth, log, a chart plotter, VHF a tri-data, auto helm talking to the chart plotter, any other bolt on goodies great, if you know how they work!
A chain counter and a remote windlass is a good option, tick that one too...

So Back to the options list one question? Do you want the latest kit and caboodle all singing and dancing, which will cost you an arm and a leg or something simple that you know how to use that does not turn your catamaran nav station into the flight deck of the Concorde!

You can quite literally operate most of these options on your iPad and Starlink Roam is a great option but Elon has just put his prices up unfortunately, but unless you're going completely offshore then maybe just the land based roaming package will work for you...

Safety: You need a life raft. in fact every safety item on the list tick it! A good anchor and calibrated chain, so it does not keep jumping off the windlass.

Ok, let's now take a couple of knots off your cruising speed!

Washer/ dryer (You don't need it, You will only be wearing a pair of shorts and dry your underpants on the rail)
Dish Washer ( You don't need it, Volunteer to do all the washing up)
Solar Power/ Inverter/ Lithium batteries, Charger etc ( Yep you need )
Electric induction Hob / Oven. Nice and no need to carry gas, But I like gas and it will be good for your plancha too.
Extra fridge/ freezers ( You can never have enough)

I am probably more than halfway through your kids inheritance by now, but it's you that's ticking those boxes btw, not me!
If you need more stuff it's down to you, you have spent enough!

The Options List on a New Multihull: What Does It Mean to You?

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