Wiley Sharp walks through a charter-proven Virgin Islands catamaran whose bunk-room layout may be the smartest use of space Lagoon ever drew.
Some boats reveal their logic slowly. The 2019 Lagoon 52F S/V Blue Octane makes her case in the first thirty seconds of Wiley Sharp’s walkthrough, when he admits the five-cabin arrangement is his favorite layout on the 52. She has spent her working life as a fully crewed charter yacht in the Virgin Islands, and Sharp frames her future two ways: continue in charter, or serve as a cruising platform for a family that wants space without the burden of a much bigger boat.
Scale without the strain
That balance is a recurring theme in the tour. As Sharp puts it, the Lagoon 52 delivers the dimensions and volume you’d expect from a catamaran in the 56- to 62-foot range, yet handles more like something in the upper-40s or low-50s. Weather decks are notably wide, and the trampolines were replaced within the last year. Forward, the anchor chain and windlass sit on centerline, with storage beneath the foredeck day beds housing the battery compartment and the Onan generator.
Both sugar scoops open into mechanical spaces, each housing one of the upgraded Yanmar 80-horsepower 4JH-series engines. The port side also carries the Webasto air conditioning system, replaced in 2023. To starboard, alongside the second engine, there’s a dive-style swim ladder and a hot-and-cold shower — small details that betray a boat built for guests in the water rather than tied to a dock.
The flybridge
Sharp is unguarded about the sailing: not a high-performance boat, he says, but one that sails considerably better than the numbers suggest — a point he makes as a rebuttal to Lagoon’s broader reputation. The double-spreader rig carries a traditional mainsail and a self-tacking jib, with all winches at the mast base. On this boat, every winch is electric, including the davit winch.
The helm station carries a full B&G electronics package with autopilot and chartplotter, plus the Yanmar controls. Two thoughtful touches stand out: windows set into the bimini top that let you watch the mainsail while hoisting or tacking, and a helm seat and station that articulate — sliding to starboard, centerline, or port depending on tack. Sharp notes it makes a genuine difference both in close quarters and under sail.
Living aboard
The cockpit offers a U-shaped settee to port that seats eight comfortably (ten at a squeeze), an adjacent large day bed with storage beneath, and an aft guest cabin currently occupied by the delivery captain preparing to take her to Grenada. Tender duty falls to a PVC inflatable with a Yamaha Enduro outboard.
Inside, the salon’s tall vertical windows flood the space with daylight without cooking it. The galley aft to port has Vitrifrigo drawer-style fridge/freezer units, a dual-basin sink, generous counter space, a microwave, a four-burner propane cooktop and an oven/broiler. A forward-facing nav station carries Scheiber lighting controls, B&G autopilot, generator and chiller controls, with an L-shaped settee and high-low table alongside.
To port, the bunk room is the layout’s clever card — usable as a kids’ cabin, crew quarters, or, as Sharp argues, simply superior storage compared with the four-cabin version. Forward of it sits the first VIP with an athwartship queen and an en-suite head with separate shower stall. The starboard side mirrors that VIP forward, with a full-size refrigerator and deep freeze tucked into the midships companionway, and aft lies the owner’s stateroom: a low, walk-around athwartship berth, storage beneath, a separate sink and vanity, shower outboard and head forward.
Where the 52F sits
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Lagoon 52F sold, last 24 months | 6 |
| Median sold price | $750,000 |
| Median time to sell | ~144 days |
| Active listings | 7 |
| Asking range | $674,000–$895,000 |
| Median asking price | $734,900 |
| Median sold (24 mo) | $750,000 | |||
| Median asking (active) | $734,900 | |||
| Lowest asking | $674,000 | |||
| Highest asking | $895,000 |
With upgraded cold storage, watermakers, recent Webasto work and a charter-ready fit-out, Blue Octane is a well-sorted example of a model that trades in a fairly tight band.