A semi-custom Loïc Goepfert performance cat with carbon rig, daggerboards, and fresh Volvo diesels — walked through dock-side at Port Louis Marina.
Tied up in Port Louis Marina, Grenada, S/V DIFFERENCE is a 2011 Alibi 54 that reads more like a serious offshore tool than a production catamaran. Designed by French multihull architect Loïc Goepfert and built in Thailand, she’s a semi-custom high-performance cruiser laid up in unidirectional fiberglass, carbon, and epoxy resin — coming in just under 12 tons all-in. In the video, broker Andrew Hodgdon walks her end to end, and the picture that emerges is a boat built to sail hard while still keeping her owner in one place: single-owner, professionally captained, and never chartered.
A Purposeful Performance Platform
The performance story starts up top. She carries a rotating carbon mast and boom, a carbon forward beam, sprit and martingale, and a mix of rod diamonds with high-modulus fiber for the forestay, shrouds, and even the lifelines. Twin asymmetric carbon-fiber daggerboards drop from trunks in each hull, driven by push-button Antal directional line handlers with electric power and controls at both helms. She’s designed to easily exceed wind speed, but the layout is balanced enough to be sailed short-handed or single-handed.
Sail inventory is a 2016 suit of North 3Di: a full-batten, square-top main with three reef points, a Solent with reinforced UV-protected leech, and an asymmetrical spinnaker with a snuffer for the sprit. A heavy-duty double-plied Dacron storm jib is on hand for when things go sideways.
Helm, Cockpit, and Deck
The steering system is a nice piece of engineering: a cable-and-crossbar setup with an adjustable wheel that pulls into three positions, letting you drive from an outboard station on the helm seat, or slide it inboard to steer out of the sun and weather. Furuno chartplotters and B&G instruments are duplicated at both helms and the nav station. One notable change from launch — the original raising rudder cassettes proved problematic and have been replaced with fixed, semi-balanced rudders.
The cockpit was customized with extra seating and additional under-seat storage, and a carbon-fiber cocktail table adds a bit of flair. It’s not a huge lounging platform, but it’s an efficient, comfortable space. Forward, the 10-foot 3D Tender aluminum-bottom RIB with a 15 hp Yamaha Enduro stows through a purpose-built opening on the foredeck — a much cleaner solution than transom davits.
Interior: Two Owner Hulls, Plus Crew
Belowdecks she reads as a proper cruising home. The saloon has a drop-down dining table that converts to a daybed for off-watch rest, a nav station repeating the helm instruments, and a galley with stainless counters, double sink, induction cooktop, two refrigerators, a top-loading drinks fridge, and even a dishwasher (currently used as storage). Air conditioning is fed by two generators — a main and a backup.
The starboard hull is dedicated to the owner: a queen berth accessible from either side, a head with an electric-flush toilet, and a shower with a rain head and bent-wood sink. A clever “escape hatch” behind the nav-station storage passes through into the forward cabin — useful if the head is occupied. Port side carries another double cabin aft and a forward cabin, with a shared head between. Ahead of the forward port cabin, a separate crew quarters — bunk, small head, sink and shower — is accessed via its own deck hatch.
Mechanicals
The engine room is one of the more interesting parts of the story. She was originally built with hybrid-electric sail drives; those were troublesome and were later replaced with Volvo Penta diesels. Those diesels were subsequently subject to a recall, and the engines currently aboard are effectively brand new — roughly 150 hours on the clocks and looking clean. A 24-volt windlass, remote plus a helm-station control, makes anchoring straightforward for a short-handed crew.
Market Context
The Alibi 54 is a rare boat. Only a small handful trade at any given moment, so shoppers tend to see just one or two examples on the market at once.
| Alibi 54 market snapshot | Figure |
|---|---|
| Active listings | 2 |
| Asking range | $699,000–$1,290,000 |
| Median asking | $994,500 |