Bluegame’s BGF45 is a stylish, foil-assisted power catamaran intended to serve as a dayboat or weekender. At 46 feet 5 inches length overall, it is essentially an evolution of the builder’s 36-foot BGH-HSV, a high-performance hydrofoil chase boat developed for the 37th America’s Cup.
The BGH-HSV has a zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell, while the BGF45 is more conventional in terms of power—and less hardcore in terms of its appendages. Rather than flying above the waves on tall foils fore and aft, the BGF45 partially lifts on a lateral fixed foil that’s roughly amidships between the two hulls. This lift helps reduce the yacht’s wetted surface, reducing hydrodynamic drag. This design translates into a better top speed and lower fuel consumption.
As with all the Bluegame models, the BGF45’s styling marries a modern edge with timeless elegance. It’s a powercat, so the usable space aboard is volumes greater than an equivalent-length monohull. The BGF’s maximum beam is 16 feet 10 inches, creating a length-to-beam ratio of 2.76. That ratio would be less than 2 for most sailing cats.
The BGF45 is essentially an open-cockpit model with a near-plumb bow. It also has a high, wide foredeck, a wraparound windshield and a slender carbon-fiber hardtop with at least 6-foot-7-inch headroom beneath it.
At the stern, the nearly full-beam swim platform incorporates a transformer system. The cockpit has a dogleg pathway and single-seat helm position tucked over to port. Aft and to starboard are a sun pad, dinette and wet bar. Another sun pad is forward with bow-well seating on its forward edge.
Concept credit for this boat goes to Bluegame founder and product development lead Luca Santella. Caponnetto Hueber handled the yacht’s naval architecture, and Zuccon International Project designed the exterior and interior. The vibe on board is super cool, blending carbon fiber and teak beautifully.
Accommodations are substantial for a midsize model. This boat has three en suite staterooms. The larger two are accessed via steps that descend into the hulls from the cockpit. The forward flight of stairs adjacent to the helm goes to the owners’ stateroom, which is mostly forward of the wraparound forward-rake windshield. This stateroom has a transverse double berth filling the void between the foredeck and bridge deck.
The aft flight of stairs leads to a stateroom with a forward-facing double berth. The third stateroom is to starboard with hatch-and-ladder access beneath the cockpit cushion, making it ideal for a teenager or crew.
Power options from Volvo Penta include twin 380 hp, 5.5-liter six-cylinder IPS500s or 440 hp IPS600s. The BGF45 that I got aboard had the larger engines, which provided a 38-knot top hop with about 25 percent fuel, 100 percent water and 11 people aboard. At a continuous fast cruise of, say, 30 knots, the ultimate range is around 320 nautical miles. From 25 to 32 knots, the fuel burn is relatively linear. At the latter end of the spectrum, fuel burn accelerates. Flat out, the diesels burn around 54 gallons an hour. With the smaller motors, top speed is closer to 34 knots with a 27- to 28-knot fast cruise.
As with most powercats, there is minimal wake, and the ride is relatively smooth at speed.
This boat starts and stops foiling at around 18 knots. The ride’s softness becomes more obvious above 20 knots. While the foil is fixed, interceptors on the transoms change the angle of attack. Those trim bars also help the boat heel ever so slightly into the turns, which goes a long way toward dispelling the traditional skittishness of fast cats.
Handling is confident, not that the sun and light breeze on France’s Cote d’Azur in early September made things difficult. There are no stabilizer options, although a twin-gyrostabilizer system has been developed for the bigger Bluegame BGM75.
The Bluegame BGF45 has style to spare, large volumes inside and outside, and a high level of performance and technology. This boat is easily handled by an owner-operator, and it has room for the family. For boaters who have a multihull itch, this is a yacht worth a closer look.
Pitch Perfect
My first encounter with Luca Santella, founder of Bluegame and a key member Sanlorenzo Group’s management, was about 20 years ago when he showed me around the first-ever Bluegame: a 47-footer at Salone Nautico di Genova. That Bluegame was an unusual boat, the forerunner to today’s standout Bluegame portfolio.
I liked that boat a lot, but most of all, I remember learning about the brand name. Blue is the sea. Game is how we play on it. Perfect.
Extreme Foiling
Bluegame handed over two of its BGH-HSV chase boats in spring 2024. Recipients were the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic syndicate and the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez Orient Express syndicate, both challenging for the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup ahead of 37th America’s Cup.
These chase boats are 36-foot, twin-hull, full-foiling extreme machines. They can hit 50 knots with quoted ranges of 180 nautical miles and zero emissions thanks to hydrogen fuel cell technology. America’s Cup organizers set the design protocols, and when Sanlorenzo’s Bluegame division became the only builder to meet the exacting brief, the rules ended up being relaxed. What Bluegame achieved with those chase boats is truly a milestone on the voyage to sustainable boating.
Take the next step: bluegame.it
