Seawind Opens Its Izmir Doors in Turkey
The First European Open Days
Seawind Catamarans held its first European Open Days on 18 and 19 July, welcoming owners, prospective buyers and industry partners to its production facility in Izmir, Turkey. Hosted by Seawind Catamarans Europe and based at the Yeni Foça Oasis Marina on the Aegean coast, the weekend will be an annual fixture.
The idea was simple: show people the factory, then put them on the water. Over two days, guests moved between guided tours of the yard and test sails out of nearby Foça Marina, with socialising at lunches filling the gaps.
Inside the Factory
The Izmir yard sits in the Izmir Free Zone at Menemen and began building catamarans in 2023. It is Seawind’s European manufacturing base and Turkey’s first serial-production multihull builder. Visitors walked through the build sequence, from lamination and composite work to final commissioning, following a similar linear production system and roughly four-week hull cycle Seawind runs in Vietnam. The factory is purpose-built for catamarans up to around 42 feet.
On the Water
At Foça Marina, guests took part in sail demonstrations and hands-on training. The sessions gave people a chance to feel how the boats handle under sail and to ask the questions that matter when you are weighing up a catamaran for yourself.
Izmir: the European Hub
Traditionally, Seawind’s biggest market has been the US and Asia Pacific, with freight bumping the price up for European customers. The Hub in Turkey changes that. Producing yachts closer to European waters cuts delivery times and shipping costs, and gives buyers a factory they can visit in a weekend rather than a long-haul flight away.
The Seawind 1170, the first model to come off the Izmir line, was among the boats on show. The 39-footer follows the philosophy Seawind is known for: relatively light displacement, twin mid-protected helm stations with good visibility, and an extendable carbon bowsprit. It was named Multihull Yacht of the Year 2025 at the British Yachting Awards and picked up a Sail Magazine Best Boats award, while the larger 1370 took US Cruising World’s Boat of the Year.
International Sales Director Mike Rees said the turnout let the team show “not just our boats, but the passion and dedication of the team building them.”
The Takeaway
A first-year event is as much a statement as a party. Seawind used the weekend to plant its flag in Europe, and with a working factory, a service base at Foça and an award-winning boat rolling off the line, the annual format looks set to grow.