Vaan R4 makes North American debut with recycled-aluminum catamaran

At City Dock, Annapolis buyers will be able to step aboard a catamaran that treats sustainability as a build rule, not a branding layer. The 42-foot Vaan R4 will make its North American debut at the Annapolis Sailboat Show from October 15 to 18, where the boat’s recycled aluminum structure, electric propulsion and deck-saloon layout will be on display beside more than 50 multihulls from 24 manufacturers.

That setting matters. Annapolis Boat Shows says the 2026 Sailboat Show will be the largest multihull display anywhere at the event, and that makes the R4 a test case for whether a sustainability-first concept can win over North American buyers in a crowded field. General admission is about $32, and parking will be available at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with shuttle service to the docks.

Vaan says the R4’s hull structure uses 60% recycled aluminum, including metal recovered from former window frames, traffic signs and license plates. The company says the entire boat can be recycled again at the end of its life, a circularity pitch that goes beyond the usual green gloss. Cork and flax replace conventional cabin materials, pineapple leaves are used for a leather alternative, and the propulsion package is 2x electric saildrives, so the boat can come into the dock without diesel.

The design logic also reaches into how the boat will actually be sailed. Vaan says the R4 is built to perform in light air so the motors can stay off, while solar panels feed the batteries and the propellers can regenerate power underway. The numbers are straightforward: 12.80 meters long, 7.06 meters wide, with a draft of 130 cm or 195 cm with the optional retractable centerboard. The mast rises 19.8 meters, and the sail plan includes a 55 m² mainsail, a 30 m² self-tacking jib, plus optional 85 m² code-0 and 135 m² gennaker sails.

What makes the R4 more than an engineering statement is the way it lives on the water. Vaan’s materials say the cockpit and saloon sit at the same level with very little heeling, while the helm is close to the water and close to the weather. The cockpit opens into the saloon, and the whole layout is meant to erase the hard line between indoors and outdoors. For owners, that is the real answer to sustainability-led design: less diesel, less waste, and a quieter, more open cruising space that still reads as a luxury catamaran.

Vaan, based in Hellevoetsluis in South Holland, was founded in 2016 by Igor Kluin and Nienke van ’t Klooster. The R4 first appeared in February 2019 as the company’s first model, then as a pre-order concept; now it is arriving in Annapolis as a finished boat, ready for buyers to judge it not as an idea, but as a multihull they can walk, touch and compare against the rest of the dock.