Schionning Designs

Schionning designs, founded by Jeff Schionning, is a family-run design firm focusing on sailing and power catamarans. The company offers an extensive portfolio of designs to home builders and professional yards. There are various lines of sailing cats ranging from cruisers, through performance cruisers to cruiser-racers. One line is available as kits for faster building.

Jeff Schionning grew up in South Africa in an environment with boat building, designing and competitive sailing. After training as a land surveyor he returned to boats and started specializing in cold-moulded and composite yachts, building a number of boats between 20 and 45 feet. Excited by multihulls, he rebuilt an old trimaran and lived aboard, and thereafter concentrated on multihull deliveries and repairs.

In 1986 Jeff Schionning emigrated to Australia and with his two sons, Craig and Brett as apprentices, started a new boat building business. Initially they built Australian multihull designs, then Jeff's own designs, which led to the current range offered.

Jeff Schionning writes that his success stems from the practical common sense approach of a boat builder, coupled with many years of live-aboard experience and 50-60000 sea miles in some of the worst conditions in the world. He says the experience makes him aware of the power of the sea and the need for a boat to be able to survive these conditions, protect her crew physically and psychologically as well as being a fast comfortable vehicle for all the good times.