Last year, Sirena was selected by the French Sailing Federation to produce the official Catamaran for youths, the SL15.5, which was already a very popular Catamaran being used in many sailing schools in France.

Yves Loday and Sirena decided to develop a new Catamaran which would be compatible with the SL15.5 but with a bigger rig in order to be used by teenagers, mixed crews and adults. This is the SL16.

The SL16 has the same platform as the SL15.5 but a bigger rig and a powerful main sail. The advantage of this compatibility is that the sailing program may be changed often and the platform could be used by different crews of differing size and weight.

Sirena is the master licensee of the SL16.

Strengths of the SL16:

Because of it's long rudder blade and the powerful mainsail, the SL16 is easy to tack even if you sail in big waves.
The balance between building techniques and price is optimised.
Spare parts are simple, efficient and interchangable (multibrands).
It takes 25 minutes to assemble a SL16.
The pole is removable.
The rudder blade lifts 180 degrees.
The snuffer is light and made of strong material.
The jib is fully battened: easier to use for light crew in windy conditions and long-lasting.

ISAF Executive Committee Meeting

Oliver Bovyn (FRA) recommended the unnanimous decision of the working party that the Sirena SL16 Catamaran designed by Yves Loday be selected as the multihull for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.