Breathe Me is bringing a familiar but extensively reconstructed power catamaran back to the Cannes Yachting Festival. The 72.5-foot AIR 77 was first shown internationally in 2013, but SARFNAV says the yacht presented in 2026 has been rebuilt across almost 85 percent of its structure, machinery and interior in collaboration with the Couach yard at Gujan-Mestras.
The project is more extensive than a cosmetic refit. The hulls have been widened by 60 centimetres each, propulsion has been replaced with Volvo diesels and Ultrajet waterjets, and the accommodation has been completely reconsidered with new joinery, leather and thermoformed Plexiglas.
Hull geometry has been altered
Widening each hull by 60 centimetres changes the AIR 77’s stance, interior volume and hydrodynamic behaviour. SARFNAV says the rebuild was intended to improve onboard usability while preserving the open architecture that made the original design unusual when it first appeared.
The yacht retains a shallow draft of about 0.95 metres, supported by waterjet propulsion. That combination can be valuable in coastal cruising areas where owners want access to shallower anchorages without exposed propellers beneath the hulls.
New Volvo diesels and Ultrajet waterjets
The rebuilt yacht uses Volvo engines rated at 435 hp each and new Ultrajet waterjets. Waterjets provide a different handling and maintenance profile from conventional shafts or pods and fit the project’s shallow-draft objective particularly well.
SARFNAV has not positioned the rebuild around extreme speed. The technical story is instead about renewing the machinery, reducing draft and integrating propulsion with the revised hulls so that a distinctive older platform can remain practical in modern operation.
The interior is effectively new
The cabins have been rebuilt with exotic timber, full-grain leather and extensive thermoformed Plexiglas. SARFNAV says roughly 65 square metres of Plexiglas was individually formed and fitted, while around 430 square metres of 3.4-millimetre leather was used across roof and cabin surfaces.
Those numbers illustrate the craftsmanship involved in a one-off rebuild rather than serial production. The AIR 77 is constructed in epoxy wood without a conventional production mould, which allows significant modification but also makes every rebuilt surface a bespoke piece.
Open circulation remains the defining idea
The yacht’s main living areas are arranged around visual continuity between cockpit, interior and foredeck. From the upper area, guests can see through multiple zones rather than moving between a series of closed rooms, a concept that was unusual when the original design emerged more than a decade ago.
That openness now feels closer to current catamaran design trends, where panoramic glass and connected deck spaces are common. Breathe Me’s return therefore offers an interesting comparison between an early interpretation of the idea and the many production multihulls now using similar principles.
Cannes closes a long rebuild chapter
The reconstruction began years ago and has involved Couach as a major technical partner. Bringing the finished yacht back to Cannes gives SARFNAV a chance to show that the AIR 77 concept can be renewed rather than discarded as its systems and finishes age.
At around 22 metres, Breathe Me remains below the 24-metre threshold despite offering the beam and internal volume of a substantial power catamaran. Its value at Cannes lies as much in the rebuild story as in the model itself, showing how extensively an unusual yacht can evolve while retaining its original identity.
A rebuild this deep becomes a design project in its own right
Once hull dimensions, propulsion, interiors and large areas of structure are changed, the distinction between refit and reconstruction becomes more than semantics. Breathe Me demonstrates how an unusual yacht can be preserved while still receiving systems and spaces that respond to current expectations, rather than forcing an owner to choose between keeping the original concept untouched and replacing the vessel completely.
The project will also interest owners of other distinctive older yachts because it shows what can be achieved when the original platform is structurally worth retaining. The economics of such work are highly project-specific, but the technical lesson is broader: a carefully managed rebuild can extend the useful life of a unique yacht while improving draft, machinery and accommodation in ways a cosmetic refit cannot. That makes the finished yacht a useful case study in how far a distinctive platform can be modernised without erasing the design that made it worth preserving.
