Cruising multihulls, a French revolution

Cruising on board a multihull? This was virtually impossible along France’s coastlines in the 1960s and 70s. Apart from a few British series, with low levels of imports, French products at the time can be counted on one hand. A pioneer in this field, André Allègre sets up the yard Catalina, in Sète, where he designs and produces a full range of trimarans, from the 7m Samoa to the 12m Australia (and later the 8.30m Allegro). But their distribution remains very limited. At Multicoques France, in Pauillac, the Gancel family – father and sons – also build cruisers of all sizes, on two or three hulls, including the Sunrise Viking, a comfortable 13m catamaran designed for offshore sailing. Once again, production remains at the scale of a small yard, building individual units. The most well-known liveaboard multihull at this time in France is the Iroquois, a 9.40m catamaran designed by England’s Rod Macalpine-Downie (who later creates the legendary Crossbow and Crossbow II racing models). The Iroquois owes its popularity to its excellent compromise – for the time – between performance and comfort. Built in polyester by Sailcraft and sold at a reasonable price (equivalent to €80,000 today), it is one of the first liveaboard multihulls to enjoy commercial success (more than 400 units produced over a decade). However, the number of Iroquois in French marinas remains limited despite the concerted efforts of their importer, Henri de Cazenove, initially based in Bénodet, then on the Étel river, who is a passionate promoter of sailing on two hulls. On this side of the Channel, he also introduces the Comanche 32 – an adaptation of the Iroquois with a bit more length and a lot more volume – as well as the unique models created by another British builder, Prout Catamarans.

Major promoters of series multihulls in Europe, the brothers Roland and Francis Prout have developed the company founded by their father Geoffrey, which produced folding dinghies, canoes and kayaks. They were high-level competitors – representing Great Britain in the K2 at the Helsinki Olympic Games in 1952 – and first discovered sports catamarans by connecting two kayaks together using a bamboo platform, before going on to enjoy great success in 1954 with their Shearwater, which will be popular with regatta racers for a long time. They then start building cruising catamarans, including the 12.20m Rehu Moana, designed by Colin Mudie for David Lewis, who will complete a round-the-world trip with his family on board – the first ever circumnavigation on a multihull – after competing in the Ostar 1964 race. In 1966, the Prout yards also release the Tsulamaran, a luxurious 23m cat rigged as a ketch. Based in Canvey Island, on the Thames estuary, the Prout brothers then embark on series production: a first Snowgoose 35, which is relatively basic to begin with, followed at the end of the 1970s by the Quest 31 and Snowgoose 37, which will cement the brand’s image. Paradoxically, these sport catamaran champions focus their models on easy handling and comfort rather than performance. 

With their large single-piece deck and original rigging (very aft-set mast and very small mainsail), these boats are immediately identifiable and appeal to leisurely cruising enthusiasts. At least on the other side of the Channel, because French boaters are still reluctant: their attractive deck layout and absence of heeling make them a dream for many, but their living volumes are not so generous and their behavior under sail is not particularly exhilarating.

Neither do the other English catamarans enjoy more success in France. Very popular in the UK, the small Hirondelle from Robert Ives Boatbuilders or the more comfortable Heavenly Twins – 8.20m, with a central cockpit and rear cabin – are almost impossible to find anywhere in France. The same is true for the spacious Solaris 42, which is mainly popular with an English clientele. The 8m and 9m Catalac models are more like mixed sailboats on two hulls and are more commonly seen on our inland waterways, accessible with their narrow width, than in Atlantic ports.

Fast offshore multihulls already exist, far away from European eyes. Since 1947, when they launched their first boat, Manu Kai, the Hawaiians Rudy Choy, Woody Brown and Alfred Kumalae have built modern catamarans that can outpace the largest monohulls seen at the time, including on Pacific crossings. But we will need to wait until the late 1970s for their reputation to reach the Old Continent… Other American models make a name for themselves earlier, such as Arthur Piver’s trimarans, including the Nimble 30, built in England by Cox Marine, or the Victress, which enabled Nigel Tetley to be the first solo sailor to pass all three Capes on a multihull in 1969. Once again, they generate little interest in France.

In the end, minimalist coastal sailing paves the way for interest in multihulls to start picking up here. 

At the Grand Pavois show in 1980, two boats are presented that are very different, but share the same ambition to combine great sailing sensations with space for sleeping on board. The Stiletto, an 8.25m cat designed and built by Force Engineering in Florida, causes a sensation with its sporty lines, its small side cabins reminiscent of fighter jets, and its innovative honeycomb sandwich construction with pre-impregnated fabrics. Its distribution will remain limited in Europe due to its very high price, but the dayboat cat concept inspires other designers. Alongside this, the Ocqueteau yard presents the Speed 770, designed by Gilles Gahinet, two-time winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, a fast trimaran that is collapsible, easy to tow with a car and features two berths. Other models will offer new visions for this program, such as Leguen-Hémidy’s Triagoz 25 – on Langevin plans – and the Tremolino, a surprising combination of Hobie Cat 16 floats and a central hull designed by Dick Newick. Not to mention England’s James Wharram, who has long praised the merits of double outrigger canoes from Oceania and has designed a number of catamaran models inspired by them, including the Tiki and Pahi ranges. But his creations are focused more on amateur builders and not all recreational boaters necessarily appreciate his undeniably rustic approach.

The first leading name from the liveaboard sailing world to take an interest in coastal catamarans is Maurice Edel, who, in January 1983, presents his Edel Cat 26, designed with Sylvestre Langevin, a renowned architect following the Elf Aquitaine catamaran’s victory in the second Route du Rhum. A polyester construction pioneer and creator of several memorable bestsellers on the French sailing market (more than 2,000 units produced each for the Edel 2 and Edel 5), the builder from Lyon has previously launched a sports catamaran, the Edel Cat 15, and feels that the market is set to take off. Many of them will go on to explore these waters: Guy Marine’s Freely 8m, Keltic’s Kat 28, Fountaine-Pajot’s Corneel 26, Naval Force 3’s Twist and Technicoque’s French Cat will help drive the development of this niche.

However, in terms of cruisers, the line-up takes some time to be refreshed compared with the previous decade. At the Grand Pavois show in 1982, Philippe Briand presents the 12.15m trimaran Exception, sold by Trimarine in Nantes, an elegant and modern blend of ocean racing and cruiser sailing. However, this boat fails to convince, no doubt due to its restricted liveaboard features compared with a monohull for an equivalent program. The real turning point is autumn 1983, when the Louisiane completes its first tacks in La Rochelle, having just emerged from the Fountaine Pajot yard, which until now is better known for its 470 and 505 models. This 11m catamaran surfs the wave of the victory one year earlier of the great Charente Maritime, which finished three days ahead of its nearest competitor in the La Rochelle – New Orleans race. The architects of these two models, Michel Joubert and Bernard Nivelt, were able to rediscover the outstanding potential of Hawaiian catamarans, while adapting this concept to French culture. Although the Louisiane is not a racing machine in any way, it delivers excellent sailing performance levels – including upwind – with its efficient centerboards, generous sail plan and moderate weight, striking a balance between comfort and seafaring qualities that could not be found on British series. Jean-François Fountaine, a high-level regatta racer and co-skipper of the Charente Maritime, successfully anticipates the market’s demands and the result even exceeds his expectations, thanks to the first model from a range that will be strengthened very quickly with the Casamance 43, the Maldives 32, the Fidji 39 and many other models that will be widely distributed around the world, making the La Rochelle yard one of this market’s true heavyweights. 

Looking beyond its own success, the Louisiane contributes to the development of cruising catamarans by giving them a more rewarding image. Many different projects take shape almost everywhere, covering all the trends for this vast program. In Grande Motte, Gérard Danson launches the Outremer 40, the first model in a long series. In Cogolin, Jean-Pierre Prade and Thierry Goyard create the Catana yard and popularize the asymmetrical hulls created by the Australian architect Lock Crowther. With the same focus on performance cats, the Ville-Audrain 42 designed by Erik Lerouge for Pascal Marcel’s yard in Saint-Malo generates interest, but without being a commercial success. In 1985, Maurice Edel completes his range with a real cruiser, that is unusual but functional: the Edel Cat 33.

The Pons Law offering overseas tax exemptions and the boom in charters accelerate this trend. The delicate issue of securing a berth for such a bulky vessel is not a problem for charter clients, who widely adopt the catamaran, which offers an unrivaled platform for holidays in the sun. In 1986, led by the racer Philippe Jeantôt, Les Sables d’Olonne sees the first Privilège, a 14m catamaran designed by Guy Ribadeau-Dumas and geared more towards comfort. Other yards launch their own programs: Bénéteau with its Blue II, Jeffcat, Kennex, Soubise, and even Wauquiez, the iconic yard renowned for “classic” monohulls, which releases its own catamaran, the Kronos 42. The next turning point is credited to the team at Jeanneau Techniques Avancées and the architects Vincent Lauriot-Prévost and Marc Van Peteghem, launching the first two Lagoon 55s in 1987. With this boat, which does not look like any of its predecessors, combining a groundbreaking design with an exceptional balance between comfort and performance, JTA charts a new course, leading to a number of adaptations – more than 6,000 Lagoons built all models combined – and creates one of the most successful legacies in the history of multihulls.