Neel, 3 hulls and two buildings
Neel Trimarans, alone in its cruising trimaran niche, continues its rapid development. The shipyard from La Rochelle has announced the creation of a second building that will double its production area. The new Neel 51 is now coming out at a rate of one every two months Neel 51, the family of the cruising trimaran expands )
Gunboat Catamarans hits its target
Faced with the mass-market catamarans, several medium-sized shipyards occupy market niches. The Grand Large Yachting group, positioned with its Outremer brand on high-performance catamarans, diversified its portfolio towards the top end of the market with the acquisition of the American company Gunboat a year ago. The first Gunboats are currently being built in the new factory in La Grande Motte, with a full order book. The company is facing difficulties in recruiting qualified production staff and is relying on the training of Outremer employees Gunboat, a French factory for ex-American catamarans )
Privilege Marine relaunched
A historic catamaran player launched by Philippe Jeantot, Privilège Marine was facing significant financial difficulties. Since its takeover in the summer of 2017 by the Hanse group, it can now focus on its development. As Gilles Wagner, president of Privilège Marine, explains to BoatIndustry, "We've become a shipyard again like everyone else who thinks about its range, not just about how to finance the day after." (Read The owner of Hanse Yachts AG takes control of Privilège Marine )
A UFO with 2 hulls
While multihulls generally rhyme with fiberglass or carbon, the Ovnicat, an aluminum catamaran presented by Alubat, should see the light of day soon. Christian Picard, head of the shipyard, confirms this to BoatIndustry. "Several clients are ready to sign. We are finalizing the budgets."
Sunreef, luxury is doing well
On the luxury side, Sunreef Yachts has doubled its turnover and has set a target of 100 Meuros within 4 years. With 18 boats in 2016-2017, the Polish shipyard has included the catamaran in the yacht universe.
An abundant market
Other more discreet shipyards were present in Cannes, afloat, such as EOS, Aventura Catamarans, SolarWave or the trimaran Rapido, and on land, such as the Mc Conaghy shipyard, whose cruising catamaran has been awaited for several months.
The variety of offers testifies to the dynamism of the multihull sector. The future will show how many players will be able to maintain themselves in the sector.
