The Class 30 OD becomes Sun Fast 30 OD
The Class 30 sailboat, a project launched by the UNCL, now the racing arm of the Yacht Club de France, the RORC in the United Kingdom and the Storm Trysail Club in the United States, to revitalize access to ocean racing, will finally be built by the Jeanneau shipyard. Multiplast, winner with the architectural firm VPLP of the competition launched by the clubs, has joined forces with the Bénéteau Group brand to meet the industrial challenge. Its director, Yann Penfornis, explains this choice: "It was never intended that Multiplast would do the boat. We had three candidates. What won out at Jeanneau was the real desire at the highest level of the Bénéteau group to do this project, its industrial strike force and distribution network, and the experience of Arkema's Elium resin within the group, having already built a First 44, which helped reassure all the members of the project."
The yachts will be built in the Cheviré factory near Nantes, where the Figaro Bénéteau 3s were born. An organization that already integrated the 2 partners, recalls Yann Penfornis: "We'll have the same core group. On the Figaros, Multiplast supplied the foils
An almost unchanged boat project
The new partnership has not resulted in any fundamental changes to the boat, which retains the initial spirit of the project. Beyond a few details related to Jeanneau's construction methods for the hull-deck assembly and some chute dimensions, the only major announcement is the adoption of Arkema's Elium resin for manufacturing. This thermoplastic resin allows recycling of composite parts at the end of their life by separating resin and fibers. Confident after its first trial on a First 44, the Bénéteau group and its brand Jeanneau guarantee the hull for 7 years.
The boat is proposed, at the same weight, in thermal or electric motorization.
Sun Fast 30 OD: Jeanneau to build Class 30 in recyclable resin
Marketing well underway
The Sun Fast 30 OD is off to a good start. 26 firm orders for yachts have been placed. The Multiplast and Jeanneau teams will share the effort according to their skills, the former reaching out to clubs and the latter to private sailors. Yann Penfornis is optimistic: "We've had good feedback from the Southampton show and the RORC approaches."
The main pitfall of the tender was that the objective of a club boat at less than 100,000 euros was partly circumvented. All of the boats ordered are in the one-design version, more equipped and more expensive, as the clubs themselves have opted for this model. The first boat should hit the water in April 2023.
