Fountaine Pajot and Lagoon, the challenge continues. Upward

The Dusseldorf Boot is also an opportunity to announce the yards’ new projects, with a focus on the new products that will hit the water for the following season (i.e., starting with the Cannes Boat Show, which this year will be September 8-13, 2015).

Confirming the turmoil in the world of multihulls, here is that the world’s two leading builders Fountaine Pajot and Lagoon announced, almost simultaneously, new designs that raise the bar of competition.

FOUNTAINE PAJOT ‘SETS COURSE’ ON IPANEMA
The La Rochelle shipyard will present in Cannes the new Ipanema 58. 17.02 meters long and 8.88 meters wide, is designed once again by Olivier Racoupeau (Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design), who continues with this model the path taken with the Helia 44 and Saba 50. Everything is played on the “sharing” of space between outside and inside, between cockpit and square. A quest for relaxation highlighted, in the Lounge version, by the entirely cleared square, with a real lounge and areas for receiving guests. In this case, the kitchen is set up in the hallway so that the spaces are completely separated. The sail plan will count an area of 169 square meters. The presence of an imposing flybridge allowed the shipyard to double the outdoor space, because up here, in addition to the wheelhouse, there is a real second cockpit.

LAGOON LIGHTENS SMALL AND AIMS HIGH

Double the versions of two of Lagoon‘s flagship models, the 450 and 52, on which owners will be able to request a hardtop without a flybridge. These versions, referred to as Sport Top, will have a raised wheelhouse and, with the same sail area, a lowered rig (the lack of a flying bridge allows this), which therefore also improves the center of gravity. But Lagoon is also aiming high, at the request of its own owners, who have asked the shipyard to build a 70-footer, about which there is currently great secrecy. It is only known that the model has the “code name” of “7ma.” This is the perfect link to the other major project the French shipyard is working on, which is the creation of a full-fledged custom range to be built in collaboration with the world’s greatest designers.

A BOMA… TAILORED FOR CATAMARANS
Since the first announcement in December 2013, Lagoon has been testing its patented in-boom mainsail furling system, designed specifically for battened square-top mainsails on catamarans, for more than a year on its owners’ models around the world. In smaller models, it will be offered (from next season) with manual operation, while larger boats will have a hydraulic system. Another step toward the total simplification of going to sea.