If you’ve owned or sailed aboard catamarans, then Fountaine-Pajot is certainly a familiar name, with Blubay Yachts possibly being familiar as well. But what about Blue Coast Yachts? With its first project, a 95-footer, a few months from completion, the team behind the two-year-old firm intends to make itself just as well known.
Among the reasons: The founder of Blue Coast Yachts is the same designer behind a handful of deliveries from Fountaine-Pajot and Blubay. (On a side note, he’s also responsible for the design of Singapore Airlines’ first-class suites.) He’s Jean-Jacques Coste of Coste Design & Partners. Based in France, Coste established Blue Coast Yachts to offer custom catamarans from 24 to 60 meters (approximately 79 to 197 feet). The intended clientele are yachtsmen who love to sail and prefer the space and stability advantages of cats, and don’t want to settle for a monohull simply because that’s what dominates the megayacht market.
Intended for long-distance cruising, the Blue Coast 95 will also be lightweight, displacing 55 tons. Construction, underway at H2X, employs fiberglass, carbon fiber, and PVC foam, all vacuum-bagged. H2X is one of the few facilities in Europe that specializes in multi-hull construction and vacuum bagging, two factors that weighed heavily in its selection by Coste as the builder. Another: the short construction time that the European owner wanted, which equated to just less than 18 months.
Once she’s in his hands, the 95 promises to be a simple, efficient performer. There’s a rolling furler boom developed with Petit Jean Composites and H2X, handling the 235-square-meter (771-square-foot) mainsail. All sails are from North Sails, which also include a self-rolling, 115-square-meter (377-square-foot) Solent jib and a 280-square-meter (918-square-foot) gennaker. Under power, which are twin Cummins engines, the 95 should see 15 knots. (No anticipated figures have been released so far for sail-only performance.)
As for creature comforts, the yacht will have a main-deck owner’s suite with panoramic views, three guest staterooms, accommodations for four crew, a Jacuzzi and outdoor galley on the flying bridge, and a covered aft lounge with a bar on the main deck. There’s also a hydraulic swim platform to make boarding and launching watertoys easier.
Expect to see the Blue Coast 95 debut at the Cannes boat show next September.
In related news, Blue Coast Yachts is offering partial-ownership programs for its lineup. Full details here.
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