Monohull Generali launched
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Having taken twelve months to build, the 60' IMOCA monohull Generali that Yann Elies will sail in the next Vendee Globe, has just been launched at the Multiplast yard in Vannes. While the yacht is the 8th monohull to be built by the yard, this is however the first prototype with a canting keel and a 4.5-m draught.
Since January when Generali's deck and hull assembly was revealed to all in the presence of her godfather Zinedine Zidane, the monohull has been a hive of activity. One of the biggest jobs was the making of the canting keel. Technically, an innovative and complex element, it was manufactured in collaboration with an aeronautical sub-contractor in order to ensure a high degree of precision. Yann Penfornis, project manager in charge of building Generali at the Multiplast yard:

we used the services of this firm, as they have at their disposal bigger milling machines than us. The shaping of the carbon fin took a whole week with machines working around the clock in three eight-hour shifts. As for fitting it to the boat, we really appreciated the headroom in our shed, as this allowed us to carry out the assembly in an enclosed area...".
At the same time, work continued on the construction and fitting of the roof, which covers the cockpit, the biodiesel engine*, the deck fittings and the various systems. The daggerboards and rudders had to be fitted too. Once again, in this area, it was quality and high performance that were the watchwords.

A "super yacht"

With the process that was used to build Generali – manufacturing directly from the moulds – the quality of build and finish is that of a super yacht, without the drawbacks of having to apply an additional coat (extra weight and a lot of work on surface milling). Gilles Ollier: "... After 5 Class America and 6 giants multihulls, Generali is certainly one of the most sophisticated and highly finished boats that we have ever made. Firstly, because that was what her owners wanted, then because the boat is entirely painted (no vinyl graphics) and she is varnished (like the America Class boat 6e Sens, which was also built in our yard). It is also certainly thanks to all the engineering work and the complementary skills that have come together in this collaboration between Multiplast, Yann Elies's team and the Finot-Conq designers. We're quite prepared to start all over again tomorrow!..."

A month of tests

As soon as she is launched, Generali will be heading for her shore base where for safety reasons she will undergo the compulsory 180° self-righting test. Then the mast will be steeped, before the dynamometric strain tests can be carried out at the pontoon, and finally it will be time for the sea trials. Multiplast will be present for each trip during this month of sea trials, before she is officially handed over. The designers will also of course be attending these trials. Jean-Marie Finot: "... the building of Generali went as smoothly as planned. The boat is well within the mass strains that we would have expected. It is clear that working with a yard that has at its disposal a highly efficient design office is important, as that allows us to take things one step further and examine matters more closely...".
Another first for Generali, is that for environmental protection reasons, the moulds will be turned into microfibres and recycled into industrial plastics.
Generali will make her racing appearance at the Calais Round Britain Race in early June 2007. Once Generali has left, Multiplast will be continuing with the building of a second 60-foot IMOCA monohull for the Vendée Globe, which is due to be launched this summer.

* engine using biofuel made from farm crops offering a low level of CO² emissions.
Free of rights photos for press: Sandrine Pouch/Generali tel: +33(0) 622 774 788