6th maxi multihull in 7 years for Multiplast !
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Franck Cammas, current holder of the ORMA World Championship title and his partner Groupama have just commissioned the Multiplast yard to build 105 ft maxi trimaran to plans from the Van Peteghem / Lauriot-Prévost team.
With the three catamarans built for The Race, Olivier de Kersauson's trimaran and the catamaran Orange II, Groupama III will make the 6th maxi multihull built in Vannes in 7 years – a unique achievement worldwide ! Gilles Ollier : "...This new commission bears witness to the skill, quality and reliability we have achieved in the construction of composite prototypes over the past 25 years

Taking the IACC yahcts into account, we have built more than 30 one-off craft and boast an exceptional list of achievements in ocean-racing construction (with yet another 24-hour record with 706.5 miles for Orange II in August 2004). Since 2003, we have had brand new production premises purpose-built for the construction of extremely large-scale boats...".
Groupama III comes off the same drawing board as Geronimo which came out of our sheds in 2001, and will be the second maxi trimaran to be built by Multiplast. Construction is already underway, the start of a seventeen month long project covering a number of different phases including the making of carbon preform and moulds, followed by those of the prepreg hulls and crossbeams cured to 120°C. Once the hulls and beams have been closed, the internal structures will be built in. The final stages include the assembly of the trimaran, the fitting of the gear and other finishing touches prior to her launch in May 2006. Static and sea trials will then take place to finalise the quality of the whole.

Objective : record-breaking

Whilst the boat's programme is to attempt the greatest ocean-sailing records, Groupama's skipper makes it clear that sailing round the world remains a major target. Franck Cammas : "...The challenge represented by the Jules Verne Trophy is increasingly tough from a sailing point of view. It is extremely exciting to design a great machine to sail faster than the other contenders over the same course". Groupama III will be 105 ft, have a beam of 74 ft, fitted with foils and have a mast 131 ft high. Franck Cammas : "...our approach has led us to designing a boat with extreme performance potential on the sail down and back up the Atlantic. In the Southern Ocean, (Indian and Pacific Oceans), there is absolutely no point trying to sail faster than the weather systems...".
Groupama III should make it to the starting line of the Jules Verne Trophy by the end of 2006.

The six maxi-multihulls built by Multiplast
2000
Club Med / 108 ft catamaran / Winner of The Race, first sail yacht to cover more than 600 miles in 24 hours
Innovation Explorer - Orange I / 106½ ft catamaran / 2nd in The Race, Winner of the Jules Verne Trophy
Team Adventure / 105 ft catamaran, 3rd in The Race
2001
Geronimo / 111½ ft trimaran / Title-holder of the Jules Verne Trophy
2003
Orange II / 121 ft catamaran / Record-holder of distance covered in 24 hours : 706½ miles
2004
Groupama III / 105 ft trimaran / Construction underway

Specifications Groupama III
LOA 105 ft
Bmax 74 ft
Mast height 131 ft
Draft 16½ ft
Displacement 17/18 t
Upwind sailing area 6,458 sq ft
Downwind sailing area 8,611 sq ft