"Code One": Giant "Meccano" set
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Multiplast finishes joining the hulls of its 2nd maxi catamaran for The Race under the trampoline of Club Med. As soon as the latter leaves the yard, the giant "Meccano" set that is "Code One" will start being put together. Launching is scheduled for July 2000.
Under the trampoline of Club Med, Multiplast is finishing assembling the hulls of "Code 0ne", the second maxi-catamaran built for The Race to Gilles Ollier Design Team plans. Assembly of the platform will commence in May 2000.The present operation consists in joining – two by two

the four half-hulls delivered from Cherbourg (Normandy, France), where they were made in the moulds used for Club Med. Later, the bulkheads and soles providing rigidity for the hulls will be fitted inside.
Multiplast has chosen to proceed in this order to avoid the half-hulls distorting during assembly, through a "tightening" effect against the panels of the internal structure. So the latter will be adjusted to within a millimetre in the complete hulls, after test fitting with plywood templates. They will then be bonded inside with "L-sections" – plies of carbon binding the edges of each surface.
Meanwhile, the other parts of the giant "Meccano" set that is "Code 0ne" are steadily filling any spare corner left in the workshop. The forward fairings of the crossbeams have been finished and the technicians have now started their aft faces (which are the crossbeams main load-bearing structure). The compression beam (longitudinal beam projecting forwards from the foot of the mast) is also under construction. As soon as Club Med is launched, all the parts of "Code 0ne's" platform will be ready for immediate assembly in early May.
To build these two catamarans side by side (or rather one on top of the other), about 50 technicians are working two shifts, between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm, with up to 35 of them on site at any one time. The experience gained with Club Med means that the hulls of "Code One" can be built 20% faster. In this way, thanks to rigorous organisation, this second "giant" will be launched in July 2000 – for a skipper and sponsor who still remain confidential.