The Broadblue Rapier 550 catamaran took part in the Isle of Wight race, winning her class in difficult conditions.
In April 2013 Composite Integration worked alongside Falmouth Marine School’s Marine Innovation Service and Multimarine to provide guidance and support throughout the infusion process of the catamaran at the Multihull Centre in Cornwall. The performance of the resulting vessel has recently turned several heads. Due to her lightweight design, the Rapier performs extremely well and is the lightest boat of her type on the market. The hulls were infused in one piece meaning that to date, the Rapier is the largest catamaran to be infused in the UK.
The annual J.P.Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race had entered over 1,600 competitors, half of which retired due to the racing conditions. The BBR 550 performed well given that the conditions were tricky with variable, light winds and extremely hot sun. Crewing the vessel were several of her builders.
Simon Baker, Multimarine director and lead projects manager; “The forward Cockpit works exceptionally well – as we watched other competitors suffering the extreme heat, we were shaded and cool. Everything on this boat can be operated in total comfort from inside so we never considered quitting, especially as we had plenty of cool drinks and Daz even cooked us a couple of pizzas!”
Will Harris, Design Engineer at Composite Integration said; “We send our congratulations to the Broadblue Rapier team. It’s fantastic that Direct Resin Infusion has enabled Multimarine to manufacture a lightweight, yet strong composite structure, which is capable of winning its class in such a popular and competitive race”
Further to the vessel’s racing success, it has just been nominated for ‘European Yacht of the Year 2015’. The Rapier 550 is one of five new yachts and the only catamaran in the Bluewater Cruiser category. Comprehensive testing will be carried out on the catamaran over the autumn by a panel of 14 yachting journalists from the leading European sailing magazines.
The Broadblue Rapier 550 appears to be on her way to becoming an award winning catamaran. Broadblue will be displaying her in September at the Southampton Boat Show.
Following is a video record of this first infusion:
