Thailand

Yet another multihull country!

Some countries, such as France, have many multihull builders concentrated among a plethoric offer of yacht builders. Others, like South Africa, are specialized in cruising catamarans. And then there’s Thailand…

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Publié le 25/11/2020

Par Bob Mott & Emmanuel Van Deth

Numéro : 175

Parution : Jan. / Feb. 2021

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In this country where life is good and labor is obviously cheap, it’s tempting for European, Australian or American nationals to set up a shipyard - provided they obtain the work permit, of course. Most yards have flourished around Phuket and especially in Chonburi Province, near Pattaya, where it’s relatively easy to get supplies of raw materials and specific parts - engines, rigging, sails, deck hardware, electronics, etc. While transport and commercial vessels still have very traditional lines - such as the famous longtails - The new yards involved in leisure boating have, for the most part, specialized in multihulls. For nearly 20 years, a small one-design series - the Firefly 850 One Design - has offered a racing circuit that is as active as it is attractive to sailors in Phuket. The Thai workers are reputed to be excellent laminators - and very fast. Infusion techniques are increasingly used. Some major European brands outsource their production here.

For almost 20 years now, the Firefly 850 One Design has been the boat of choice for Phuket Gulf sailors for multihull racing!

Feedback from customers who have been to Thailand is somewhat mixed: many are delighted with their multihulls and the standard of workmanship, while others are still waiting to go sailing... Building (and having a boat built) in Thailand is a tempting adventure!

The unmistakable Catathai!
The best-known multihull builder in Thailand among Multihulls World readers will be Catathai. Since 2004, this yard has produced a large number of catamarans up to 54 feet in length at their paradise premises by the sea on Koh Siray Island, Phuket. They even built a custom 18-foot cat designed by E.Henseval of ComBrit-STE Marine France for David Desage, the French manager of Rolly Tasker Sails in Phuket.
Production was unfortunately interrupted when founder/owner Hervé Le Touzé passed away in 2018. Since then, the company has been taken over by Gilles Reigner and restructured, including being recently relocated to Seaman Yachts in Prachuap Khiri Khan in September 2019. They now share the building facility with Seaman Yachts and are much closer to the supply of materials, now being only 185 mi from Bangkok, when previously, they were twice that distance. The molds have been transported to the new location as well as their 4-axis CNC machine which is one of the largest in operation in Thailand. Unfinished projects in Phuket have been moved across to other subcontractors in Phuket as transporting complete hulls was not practical.
Catathai’s recently launched Andaman 50 has been sea trialed and made available for charter in Phuket, with Yachting Thailand – see Jonathan Jagot’s full test in the previous edition of Multihulls World. Arguably the new Andaman 50 designed by Fortabat Yacht Design is the best catamaran that Catathai has built to date. The integration of the latest technologies in fiber with Kevlar and Carbon leads to a lightweight and robust boat.
Catathai’s previous Andaman 50, launched in 2017, had been designed by Architect Nicolas Gruet from French Polynesia. This catamaran is now cruising the waters of Japan and has been there for some 6 months.

Catathai has not only built multihulls for blue water cruising: on the left, this little catamaran designed by Eric Henseval is only 18 feet long.

Asia Catamarans: featherweight, for performance

Asia Catamarans yard offers multihulls for sailing or motor, but they’re light and stripped down!

Asia Catamarans Co. is one of the few builders who’ve remained faithful to Phuket - they are based in the south of the city near Phuket Zoo. They produce both power and sail, under the Stealth brand, most of which are powered by outboard motors. Performance-oriented thanks to their minimal weight, they’re built in vacuum infusion, epoxy, glass and there’s extensive use of carbon. Asia Catamarans’ multihulls are launched by crane into a nearby creek, the ideal location to have the mast stepped before they head out into Chalong Bay for sea trials.

Precision Shipwright Services: for bigger models

Precision Shipwright Services has powerful lifting and launching facilities.

For individual custom projects in Phuket, Precision Shipwright Services a partner company with East Marine Chandlery have permanent sheds at the Boat Lagoon for custom projects up to around 70 feet.
The biggest builders are based or have moved, as we have seen, on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, around Pattaya. Let’s start with Island Spirit Group: this yard has mainly developed over the past two years by acquiring the commercial catamaran builder AusThai Marine. Established about 15 years ago, this builder has produced no less than 105 units for the Thai domestic market but also for export. Island Spirit Group also acquired Gulf Charters, a charter company in Pattaya, and Elite Yachting Charters in Phuket. Island Spirit Catamarans offers two sailing catamarans, the 380 and 410. A new 485 designed by Albert Nazarov, a Russian naval architect residing in Thailand, is currently in build - the deck and hulls should be out of the molds soon.

The big builders in Pattaya

Island Spirit Group offers this elegant IS410.

In Rayong, PMG Shipyard is managed by Philippe G. Guenat, originally from Switzerland. The yard has signed a contract with Silent Yachts for the construction - already underway - of six SILENT 60s. This model offers a much larger volume than the previous model, the SILENT 55. The 60 has a much higher headroom - up to 7’6” (2.30 m) in the saloon. Its solar panels are more powerful: 42 elements give a load of 17 kWp compared to 30 with 10.8 kWp on the SILENT 55. This powercat adopts electric propulsion so you can enjoy - at reduced speed - unlimited range, without noise or smoke and with minimal vibration. Another advantage is that the operating costs of the SILENT 60 will be significantly lower than those of power multihulls with traditional internal combustion engines. This powercat is also designed by Albert Nazarov.

The Independence 110 has the look of a classic monohull flagship, yet is sat on two hulls. The shipyard building it, Floeth Yachts, announces a cruising speed of 14 knots.

With a large number of multihulls to their credit, Floeth Yachts is also one of the largest shipyards in the province of Chonburi. This yard is building the Independence 110, a 34-meter powercat that will be driven by electric motors. This is - once again - an Albert Nazarof design! Floeth Yachts’ facilities are located in Ocean Marina, Pattaya, and a new building on the waterfront, in Map Tha Phut, should be operational in 18 months’ time. Floeth Yachts has also launched the Sea Searcher 72S, a 72-foot sailing catamaran based on a Dickson design. This multihull is expected to be delivered, once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, to Canada.

Serenity Shipyard Ocean Marina, a French shipyard, is also located in the area. This shipyard is specialized in the composite construction of large 73-foot catamarans for day charters.

In Thailand, all the main yards produce boats built to comply with CE standards, or even higher. This is a good insurance when selecting a shipyard to build your multihull. Catamarans and trimarans that are not CE certified cannot be sold in Europe and do not have an external control body verifying the quality of construction, the equipment installed or the respect of regulations.

The first Sea Searcher 72S, a 72-foot sailing catamaran based on a Dickson design, is soon to be delivered to Canada.

The SILENT 60 under construction at PMG Shipyard.

Specifications:
Length overall: 59’ (17.99 m)
Beam: 29’6” (8.99 m)
Draft: 3’1” (0.93 m)
Light displacement: 55,100 lbs (25 t)
Fuel: 158/422 US gal (600/1,600 l)
Solar panels: 17 kWp
Electric motors: 2 x 30 kW/2 x 250 kW
Cruising Speed: 6-8 knots/12-15 knots
Max speed: 12-20 knots
Price: € 2,180,000 ex-tax