Marsaudon Composites shipyard is an exception to the rule in the French marine industry. Racing boatbuilder, prototype-restorer, subcontractor to renowned shipyards, respected mold-maker, they are also the creators of a family of catamarans among the fastest in the world: the TS. Multihulls World first started telling you about them when we tested the TS5 (in MW160) and the TS42 (in MW142) in Brittany following their respective launches at the yard. Their fun event back in January, in the warm and breezy waters of the Lesser Antilles was an opportunity to further our knowledge of these two seductive boats - thanks to the crews of Addictive Sailing, Amalia, Baie du Monde 2, Elektra, Flotte, Halucine, Liman, One Way, Passion and Sea Fox.
Full-on trade winds
Bringing together nine TS out of a fleet of around thirty for this first meeting of owners in Martinique was quite a challenge, but one that the team from Lorient in western France was keen to take up for its second year at the helm. The result? Undoubtedly a real success in terms of conviviality, but also a memorable gathering of sailors on the water. The trade winds were already well-established. Between Le Marin, Sainte Anne, the Anses d’Arlet, the bay of Fort-de-France and with legs which cut very close to the emblematic Diamond Rock, the courses prepared by Fred Blandin and Régis Guillemot provided a life-size fast test-track for our speed machines. On the short courses, the difference between the TS5 and the 42 remained surprisingly modest, as the virtuosity of these 12.98m (42’7”) cats seemed able to rival their bigger sisterships. During the more open races and in stronger conditions (25 to 38 knots), the stride of the TS5s under mainsail with one reef and gennaker proved unstoppable. Never less than 15 knots shown on the GPS, often between 17 and 21 with peaks in excess of 24: the TS5s really bring out the big guns! However, the 52 Bay of World 2 was never very far away. Our TS5 Addictive Sailing, launched in November and sailed across the Atlantic in December, was a beautiful version (carbon bulkheads and floors) and despite being slightly overweight due to her charter vocation (paddleboards, large watermaker and other charter kit) and hedonistic victualling, there were times we were able to compete with the undisputed favorite of the fleet, Halucine. This TS5, perfectly optimized for performance, already winner in her class of the 2019 Multihull Trophy, was crewed by the Guillemot cousins and their crew. The technical uniformity of the fleet, in these tough conditions, favored close racing, to the benefit of the solo sailors. And the general motivation, in invigorating and generously gusty trade winds, enabled them to demonstrate both the skippers' mastery, and the tolerance of the machines, which were sometimes pushed to the limit. At 25 to 30 knots, all the catamarans were under full mainsail. During the last race (From Anse d'Arlet to Le Marin, passing inside Diamond Rock), this enthusiasm created a real knife-edge atmosphere with some impressive maneuvers. The knowledge of the yard and the virtuosity of the crew of the very radical Halucine enabled her to maintain the lead position. The finish off Sainte-Anne, with the GPS seemingly stuck at 20 knots and spray worthy of a foam party, was particularly spectacular. Ashore, at Le Marin and in the Anses d’Arlet, the (real) evenings of music and entertainment will remain for me memorable in every way – this is what multihull boating is all about!
In the words of the Talented Skippers
The TS5 has monstrous performance
“After having had the chance to take part in some great single-handed and fully-crewed races, I was looking for a boat that met the requirements of being comfortable enough to cruise as a family, with the performance of a racing boat. As Class 40 “cruising” with a wife and children hadn’t been a great success, I started looking at multihulls in 2017. Sam Marsaudon had me try out a TS42 optimized for racing, and I never really came down from that... my Class 40 was quickly put up for sale. I created Addictive Sailing so people could discover the sensations of ocean racing on board a comfortable platform: the TS5 seemed to me to be the model best suited to this program. I wasn't disappointed, and with well-established trade winds, we crossed the Atlantic in 10 days - with some 370-mile days. In order to hold these averages on a Class 40, you have to be constantly “on the ball”, with the certainty of going off course. On Addictive Sailing, we were under autopilot staring at the incredible spectacle of the bows from the watchkeeper’s seat. In ten days, we hardly ever helmed: the excellent NKE autopilot did the job perfectly under gennaker. We were never concerned about it. The TS5 has monstrous performance while remaining easy, as long as you anticipate reducing sail. Comfort in port and at sea is comparable to that of a 50-foot catamaran, and the apparent simplicity of the layout is quickly compensated for by the pleasure of sailing. I don't know of any other cruising yacht capable of sailing at more than ten knots at 50° to the true wind, on the level, without exhausting the crew and which happily exceeds 20 knots as soon as you push it a little”.
Brieuc Maisonneuve on the TS5 Addictive Sailing
The TS42 is always reassuring and is very tolerant of little mistakes
Having had the chance to sail around the world as a skipper on a Lagoon 55 from 1992 to 1995 for an owner, I sailed an Atlantic circuit in 2008/09 aboard an Outremer 55 Light with my wife Tanja and our two boys Nicolas and Julien, then aged 3 and 5. We had an itching desire to set off again, because we’d just done a transatlantic crossing on a friend's Outremer 4X. I was able to try out a TS 42 with Sam Marsaudon in Lorient: I really liked the overall effect, as well as the feel of the helm. So we ordered this magnificent boat, which gave us a taste for sailing in light airs. The transatlantic race was completed in 13 and a half days, short-handed, with Nicolas and Julien joining us from the Canaries, without any technical issues. Currently we’re on our way to the Dominican Republic to go see the whales in Samana, and have just covered the 113 miles between Deshaies (Guadeloupe) and Gustavia (St.Barth) in barely 10 hours under code 0! Relax... pleasure is guaranteed in complete safety! The TS42 is always reassuring and tolerates small mistakes well. 15/18 knots are often reached. Our only regret: not having opted for a genoa instead of the solent. At the yard, Paul (After-Sales Manager) and Fred are always available for maintenance help. The Sail and Rum was a wonderful opportunity to share our experiences with passionate sailors and to experience some sharp racing... a very beautiful moment in our trip.
Jean-Christophe Mangel on board the TS42 One Way
Marsaudon Composites: 20 years in multihulls
Samuel Marsaudon created Marsaudon Composites in 1999, and in 2001, settled in the former submarine pens of the refurbished naval base at Lorient, in western France. After the construction and refit of many prototypes, the shipyard launched its own catamaran, the TS.
Sam fell into it when he was little: his father Dominique was a pioneer in ocean racing and individual construction with the Maxi catamaran Jean Stalaven - which took part in many events in the years 1984-88 such as the Course de l'Europe, the Course de la Liberté and the Route du Rhum. As for Sam's brother, Vincent, he is the Director of Lorima, the famous rig maker.
Between them, these three boys can build, rig and sail any multihull! The shipyard has countless machines to its credit: Idec 2 (holder of the solo round-the-world record with Francis Joyon in 57 days, Prince de Bretagne (winner of the 2010 Route du Rhum), the restoration of the former Crêpes Wahoo 1/Olmix after she was struck by lightning), the fantastic Paradox 60, from the molds of Fujifilm, the very radical “cruising” catamaran MRS 59... so many one-offs. And so the time had come to apply this expertise to a range of fast cruising catamarans.
TS, as in “Très Simple”…
The combining of a culture of respect for the weight specifications from the yard with the demanding creativity of Christophe Barreau gave birth to the TS50 (developed with and for Françis Joyon) in the mid-2000s, but it is above all from 2014 that the TS generation took off with the superb, high-performance 42. Sam Marsaudon's contagious belief in the potential of his gifted little offspring did the rest: enlightened amateurs were convinced. Régis Guillemot, for his part, is the Caribbean stalwart for the concept through his charter company - it has a 50 and a 42. Late 2017, the shipyard launched the TS5, a version as high-performance as the 50-52, but with more accepted features (increased headroom, coachroof volume and panoramic vision, improved companionway ergonomics). The success was immediate, seeming to meet the expectations of demanding sailors unable to find satisfaction anywhere else. On its release, the TS5 immediately regained the place of honor of being the fastest cruising boat in the world for her size, left vacant by her predecessor. Upgraded versions were launched for multihull enthusiasts: the records of this turbulent family continue to progress (twenty-five TS42s and eight TS5s are in the water, six TS42s and eight TS5s are currently on order). Damien Cailliau (Managing Director) and Frédéric Blandin (Marketing/Human Resources) are now at the helm of the yard to continue the development of this beautiful facility located in the heart of the French sailing community: at last year’s Paris boat show, they announced the designing of the TS42.2, an evolution of the 42 with a modified coachroof and overlapping genoa.
Technical specifications TS5
Builder: Marsaudon Composites
Naval Architect: Christophe Barreau
Construction: Foam/glass/vinylester-polyester sandwich by infusion process. Option to have bulkheads, forward/compression beam and mast in carbon
Length: 15.24 m (50’)
Beam: 8.60 m (28’3”)
Draft: 1.20/3.00 m (3’11”/9’10”)
Light displacement: 8,600 kg (18,960 lbs)
Mast length: 20 m (65’7”)
Upwind sail area: 154 m² (1,660 sq ft)
Mainsail: 88 m² (947 sq ft)
Furling genoa: 60 m² (645 sq ft)
Solent: 43 m² (460 sq ft)
Staysail: 20 m² (215 sq ft)
Gennaker: 94 m² (1,010 sq ft)
Spinnaker: 210 m² (2,260 sq ft)
Engines: 2 x 40 hp Yanmar (saildrive transmission)
Fuel: 2 x 110 L (2 x 29 US gal)
Water: 2 x 200 L (2 x 53 US gal)
Basic price ex-tax: € 649,000
Technical specifications TS42.2
Builder: Marsaudon Composites
Naval Architect: Christophe Barreau
Construction: Foam/glass/vinylester-polyester sandwich
Length: 12.98 m (42’7”)
Beam: 7.42 m (24’4”)
Draft: skeg-keel version: 1.60m (5’3”) / daggerboard version: 2’11”
Air draft: 20 m (65’7”)
Light displacement: 5,835 kg (12,865 lbs)
Mast length: 17.60 m (57’9”)
Mainsail: 56 m² / 62 m² square-topped version (603 / 667 sq ft)
Solent: 34.4 m² (370 sq ft)
Staysail: 15 m² (161 sq ft) (option)
Gennaker: 80 m² (860 sq ft)
Engines: 2 x 30 hp Yanmar
Transmission: saildrive (optional prop shafts)
Fuel: 2 x 90 L (2 x 24 US gal)
Water: 2 x 110 L (2 x 29 US gal)
Number of berths: 3 doubles (1 single in the passageway as an option)
Price ex-tax with aluminum mast, in the water, at Lorient: € 418,000
