Figaro Bénéteau 3 – The home straight

by Beneteau on 4 Jul 2017 Between now and the end of July, the prototype will be launched for the Figaro Bénéteau 3, whose construction is entering its completion phase within the Bénéteau Racing Division at the Nantes-Cheviré site.

Indeed, all the pieces of the puzzle that make up the 9.75-metre monohull designed by the VPLP design office are en route for the yard, as orchestrated by Marc Vaillier, head of the programme within the Groupe Bénéteau.

“The hull is structurally complete, explains the latter. We’re coming out of what has been a pivotal moment for us, which consisted of putting in place all the elements to accommodate the foils. We’ve received the parts from the various subcontractors and their installation has taken time and precision. We have now put in place the guides and sockets, which will be used to slide the foils on, the latter, built at Multiplast, will arrive next week.”

The next steps

Now that the foil system is set up and the deck hardware is in position, the next major event will be fitting the deck, which will take place next week.

The other pieces of the jigsaw? The rudders are complete, the keel and its fin are nearly there, the mast left Lorima, in Lorient, on Monday, to be dressed at Sparcraft in La Rochelle, before being delivered on around 20 July, at the same time as the set of sails manufactured at North Sails.

Reminder:
Launch, sea trials and start of production
As such, the launch is scheduled for late July, in St Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, and will herald the start of around two months of sea trials. “The aim is to quickly validate the key elements so as not to waste any time starting manufacture of the hulls. The launch of construction of the production boats is scheduled for October”, concludes Marc Vaillier, who manages a team of around ten people at the Nantes-Cheviré site.