Brisbane Moulds for Giant Catamarans

by Des Ryan on 24 Nov 2007 Brisbane is producing the fibreglass moulds for some of the largest catamarans the world has ever seen

Nahema, situated in Marseilles, France, is about to produce the Nahema 120 and the Nahema 150, the utmost in luxury catamarans. The Nahema 120 will be first on display at Boot, the International Boat Show held in Dusseldorf each year. At 35 metres in length, it will allow a huge amount of living and crew space.

While NAHEMA’s team will be in Düsseldorf, the moulds of the first NAHEMA 120 will have been unloaded in La Ciotat (France) of a cargo ship coming from Brisbane, and the infusion process for the hulls and platform will be starting at the H2X shipyard, between Marseille and Toulon.

Gilles Vaton, the architect of the Nahema 120, has designed a very innovative boat, with slender lines, which is expected to be both fast and secure at sea. Built in epoxy on a female mould, the Nahema 120 structures will be strengthened by the extensive use of carbon on the most demanding areas.
Gilles Vaton: 'The Nahema 120 offers three times more space on the deck and the salon than a monohulls of her size. It is even wider than a 120 feet motor yacht. Designing such a large catamaran is very interesting. Thanks to the use of composite you have a very strong and light deck, with a rectangular shape. There is no waste of space. You can use the whole area for the guest’s pleasure. The Nahema 120 will be fast, which is for me an important safety device. In France, we really have a Multihull culture and we love offshore races. The architects use their experience of drawing offshore race boats to design their cruising catamarans. This guarantees the quality, safety and performances of our designs.' Gilles Vaton’s office is conveniently located in Marseille (France), next door to Nahema’s.

While NAHEMA’s team will be in Düsseldorf, the moulds of the first NAHEMA 120 will have been unloaded in La Ciotat (France) of a cargo ship coming from Brisbane Australia, and the infusion process for the hulls and platform will be starting at the H2X shipyard, between Marseille and Toulon.

Here are the statistics for the Nahema 120:

Length overall : 35.00 m / 115'
Length waterline : 32.38 m / 106'
Beam : 14.32 m / 46'
High overall : 46.50 m / 153'
Minimum draft : 1.80 m / 5.9'
Maximum draft : 4.50 m (centreboard down) / 14.8'
Fresh water : 2 x 3000 ltrs
Grey water : 2 x 1000 ltrs
Black water : 2 x 1000 ltrs
Fuel : 2 x 8000 ltrs plus 2 x 300 l (daily tank)
Engine : 2 x 500 HP CUMMINS
Generators : 2 x 40 KVa
Water maker: 2 x 350 l / h
Naval architect : Gilles Vaton
Interior design : Franck Darnet