When Fountaine Pajot got down to create its newest powercat flagship, it wasn’t simply considering greater — it was considering smarter. The problem was to craft a motoryacht that would rival bigger vessels but nonetheless showcase the efficiency and liveability the French builder is understood for.
The result’s the Energy 80, a 24-metre energy catamaran that punches effectively above its size, marrying superyacht model with the steadiness and spaciousness of a multihull. Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design is chargeable for the outside design and naval structure of lots of Fountaine Pajot’s catamarans together with the Energy 80 and its crusing sibling, the Thira 80, which debuted in 2023 and is presently the builder’s flagship crusing cat.
“The shipyard’s specs have been pretty easy: to create an 80-foot boat whose exterior and inside areas may rival a few of its opponents, a few of that are bigger,” says Olivier Racoupeau, cofounder of Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design. “It additionally needed to characteristic life-style components worthy of superyachts. All this needed to be achieved with an exterior design consistent with the ‘FP model’.”
For practically 5 many years, Fountaine Pajot — which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this yr — has been among the many leaders in multihull innovation. After making its title within the Nineteen Eighties with crusing catamarans, the builder determined wind alone wasn’t sufficient. In 1998, it launched the Maryland 37 and Greenland 34, bringing its crusing savoir-faire to the burgeoning energy catamaran market.
Lately, Fountaine Pajot’s motoryacht portfolio ranged from the MY4.S coupe and MY5 and MY6 flybridge fashions to the Energy 67 and Energy 80, the latter pair based mostly on hulls of the model’s two largest crusing cats. Presently going by a transitional part, the model’s Motor Yachts division presently includes the MY6, Energy 80 and upcoming FPY70, whereas the Veya 53 is coming quickly as a part of a collaboration with Couach.
DOUBLE PLATFORM
The Energy 80 is constructed on the identical platform because the Thira 80, however with modifications to accommodate greater engines and enhance hydrodynamics. The household lineage between the sail and energy variations of the 80 is evident. The traces have the identical spirit — elegant, with a low profile and a refined sense of pace.
“The outside of the Energy 80 is modern and sporty, preserving the Fountaine Pajot model, with its giant signature portholes,” Racoupeau says. “The hulls have been designed to adapt to 2 totally different variations, whether or not within the crusing configuration or the motoryacht model, which ensures wonderful efficiency in each instances.”
The Energy 80 cruises at a decent 13.7 knots and has a prime pace of 16 knots with the 600-horsepower Volvo engines. Upgrading to the non-obligatory 900-horsepower engines, she tops out at 22 knots. At decrease financial cruising speeds, the Energy 80 affords welcome effectivity and a decrease gasoline burn, with the catamaran providing transatlantic vary.
Photo voltaic panels discreetly built-in into the flybridge hardtop and overhangs in addition to the ahead coachroof generate sufficient power to energy onboard techniques and cut back reliance on turbines.
The 2 yachts are twin reflections of 1 concept that places a precedence on clever house planning, maximising the beamy physique of a multihull with out sacrificing seakeeping and efficiency. In any case, catamarans supply a far wider beam than monohulls of the identical size — the Energy 80’s wingspan is over 11 metres — which interprets into extra flooring house for a comparable size.
With greater than 400 sq. metres of residing house for friends and crew, the Energy 80 is right for internet hosting household and buddies in droves. Extensive decks, a number of lounges and shaded areas — together with a large, lined 40-square-metre flybridge — naturally lend themselves to entertaining.
Racoupeau says: “The out of doors areas are huge and supply many small islands of privateness, whether or not within the seashore membership, the aspect wings, the flybridge or the ahead cockpit.”
The improved stability of two hulls can even make multihulls extra interesting to those that won’t be accustomed to a ship’s motion. Then there’s the shallower draft. The Energy 80 attracts only one.5 metres, making it simpler to entry shallow anchorages, so increasing cruising potentialities.
The Energy 80 additionally has a well-designed crew space with a devoted mess and good-sized cabins, though it’s in a position to run with only a handful of employees.
STERN TO BOW FLOW
On the Energy 80, social areas abound, together with eight sofas within the cockpit space alone. Every aft nook has a settee that faces inward to back-to-back central sofas: one overlooking the high-low swim platform and one going through ahead. The latter seems enhances two L-shaped settees earlier than the saloon, with a eating desk beside the port one.
Moreover, initially of every aspect deck is an outward-facing couch, which affords friends improbable sea views and is complemented by a fold-out platform.
When the saloon doorways are opened, the effectively lined cockpit blends into the welcoming, open-plan inside, designed by Isabelle Racoupeau in collaboration with the shipyard. When stepping inside, it’s the sunshine that first steals the present, as expansive glazing and open sightlines create an area that feels ethereal and infinite.
A convertible lounge/eating space to starboard enjoys sweeping 360-degree views, whereas a ahead door results in the expansive foredeck, the place there’s a number of seating and sunbathing areas, plus a spa pool possibility.
Benjamin Lachaise, Fountaine Pajot’s 80 Gross sales Venture Supervisor, says: “Our design philosophy focuses on brightness and openness to the ocean. The Energy 80 is conceived as a yacht that gives a seamless connection between the inside and exterior, with panoramic views and direct entry to each the aft and ahead cockpits.”
CHOICES ABOUND
Key to Fountaine Pajot’s USP is the vary of choices out there for his or her purchasers, from inside decor to layouts, so every yacht can meet an proprietor’s distinctive wants for on-water residing. House owners can select amongst darkish, gray or white flooring tones, as effectively three furnishings finishes: Stripped White, Velo Pure or American Walnut.
Sturdy materials can be found in quite a lot of colors and textures so the yacht will be matched to a consumer’s private model. All supplies are marine-grade, chosen for his or her resistance to humidity and UV publicity.
“Our interiors are designed to be fashionable, customisable and sturdy,” Lachaise says. “The design emphasises pure gentle, tender textures and refined finishes to create an environment that feels each snug and complex.”
With a sailor’s sense of sustainability at its core, Fountaine Pajot additionally affords a wide array of vegan leathers and eco-friendly supplies.
Structure choices abound as effectively. The Energy 80 is usually supplied in an ‘proprietor’s model’, with a master bedroom occupying a lot of the starboard hull. The cabin feels downright residential, with ample storage, an arrogance or desk space and a full-size bathtub within the ahead en-suite, an indulgence not normally seen on a yacht of this dimension.
Different structure potentialities can forgo an proprietor’s suite to incorporate as much as six double cabins within the galley-up model, whereas the galley-down model contains the kitchen in the direction of the aft finish of the port hull. The latter possibility creates house within the saloon to supply one other social zone to port, so increasing the entertaining skills.
Whereas Fountaine Pajot affords a formidable diploma of personalisation for a manufacturing builder — the VIP cabin, for example, may turn out to be a big workplace, therapeutic massage room or fitness center — Lachaise notes that the construction itself stays sacrosanct.
“We are able to talk about particular requests and customisation throughout the out there volumes, however we don’t modify the structural design of the boat,” he says. “Sustaining the energy and integrity of the construction is important. Our catamarans are recognised for his or her stable building and security at sea.”
It’s this steadiness of inventive freedom and technical self-discipline that offers the Energy 80 its distinctive character: ethereal and open, but reassuringly strong. Moreover, with the Thira 80 and Energy 80 promoting shut to twenty items between them so far, Fountaine Pajot is increasing the dimensions and vary of its bigger catamarans, with sail and energy variations of each the FPY70 and FPY110 underlining the model’s rising ambitions.
Phrases: Risa Merl; Pictures: Fountaine Pajot
This text was first seen on YACHT STYLE
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