Smooth sailing

We are a fan of this outfit in La Rochelle because they look different, own it, and build their yachts out of plywood on frame – the only production yacht company to still do so.

The 1370 was exhibited at the La Rochelle show, and we liked its powerful Marc Lombard contours and boxy shape, pronounced chines, open transom and reverse sheer.

RM hulls are resin-fused plywood composite, very robust and significantly stronger than raw GRP. Ply is lighter and more rigid than glassfibre, it provides thermal and sound insulation, and weight for weight it is stronger than steel. When bonded with epoxy resin it helps to create a durable, rot- and osmosis-resistant finish that is easy to repair.

This comes a at premium though, as its highly skilled and labour intensive, resulting  in 20 to 30 percent greater cost than a yacht of comparable size.