Caption: Rapido Catamarans is located in the Triac Composites factory in HCMC, Vietnam - on the banks of the Nha Be River. Sail away...
Rapido Catamarans' Founders
Paul Koch and James Sganzerla, arguably, have built more composite multihulls than any other boat builder in the world. We estimate that they have built more than 1,500 multihulls since 1986 when Paul established OSTAC (Ocean Sailing Trimarans and Catamarans) in Australia.
Paul owned OSTAC until 2008 but it was when he took the reins of Corsair Marine in 1994 over in the USA that the production really started to pick up. Understanding the economics of building boats for an increasingly cost-conscious market, the two of them relocated Corsair Marine's entire business to Vietnam in 2006.
In 2010, they sold Corsair Marine to focus on the launch of Rapido Trimarans and Triac Composites in Vietnam. Rapido Trimarans would focus on a range of Trimarans, spearheaded by the Rapido 60 (see video below). The hallmarks of the Rapido 60 was that she would be the world's fastest production cruising trimaran!
Triac Composites would be the builder of the trimarans - and Triac Composites would also source composite work from industries outside of marine.
Richard Eyre, a life long sailor, trimaran owner, lawyer and investment banker also played a founding role in the establishment of the company. Richard brought many years of corporate knowledge and good governance to this internationally owned and managed company.
Co founders, Richard Eyre and Paul Koch.
Rapido Catamarans' time
In 2019, the founders surveyed the boaties in the market.
Like others, these boaties are often time poor. They are unable to afford the luxury of being dependent on the vagaries of the wind to serve their needs. They need the certainty of guaranteed performance at the turn of a key. But that doesn't mean they are prepared to accept a fuel-guzzling boat with its environmental and financial costs. They want to enjoy the water and have that sense of satisfaction in harvesting energy efficiently.
And so, the idea of Rapido Catamarans was born.
Firstly, we continue to believe that multihulls offer numerous advantages over the multihull as per the Cats Vs Mono page on this website.
We also think that having spent three decades building wind-powered composite boats that sail across oceans, we know something about building boats that are lightweight yet structurally sound. These are key ingredients for achieving greater efficiency from the same engine (hydro, solar or conventional) without compromising safety.
But, we also need an efficient hull design...
The Designer
As a boat builder, we rely heavily on the designer to deliver a design that we can breathe life into. And with Albatross Marine Design (AMD), we have found such a designer.
AMD is a Thailand-based design office, founded by Dr. Albert Nazarov in early 2006, that has grown rapidly and now provides services to clients globally.
With its extensive investment in the latest available design software and testing equipment it is, without doubt, one of the most advanced design offices in the world.
The scope of AMD's design services includes:
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Design and styling
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Interior design
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Naval architecture
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Engineering
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Research and consultancy
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Construction supervision
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Trials and testing
AMD's achievements in the field of small craft design include the Gold Prize 2019 for the European Product Design Award for the F100 water taxi design. The f100 is a smaller version of Rapido Catamarans' RC12m.
