I have always been fascinated by boats that move well and without much effort, and so have spent a lifetime designing racing trimarans, which are about as slippery as boats can be. After years of bobbing about in the motley collection of powerboats used to follow the races, I realized that staring me in the face were the very boats that could really benefit from sharing some of the design characteristics that make the trimarans so stunningly efficient.

The first move to make this happen was in 1988 when we launched the 21.3 metre powered trimaran ‘iLAN VOYAGER’. This very extreme ‘proof of concept’ vessel covered many thousands of miles – including a non-stop record-breaking passage around mainland Britain in 1999. The trip was accomplished at an average speed of 21.6 knots on an average power consumption of 115 hp. – not a lot for a vessel displacing some 7 tonnes.

Ten years later the 36 metre trimaran ‘CABLE & WIRELESS ADVENTURER’ was built to our design by Vosper Thorneycroft in Southampton, UK. This vessel established a world circumnavigation record of 74 days 20 hours (including stops) for the 24,500 nautical mile voyage which was only bettered in 2008 (by another trimaran, ‘EARTHRACE’).

Although the performance of these two vessels was impressive their development potential was limited because a trimaran is quite complex to build but the usable volume on board is limited. Nevertheless larger scale trimarans are now finding favour with fast ferry operators who
appreciate their fuel efficiency and ride comfort.

In 1997 we were commissioned to design a fast powered catamaran for the French organizers of the 60 ft trimaran ORMA class. They wanted a photography vessel capable of following the racing fleet, and a year later the 15 metre ‘ROYALE ATLANTIC’ was launched. The vessel has since proved very effective in this role, the LDL slender hulls allowing it to be efficient at a very wide range of speeds (up to 32 knots). Like all LDL vessels ‘ROYALE ATLANTIC’ also produces minimal wash, which allows filming at close range without disturbing the race boats.

In 2002 we produced a 12 metre launch known as the ‘RANGEBOAT’. The objective was simply to explore the effects of improving Displacemnt/Length ratio in a much less radical, single-hulled vessel. The design is currently in production in France and is developing an enthusiastic following (10 boats produced so far).

More recently other boats using the same technology have been built, including the 19 metre ‘MOLLY BÁN’ whose smooth performance under way is visible on our home page.

These designs are all listed under the title ‘Traditionally Inspired’ in this site’s menu, however over the past three years we have also had the pleasure of working in close association with the French designer Christophe Chedal Anglay.

Christophe and I met at the British Embassy in Paris during an evening aimed (almost bizarrely) at encouraging Anglo-French cooperative projects within the marine industry. As a product designer he had worked for the British deck hardware manufacturers Spinlock. He had no previous experience as a yacht designer – which proved a huge advantage in a project that was consciously setting out to break new ground.

Since that time we have worked together with Christophe on the development of a number of new designs. In particular our collaboration has lead to the design of a 24 metre sailing catamaran for the American company GUNBOAT. The new boat is currently in build at the company’s factory in Cape Town.

All the designs visible under the heading ‘Contemporary Design’ in our portfolio bear the distinctive look that Christophe has developed to live in harmony with our hull designs.