Alain Adès is a happy man!

One can understand it, at 43 years, he carries out a dream: living of his passion.

“Fallen very small” in the large pot of the shipyards, he creates SUD COMPOSITES in 1990. The production of the shipyard concentrates then, during approximately 8 years, on the building of “Grand Sud” catamarans out of epoxy wood.

This type of construction, very demanding in manpower enabled the shipyard to be made a place on the market of large cruising catamarans.

In 1999, SUD COMPOSITES signs then with a famous French cabinet of architects VPLP: Van Peteghem and Lauriot Prévost, specialized in the design of multihulls of competition.

It is the great launching of the SWITCH 51. SUD COMPOSITES and VPLP design a 51′ cruising catamaran, with impressive performances.

But the singularity of SUD COMPOSITES is not limited to create powerful boats. Owner of the mould of the SWITCH 51 since 1999, SUD COMPOSITES puts a point of honour to create custom boats. No series production here, the 12th SWITCH has been launched.

The 25 people of this family shipyard are with the service of the customer. For them, quality and service are not only concepts “the technique of the men put at the service of the quality of the boats”… to what one must add the kindness and the single contact of Alain and Marie.

The production of the shipyard turns around 4 boats a year… with a full order book until 2006!

You will hardly find the SWITCH 51 in Metropolitan France harbours; its vocation is to sail and take along its owner to the other end of the world. But this physical distance does not cut the bond between the boat and the shipyard. Internet, true umbilical cord, allows to keep a quasi emotional contact with each produced unit. The follow-up of the boats is continuous. Alain acknowledges it: “the After sell service? Almost do not know… all is reliable”.

SUD COMPOSITES only knows happy owners. The proof: they do not hesitate to put in contacts their prospective customers with their customers…
Performances? surprising!

It is in the small wind that the SWITCH 51 reveals the experiment of its designers, because in the high wind… everyone runs! With 7 knots of wind, the SWITCH 51 posts 5.5 knots… with 10 knots of wind, one can read 7.5 knots on the loch. Rather honourable for a cata which moves 12 Tons. Tests were carried out with 45 knots of wind, and the boat surfed at 23 knots.

The assets of SUD COMPOSITES are also found in the insurances brought. Indeed, a large group of insurance guarantees the productions of the shipyard against the hidden and manufacturer defects. But SUD COMPOSITES also has a joker: a contract of performance guarantee of 3% with the ordering of the boat, which guarantees that no matter what arrives, the boat will be delivered to its future owner, in conformity with the purchase order, and on time.

The Future? Alain Adès and his team consider it peacefully. It will be a SWITCH 55, because the request is there for this type of boats. The first produced unit should leave the shipyard in April 2005.

SUD COMPOSITES range on NauticNews.com

– AlP –