[L'industrie c'est fou] This catamaran carries the largest piece of linen ever made

Already twice winner of the Route du Rhum, in 2006 and 2010, navigator Roland Jourdain is embarking on the adventure again in 2022. During this transatlantic race, the native of Quimper (Finistère) hopes to stand out from his competitors. thanks to its brand new catamaran, called We Explore. Under construction since the fall of 2021 at the Outremer shipyard, in La Grande-Motte (Hérault), this boat includes an element that is unusual to say the least: a deck entirely made of flax fibers. With a length of 18 meters and a width of 9 meters, it is the largest piece ever made with this natural material.

« We had been looking for solutions that would allow us to reduce the carbon impact of our boats for a while. “, explains Xavier Desmarest, head of the site. An ambition that naturally led them to choose flax fibers, which have mechanical characteristics similar to those of glass fibers, but are much less energy-intensive. They favor short supply chains and highlight French know-how, because France is in first place in the world ranking of producing countries.

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An experimental platform

Yet, until now, only surfboards, paddleboards and smaller vessels have tried to exploit the potential of flax. To achieve the feat represented by this change of scale, many challenges had to be met. ” These fibers are sensitive to humidity, we tried different thicknesses of fabrics and evaluated their level of resistance using multiple sensors to be sure to obtain the desired results, details Xavier Desmarest. A technological lock has been lifted, it’s exciting! ».

Thanks to the life-size test that Roland Jourdain will carry out on board the We Explore, the leaders of this project will collect valuable data on the evolution of the aging of natural materials in such demanding conditions. Enough to prove, they hope, the advantages of flax and to encourage the maritime industry to take a closer interest in it. Bilou’s catamaran will not be the only one to benefit from a promising ecological innovation: that of Marc Guillemot, for example, will be equipped with a solar sail developed by the start-up Heole. See you on November 6 to find out which of the two will be the first to take off.