VPLP

VPLP is a French naval architecture and yacht design firm known for multihull yachts, trimarans, and high-performance racing yachts. The firm gained prominence through innovations applied to ocean racing platforms and cruising multihulls, influencing designs used in events such as the Vendée Globe, Transat Jacques Vabre, and Route du Rhum. VPLP’s practice spans collaboration with shipyards, skippers, naval engineers, and naval institutions across Europe and Oceania.

History

VPLP was founded in the 1980s by Benoît de Froidmont, Marc Van Peteghem, and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, contemporaries who had studied at institutions like École Polytechnique, École Centrale de Nantes, and University of Southampton with connections to figures such as Éric Tabarly, Philippe Jeantot, and Florence Arthaud. Early work included collaboration with Pierre Favier and Groupe Atlantic on cruising catamarans and racing trimarans; projects intersected with yards such as Multiplast, Quorning Boats, and Northshore. In the 1990s their designs featured in competitions including the Admiral's Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Race, and the Transpacific Yacht Race, bringing them into contact with skippers like Loïck Peyron, Mike Birch, and Franck Cammas. The 2000s saw partnerships with builders like Lagoon, CNB, and Neel Trimarans and collaborations with naval engineers from Sogreah and Ifremer on hydrodynamics and foiling research. In the 2010s and 2020s VPLP expanded into America’s Cup–level technologies, interacting with teams such as Emirates Team New Zealand, Artemis Racing, and Alinghi, and with institutions like Université de Bretagne Occidentale and Carnegie Mellon for computational fluid dynamics and structural optimization.

Design Philosophy and Innovations

VPLP’s design philosophy emphasizes lightness, form stability, and hydrodynamic efficiency, drawing on research traditions from Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer, Delft University of Technology, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The practice integrates multihull concepts pioneered by designers such as James Wharram, Nathanaël Herreshoff, and John Westell while applying advances in materials from suppliers like Gurit, Hexcel, and Sika. Notable innovations include development of wave-piercing bow sections influenced by research at École Centrale Paris, adoption of foils and hydrofoils similar to those used by Oracle Team USA and Luna Rossa, and structural solutions for composite sandwich construction used by shipyards such as Multiplast and Persico. VPLP has contributed to computational approaches used by Rolls-Royce Marine and Lloyd’s Register for seakeeping analysis, and partnered with software teams from Siemens and ANSYS for finite-element modelling and vortex lattice methods. Their philosophy balances performance priorities seen in IMOCA 60 and Ultim Class designs with cruising requirements exemplified by Sunreef Yachts and CNB.

Notable Vessels and Projects

VPLP’s portfolio includes high-profile racing and cruising projects. Racing commissions include trimarans and catamarans for skippers such as Franck Cammas on Groupama, Loïck Peyron on Banque Populaire, and Paul Vatine on Gitana Team vessels that raced in events like the Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre, and Jules Verne Trophy attempts against crews including Thomas Coville, Ellen MacArthur, and Jean Le Cam. High-performance programs encompassed multihulls like the ORMA 60 series, MOD70 class projects, and Ultim trimarans such as Maxi Edmond de Rothschild which competed with teams including Gitana and Sodebo. Cruising and production projects included collaborations with Lagoon, Neel Trimarans, and Outremer, influencing models seen alongside yachts by CNB, Sunreef, and Fountaine Pajot. Experimental and prototype work involved hydrofoil concepts tested in partnership with teams associated with the America’s Cup, as well as one-off designs for patrons such as Bernard Stamm, Armel Le Cléac’h, and Yves Parlier.

Racing and Performance Record

VPLP-designed boats have achieved victories and records in prominent events. Their designs won editions of the Route du Rhum, Transat Jacques Vabre, and set records for circumnavigation attempts including challenges for the Jules Verne Trophy where crews like Loïck Peyron and Thomas Coville used VPLP-influenced platforms to contest times established by Bruno Peyron and Olivier de Kersauson. In the IMOCA and ORMA circuits, skippers including Ellen MacArthur, Franck Cammas, and Jean-Pierre Dick sailed VPLP-derived hulls to podiums in the Vendée Globe and Barcelona World Race, competing against designs by Farr Yacht Design, Sparkman & Stephens, and Group Finot. In multihull classes such as MOD70 and Ultim, VPLP platforms dueled with entries from designers like Nigel Irens, Morrelli & Melvin, and VPLP-linked projects helped push foiling regimes and top speeds documented in records maintained by World Sailing and the Fédération Française de Voile.

Business Operations and Collaborations

VPLP operates as a multidisciplinary studio engaging naval architects, structural engineers, hydrodynamicists, and project managers, collaborating with shipyards including Multiplast, Persico Marine, CDK Technologies, and shipowners such as Gitana Team and Banque Populaire. They have formed alliances with industrial partners like Gurit, Hexcel, and Spirit Yachts, and academic laboratories at École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, and Université de Nantes for research grants and doctoral projects. Commercial activities span custom one-off commissions, production designs for yards like Lagoon and Neel, and consultancy for America’s Cup syndicates and ocean-racing campaigns. Associations and clients range from national sailing federations such as Fédération Française de Voile to private patrons and corporate sponsors including Edmond de Rothschild and Banque Populaire. Category:Naval architecture firms