VESSEL REVIEW | Ian Rush II – French coastal fishing boat with hybrid monohull and catamaran design
French builder Plastimer delivered the coastal fishing vessel Ian Rush II to Roscoff owner Franck Brossier in late 2025, following her launch at Penmarc’h, Finistère, on December 4 that year.
Built at the yard’s Saint-Guénolé facilities, the vessel is equipped for netting and potting, with scallop dredging as a further role. She uses Plastimer’s patented hull concept, which combines a monohull bow with a catamaran-like aft section.
Brossier’s intended fishing programme covers monkfish, ray, octopus, and scallops. The vessel’s French classification identifies net fishing, scallop fishing, and potting.
Although based at Roscoff, Ian Rush II is registered in the Morlaix maritime district.
Design delivering stability and the ability to carry greater loads
The hull has an overall length of 9.95 metres (32.6 feet) and an overall beam of 4.5 metres (15 feet), with a gross tonnage of 12.68. These dimensions place Ian Rush II within Plastimer’s established range of small coastal fishing vessels, which extends from six to 12 metres (20 to 40 feet).
Plastimer’s design combines a single forward hull form to an aft section with catamaran characteristics. The yard’s stated objective is to retain the working stability associated with a catamaran while using a monohull bow for the vessel’s passage through waves.
Monique Fürstenberger, who runs Plastimer with Jean-Bernard Fürstenberger, said the two bows of a conventional catamaran create difficult structural loads as the hulls twist in a seaway, with consequences for the crew as well as the structure. The single-bow arrangement is intended to avoid those effects while preserving the stability sought for fishing operations.
Plastimer specialises in custom polyester fishing vessels for coastal operations. Its general construction practice has included traditional hand-laid contact lamination using isophthalic resin and gelcoat, an approach described in earlier coverage of the family yard. For Ian Rush II, the hull material is polyester.
Part of owner's fleet upgrade program
The construction programme was underway by April 2025, when delivery was expected before the end of that year. The completed vessel was launched in December and delivered later that month, maintaining the yard’s recent pattern of completing about one new fishing boat annually.
Propulsion is provided by a Baudouin engine rated at 129 kW (173 hp). Meca Marine Propulsion undertook the vessel’s propulsion work, while Dominique Mao was responsible for painting.
Brossier’s earlier Ian Rush was a wooden vessel built in 1971. Its specifications list a gross tonnage of 8.82, an overall length of 9.14 metres (30 feet), and a beam of 3.54 metres (11.6 feet). A 136kW (182hp) Volvo TAMD61 A engine provided propulsion.
The new vessel is consequently 0.81 metres (2.66 feet) longer and 0.96 metres (3.15 feet) wider than the earlier namesake, while her listed engine rating is seven kilowatts (9.4 hp) lower.
