VESSEL REVIEW | Solidaire II – Multi-purpose leisure boat delivered to French social action organisation
French shipbuilder Bord a Bord recently handed over a new recreational boat to CMCAS Marseille, a social support organisation for Marseille-based employees in the French electricity and gas industries as well as their families.
Solidaire II was designed by Oeuvres Vives Naval Architecture in compliance with Bureau Veritas class requirements. The boat was acquired in line with CMCAS Marseille’s broader mandate of facilitating sports, leisure events, health promotion, and other activities to ensure the well-being of its many beneficiaries.
The newbuild has all-aluminium construction, an LOA of 11.9 metres (39 feet), a beam of 4.23 metres (13.9 feet), a draught of only 0.55 metre (1.8 feet), and space for 30 passengers in addition to two crewmembers.
The boat is laid out to allow safe access for people with reduced mobility – an important consideration since CMCAS Marseille’s beneficiaries also include retired energy industry employees.
Compact hull optimised for rough seas navigation
Besides sailing on daytime sightseeing excursions from CMCAS Marseille’s Pointe Rouge station up to 50 nautical miles from the coast, the boat can be used for recreational diving and fishing, environmental education sailings, and nautical instruction voyages.
The hull incorporates hydrodynamic refinements that help ensure fuel efficiency and stability during extended passages, making the boat well-suited for higher sea states.
Boarding and disembarkation are via a stern transom with low thresholds while passageways have been laid out to be as wide as possible. These features will ensure that even people with limited mobility will have no difficulty accessing the boat and the onboard facilities.
The wheelhouse is enclosed to provide protection from the elements and is fitted with reverse-angled windscreens to reduce glare and reliance on wipers. The wheelhouse is placed well forward to provide the helm operator with unobstructed visibility ahead and to the sides.
Low-noise propulsion suitable for environmentally sensitive areas
The propulsion setup consists of two outboard engines while the boat’s hull form will enable it to anchor safely in shallow bays, such as when small group lunches are held on board while off the coast in between trips. The outboards generate only minimal noise to permit operation in nearshore areas without disturbing the surrounding marine environment.
In compliance with local safety regulations, the boat also has storage space for lifesaving appliances including those for use by reduced mobility passengers.
Solidaire II replaces the earlier Solidaire, which had operated with CMCAS Marseille for nearly 20 years. Her daily excursions are scheduled to depart every 09:00 and will visit a number of attractions such as Marseille’s famed Calanques National Park.
The new excursion vessel will serve as a larger complement to CMCAS Marseille’s smaller boats, which include a dedicated fishing vessel and numerous kayaks.
