Designing for the world’s leading catamaran brand, Lagoon, is quite a responsibility but it’s something Marc Van Peteghem and the VPLP design house have been doing successfully for many years.
Van Peteghem is a long-standing player in the strongly emerging and quickly changing multihull market that requires his team to push boundaries. Compared to even 10 years ago the market is significantly different and more advanced, he told NauticExpo e-magazine. “There is now a wide range available from full carbon performance-orientated boats to family style houses on the water.”
We put it to Van Peteghem that seaworthiness seems to be less talked about than comfort for modern catamarans, so does this reflect their use nowadays (more inshore than offshore)? “There are a lot of different uses, ranging from a secondary home where people live on-board without moving too much to circumnavigations, so we have to address all the programs.”
And what of the future? “We will see foils in the near future but design has to stay coherent.” Finally, we ask who is leading whom—the designer or the market? “Well, it’s like dancing, what’s important is to be harmoniously in movement!”
