We met Tutt in Cannes aboard the W-72, the flagship of the GranOcean W series. The semi-custom motor catamaran measures 22 metres in length and ten metres in width. As the shipyard’s first yacht to be delivered to Europe, the boat is currently being chartered in the Mediterranean.
Gran Ocean is exhibiting at a trade fair in Europe for the first time with the W-72 catamaran. How do you intend to win over customers in this new market?
I think these are the very qualities that our customers around the world also appreciate. We have a classic design. We design our boats with great care and build them to be robust. Our prices are also very competitive.
A W-72 with these specifications takes around 14 months to build and costs approximately 4.8 million US dollars. In our view, this is a very good deal for a 72-foot-long, 33-foot-wide motor catamaran.
GranOcean has been building catamarans since 1998. How did the company’s story begin?
In 1998, Vincent Mauricet came up with the idea of building trawler catamarans in China. He developed the brand in collaboration with Sparkman & Stephens and established a range of trawlers. He had businesses in various parts of the world and fell in love with this idea. He was very successful with it. Eric So and Scott Suen joined the team after completing their studies. Eric had studied industrial design in Canada, whilst Scott had studied mechanical engineering at the University of California.
Many people in Germany are sceptical about products from China. Does that sound familiar? And how do you deal with these customers?
Yes, we are aware of these reservations. But quality in China has changed fundamentally over the past 15 years.
When I was living there in 2013, I had a BYD car. Whenever I closed the door on one side, the rest of the car seemed to shift on the other side. If you wanted to brake, you’d better say a prayer. Today, BYD has almost reached German standards in terms of quality and engineering.
I would compare the quality of our build with that of any other provider and say: “Come and see for yourself.”
Which parts of a GranOcean are actually manufactured in China?
Actually, not that many – we build the structure. The control panel for the electrical system, for example, comes from a Chinese original equipment manufacturer. This manufacturer also produces similar systems for other companies around the world.
We, on the other hand, buy our solar panels from BougeRV. It’s an American company. We place an order with them, and the panels are sent to a duty-free zone in Shanghai. As soon as we’re ready to install them, we collect them from there and fit them onto the boat. When we subsequently export the yacht back to the US, the panels are shipped back to America.
The situation is similar with our engines from the United States. They consist of individual parts, some of which are manufactured in China and then assembled in America. The finished engine is then shipped back to us in China. Such supply chains demonstrate just how international they have become.
Why is a shipyard with this history still virtually unknown in Europe?
For a long time, GranOcean was something of a well-kept secret. You had to be familiar with the shipyard to know about it. In Palm Beach, we now had our first proper trade fair appearance with the brand and another W-72. Prior to that, the shipyard had only ever exhibited a commercial boat once, at the Singapore Boat Show.
How would you describe GranOcean’s business model?
We are not a large French industrial group that can afford to produce for stock. We are a shipyard specialising in small production runs and build our semi-custom catamarans with great care. We do not want to produce 200 boats a year. That is not in our DNA.
How do you ensure the supply of spare parts and technical support if something breaks down in Europe?
We take this into account right from the stage of selecting components. We check very carefully whether the supplier is able to provide support worldwide. Take solar panels, for example. We use a standard panel rather than a bespoke design. If a bespoke panel fails, the manufacturer must first produce a replacement. This could mean a wait of up to three months.
Scott Suen also works very closely with the skippers. They come to the shipyard to take delivery of the boat and are briefed there. Afterwards, they join us in a WhatsApp group. In the US, we have the infrastructure provided by Catamaran Gurus, with numerous partnerships as well as electricians and other specialists whom we can call upon. If someone needs to be sent to a boat here in Europe, I draw on my own network.
With the W-86, GranOcean is developing a new flagship model. What are the plans?
An existing customer has ordered the first boat. Its cabin is situated on the flybridge deck and features a private terrace. The design also includes an additional helm station, a central glass staircase and a beach club. On the main deck, the wraparound glazing at the bow extends from floor to ceiling. I don’t think anyone else is building anything like this at the moment. On top of that, there’s around 14 kilowatts of solar power. The price is around 7.5 million US dollars.
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David Ingelfinger
Volontär