Muffled bass waves boom across the Port Hercule. They are not emitted by one of the numerous mega formats; they come from the tender zone on Quai Albert. The reason: the 25th anniversary of the shipyard and the launch of a new model, including a party platform, are being celebrated in front of the Cockwells stand. And this is just one face of the nine metre long "Modular Tender". The basis is the hull of a landing craft, into which various modules can be integrated with the help of a crane. The beach club element is equipped with a lounge, a barbecue on the swivelling arm and a turquoise-coloured DJ console and the corresponding battery of loudspeakers hidden in the hull at the bow. Directly behind it, a bar with two stools ensures comfort and conviviality. The wooden slats, two biminis and the coffee table with an original cleat base also create a maritime and beach club feeling. As an alternative, Cockwells proposes the shuttle installation section with twelve jockey seats. Thanks to the fixed aft steering position with two seats, the "naked" "Modular Tender" has a maximum parking height of 1.90 metres. Two diesel outboard engines each produce 147 kilowatts and generate enough thrust to accelerate the 2.8 tonne displacement GRP construction to 44 knots and to quickly bring a loaded car, quad bike or several motocross machines to the coast. The vehicles are brought ashore via a loading ramp that is a good two metres wide and moves electrically at the touch of a button.
"When the modules are stored on the supply vessel or mother ship, this versatile guest tender can be transformed into a working platform for the crew, from which they can clean the hull, for example," explains Cockwells' Head of Design Henry Ward. Incidentally, the full company name is Cockwells Modern & Classic Boatbuilding. The fact that the specialist shipyard from South Cornwall also understands classic concepts is demonstrated by the weekenders in the Duchy series or the custom tender "Titian" (issue 4/19). Or as the skilled boatbuilders themselves put it: "We are just as good with a planer as we are with a CNC milling machine." It is one of these shipyards that would actually do well to be called a manufactory. This is because all trades work under one roof and on the same rope. Against this backdrop, Cockwells is also happy to accept the fact that there are virtually no limits to the imagination when it comes to the versatility of their modular tender. In other words, the English build whatever owners dream up.
