YOT - A State-of-the-art Factory in Portugal

The manufacturer of Catana boats was founded in Cogolin, in the South of France, in 1984 and moved along the coast to Canet-en-Roussillon in 1997. With the success of the Bali range, launched in 2014, new sites were brought into use. The smaller models are built in El Haouaria, near Cap Bon, Tunisia, while the core range is manufactured in Marans, north of La Rochelle, on France’s Atlantic coast. Catana also has an industrial joinery workshop in Rivesaltes (near Canet) and a service base, Port Pin Rolland, located in the bay of Toulon. The next step was to produce the Yot, Catana Group’s new motor range, and later the Seaty, catamarans designed as floating homes… which is why Catana Group’s management decided to establish a presence in Aveiro, Portugal. The brand-new factory was barely operational when we were offered a tour; the timing was perfect for me since I had just made a stopover a little further north with a small trimaran that I was sailing down to the Mediterranean. I drove my rental car from Porto to an industrial town nestled on the coast, about 30 miles (50 km) further south. In a previous life, I was fortunate enough to work in industry and visit industrial sites around the world. So I’m particularly curious to discover this new factory.
I had consulted satellite images on Google Earth before coming, and at the address provided, all I saw were vast, undeveloped plots of land near the docks of a large industrial port.
As I pulled up in the factory’s enormous parking lot, the height and size of the buildings gave me more the impression of arriving at a logistics platform than a catamaran shipyard. Only a few Yot hulls, covered with tarpaulins awaiting shipment, and the company logo on the facade confirmed that I was indeed in the right place. In the reception area, which still smelled of fresh paint and where the decor was being installed, a glass facade already offered a glimpse of the first workshop. Fifty-ton overhead cranes confirmed my initial impression: this factory won’t be used solely for producing 40-foot outboard-powered weekenders… A dozen journalists from various European countries have made the trip. We gathered in a meeting room for a presentation led by the Catana Group executives.

After the Success of Bali, will Yot be Next?

The objective defined by Boris Compagnon, a member of the Board of Directors, is clear, precise, and straightforward: to repeat the success of Bali, but this time in the powerboat market. In 2014, many doubted the launch of this brand. Twelve years and fifteen models later, Catana Group has brilliantly proven them wrong. As a reminder, Catana Group became one of the largest catamaran builders by launching its renowned Bali sailing range, conceived by the late Olivier Poncin. These innovative multihulls broke many conventions, notably with their rigid forward cockpit and tilt-and-slide “garage” door, which streamlines communication between the saloon and the cockpit. As a result, in the ...