The yard building cruising catamarans in carbon fiber founded by Peter Johnstone, now French-based in La Grande-Motte
Gunboat designs and builds high-performance cruising catamarans in carbon fiber, from 62 to 80 feet. Founded in 2002 following a personal order by American Peter Johnstone, the yard is now based in La Grande-Motte (Hérault) after its acquisition in 2016 by the French Grand Large Yachting group.
From Cape Town to La Grande-Motte
The project started in 2002 when Peter Johnstone ordered a 62' catamaran from Morrelli & Melvin to sail with his family. The boat — named Tribe — was built in South Africa (Cape Town) and became Gunboat hull #1. The concept (cruising cat in carbon fiber, heavy equipment centered around the center of gravity) took off, and Johnstone founded Gunboat to build more. Production moved from China to North Carolina (USA).
Late 2015, Gunboat filed for bankruptcy. Grand Large Yachting acquired its assets in 2016; Peter Johnstone left management. The yard was relocated to La Grande-Motte into a new 3,600 m² carbon multihull assembly workshop.
VPLP naval architecture, carbon construction
Under Grand Large Yachting, naval architecture shifted to VPLP Design. Hulls and structures are in carbon composite (prepreg over Nomex honeycomb core) with watertight crash boxes in each bow and buoyancy compartments in hulls, coachroof, and platform — offshore safety designed for boats capable of exceeding true wind speed in certain points of sail.
