JFA Yachts : A new composite industrial tool to integrate production

French superyacht specialist JFA Yachts has opened a workshop dedicated to composite parts. This new facility complements the company's historic aluminum sheet metal and woodworking activities, and represents a new area of development for the Breton shipyard, as sales manager Gaël Douguet explains.

Briag Merlet Published on April 25, 2023

A composite workshop born of site needs

For many years, JFA Yachts has enjoyed mixing materials in the construction of its top-of-the-range boats. While the shipyard is renowned for its expertise in aluminum sheet metal work for hulls, and joinery and cabinetry for interior and deck fittings, in recent years it has turned to subcontracting for the manufacture of large composite parts, such as catamaran decks and motoryacht superstructures. Asked by the Vita Yachts brand to produce a 10.50 m tender, the Sea Lion, the company rented a workshop a stone's throw from its facilities in the port of Concarneau. When the opportunity arose to purchase the building, JFA Yachts acquired a permanent composite hall.

Nouvel atelier composite Â© JFA Yachts — New composite workshop © JFA Yachts

1,000 m2 for boats and composite parts

Thanks to this new infrastructure, JFA Yachts will not only be able to build its large composite parts in-house, but also diversify into other markets. Gaël Douguet, Sales Director of JFA Yachts, explains: "This 1,000 m2 building, with a team of 6 to 8 people dedicated to composites, is close to the shipyard, and has the necessary width for our catamarans. This facilitates logistics. It will also give us greater responsiveness in our schedules, at a time when our usual subcontractors have very full order books. To ensure a regular load, we also thought about opening up to 2 markets, the tender, but also professional vessels."

Les livraisons par les sous-traitants Ã©taient parfois complexes — Deliveries by subcontractors were sometimes complex

A full order book

JFA Yachts is already making a start in these new markets, with a 5.60-meter tender soon to be delivered, following the 10.5-meter tender built for Vita Yachts. For professional customers, pilot stations have been approached, while the first Delion-designed launch is under construction for the Phares et Balises.

Moonbeam 4 en refit chez JFA Yachts Â© JFA Yachts — Moonbeam 4 refit at JFA Yachts © JFA Yachts

On JFA Yachts' historic market, an imposing 50-meter motoryacht is being built in the shipyard's large nave. At the same time, JFA hosts a variety of refits, ranging from simple refits to major work on classic yachts. Mariquita, Moonbeam 3 and Moonbeam 4 visited the port this winter, the last of which underwent a complete interior refit.