Corsair Marine

Corsair Marine International is an international sailboat builder that builds trimarans. It is now headquartered in Vietnam.

History

Corsair Marine was founded in 1984 in Chula Vista, California by John T. Walton (son of Sam Walton, founder of the retail giant, Wal-Mart).

In 1994, John Walton sold Corsair Marine to Paul Koch who was Corsair Marine's Australian Dealer at the time. Koch also owned a boat building company in Australia called OSTAC and had worked with Farrier. So when Koch bought Corsair Marine, he invited Farrier to return.

Corsair Marine employed Ian Farrier (trimaran designer). Farrier stayed with the company until 1991 when he decided to pursue his own business interests. Farrier agreed and worked at Corsair Marine for the next 6 years. When Farrier set off in 2000 to pursue his own business interests again, Corsair Marine purchased all rights to his trimaran designs. Subsequently, the branding changed from the Farrier branding of "F-" to the Corsair style using the "C". By way of example, the "F-31" trimaran became the "C31" or "Corsair 31" trimaran.

In 2006 Corsair Marine took the strategic decision to relocate its Head Office and production facility from California to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. In the USA, margins had been under increasing pressure due to escalating costs and the fact that trimaran customers were unwilling to pay higher prices. Moving off-shore created an opportunity to achieve cost savings. Ultimately, Vietnam was chosen for a number of reasons including its political stability, attractive FDI (foreign direct investment) provisions, booming economy and its pool of young, talented, skilled, energetic, and resourceful labour.

A number of key staff from California relocated to Vietnam to facilitate the successful migration of the business and the setting up and running of the factory. Now, Corsair Marine employs more than 100 Vietnamese.

Since 1984, Corsair Marine has sold more than 1,600 trimarans through its global dealership network. Dealers represent and service Corsair Marine's trimarans in over 8 regions of the USA and 17 other locations around the world. Currently, Corsair Marine builds 24', 28', 31' and 37' trimarans in a number of different configurations.

Models

Sprint 750 (24')

The Sprint 750 is a day sailor that won Sailing World Magazine's 2007 Sportboat of the Year.^[1]

Dash 750 (24')

The Dash 750, a pocket cruiser, was launched by Corsair Marine in January 2009 and immediately became its biggest seller. In April 2010, the DASH 750 made the cover of Cruising World Magazine under the headline, "Exciting new sailboats". The article went on to say that "the DASH's real reason d'etre lies in its blistering speed and fingertip responsiveness... (The journalist felt) completely comfortable with the uncomplicated systems... It's built in Vietnam with the latest materials and technologies; quality control is closely monitored."^[2]

C28

The C28 comes in three different configurations: the Centre Cockpit Cruiser Racer (CR), the Centre Cockpit Cruiser Racer (EC) and the Aft Cockpit Sports Cruiser (RS). In its March 2010 edition, Pa Kryss Magazine reviewed the C28R.^[3]

C31

The C31 also comes in three different models. In June 2010, two adventurers, Borge Ousland and Thorleif Thorleifsson will set off in a Corsair Marine 31UC trimaran and attempt to sail around the North Pole (circumnavigate the Arctic Ocean).^[4]

C37

The C37 comes in two models and is the biggest of Corsair Marine's trimarans. Multihulls World Magazine wrote in June 2010 that, "For those of you who like trimarans but want to sail further (and faster)... the Corsair 37CR (is) a top of the range boat which offers the comfort of a cruising monohull, the catamaran's comfortable flat sailing and the speed and excitement of a trimaran... (It) is a real long distance cruising boat... and a fast one!"^[5]

Corsair 50 Catamaran

The Corsair 50 has been designed and engineered from the world renowned Reichel Pugh Yacht Design and utilizes the latest materials and building techniques.

References

1. ^ http://www.sailingworld.com/article/Corsair-Sprint-750-2007-Sportboat-of-the-Year
2. ^ "Cruising World | Jul-10 | Express 3 | Zinio Digital Magazines". Zinio.com. http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?o=int&pub=109096894&prev=sub&offer=110634777. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
3. ^ "På Kryss » Blogg Arkiv » Tips om trimaraner". Pakryss.se. http://www.pakryss.se/tips-om-trimaraner/. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
4. ^ "Børge Ousland". Ousland.no. http://www.ousland.no/. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
5. ^ "Corsair Dash 750 : If, like the majority of the Multihulls World editorial team, you like light, fast, fun, easy to". Multihulls-world.com. 2010-06-11. http://www.multihulls-world.com/us/catamarans/news/corsair-dash-750,266.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 

External links

• Official website