Chomarat develops new carbon fiber tape for Figaro Beneteau 3

Composite reinforcement specialist Chomarat (Le Cheylard, France) announced April 25 it has developed a new unidirectional woven tape for its C-TAPE line of products. The new tape was created during a collaboration between Multiplast (Vannes, France) and Chomarat to produce foils for the Figaro Beneteau 3 foil-assisted sailing yacht. Designed to meet the standards of industrial production, the new C-TAPE reinforces the foils of the Figaro Beneteau 3, which improve the monohull’s stability and performance.

“For the series production of the foils, the Beneteau Group chose Multiplast, the well-known builder of racing boats, which engaged the Chomarat Group to provide project support and achieve the best cost/performance balance,” says Vincent Cholvy, Chomarat’s manager for the boating market.

C-TAPE offers flexibility in terms of weight, width and construction. It has been optimized to facilitate series production, yet provide the foils with maximum performance. The weft yarn developed by Chomarat reportedly makes the tape easy to handle and to work with. The tape is produced in 50 cm widths in order to adapt better to the mould, thus reducing both scrap and production cost.

“The project was an ambitious one,” says Multiplast general manager Yann Penfornis. “We had to reach a lower target cost, achieve a perfect foil shape, guarantee identical weight for all parts, and produce a set of foils per week over a period of one year.”

Fifty plies of tape are used to make the foil so that it can resist high levels of stress. The specific structure of C-TAPE facilitates resin flow throughout the thickness. The reinforcement provides the desired mechanical performance and also cuts down on production time.

By the end of summer 2018, some one hundred foils will have been produced for assembly on the first 50 Figaro Beneteau 3 monohulls.