We are extremely pleased to announce the Vectorworks Marine Inc has entered in to an agreement with Bimare of Italy to be the licensed builder in the United States of their A-class catamaran, the XJ (Extreme Javelin).

This year, 2005, Bimare is celebrating their 30th year of producing catamarans. In 1978, with the introduction of the Bim A, they were one of the first companies to build a production A-class catamaran. This model sailed to multiple World, European and national titles. The A-class being a developmental class, has often helped lead the way in advancing “beach catamaran” design. Sail design, canting hulls and what is commonly referred to as “wave piercing” hull shapes, are all examples of features refined in the A-class and now being used in many of the new generation of production catamarans being manufactured. Bimare’s long history of staying in the forefront of technology is represented in their Javelin hull shape. The XJ is a third iteration of this hull shape, building on the strengths of that concept. Early race results, from around the globe, are proving this design is going to make this the boat to beat.

Vectorworks Marine’s history of quality tooling and contract manufacturing ties in perfectly with Bimare’s concept of creating a US based manufacturer of their design. The growth in A-class participation in particular, has been severely hampered by not having a production builder located in the US. The majority of boats have typically come from Europe or Australia. The problems associated with pricing, exchange rates, shipping and customer support have made the commitment to own an A-cat beyond what most people are willing to put forth. Recently VMI has successfully transformed the Phill Brander designed Blade F16 in to composites and introduced it into the US market. The tendency towards performance and the detail involved in the F16 and A-cat designs makes them fit very well on the manufacturing floor.

VMI and Bimare look forward to helping catamaran sailing in the US expand by making models more readily available than has been typical in the past.