Tunisia

Rassas Construction

Francesca Webster shines a spotlight on Tunisia, one of the more unusual construction locations to find out about an eight year catamaran construction project at&nbsp;<a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas Construction</a>.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/304321/image/large-87632f2167cd7a4350a74712fa565e6d.png" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/304321">In the summer of 2023, SuperYacht Times intelligence team member Syrine Mellakh was visiting her home country of Tunisia and decided to turn her holiday into an intelligence seeking opportunity. While Tunisia may not be the first place one considers when discussing the topic of yacht construction, the region is actually home to a number of production builders that specialise in the manufacture of GRP boats for many of the industry’s household names. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/312636/image/large-295b08741c03b03533203d1b07c056c5.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/312636">To the north of Tunis, above the Bizerte Lake, where companies such as Groupe <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7047" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Beneteau (Company)">Beneteau</a> have production facilities, Syrine discovered <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas Construction</a>. A family run business, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas Construction</a> has evolved over a number of years from local boat builder, to mould maker for international firms such as <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/2820" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Catana (Company)">Catana</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/358" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Azimut Yachts (Company)">Azimut</a> and <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/5808" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Pardo Yachts (Company)">Pardo</a>, and now to an independent yacht builder. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/312628/image/large-dfbb66e642be21f96ebb1f7916935b0b.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/312628">Having grown from 12 to 60 employees over the course of the past six years and having invested in its own five axis CNC machine, the company now has a diverse portfolio of products from offshore racing boats, rally buggies, racing catamarans, and most interestingly for us, large sailing cats. We sat down with Skander Rassas, son of the company’s founder, to hear about one project that has taken more than eight years to become a reality; a 26-metre sailing catamaran.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/312630/image/large-ea482c24050a4b14f50a1fb5009510ce.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/312630">Skander explains, “this catamaran is the second largest we’ve built, and part of the reason the project has taken so long is that my father is the client and he has made a huge amount of customisations to the project, which is really a hybrid conception.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/304323/image/large-e6a5258a6df05fe54625fac04686c092.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/304323">By ‘hybrid conception’, Skander is referring to the fact that the yacht’s mould was originally that of a Nautitech 82, but the yacht has undergone a number of dramatic changes, with the <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas</a> team creating one off moulds for individual parts of the vessel and extending her length to 26-metres. Using the CNC milling machine, the team has constructed the deck, furniture and cockpit, while the interior has been designed by a local architect. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/312632/image/large-72c3cd50eced6c7c0b3cf29066b8a69d.png" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/312632">“The yacht has been changed so many times over the years, and of course when the client is the owner of the shipyard, they have the freedom to play with the concept of the vessel as much as they are willing to. This has not been a normal project for <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas</a> and with no deadlines, it is really us and the owner playing with the possibilities which has been very interesting. Nevertheless, everytime we add something to the yacht or come up with a new idea, we have to be rigorous in our calculations to ensure that we do not forfeit the integrity of the vessel.” <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/312633/image/large-863b427658571730ce6b67acf5acab13.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/312633">While the design and concept of the vessel has developed, so has its intended purpose. Local yachts are used for either purely personal cruising (a more unusual usage according to Skander), or more commonly for day charter and events. The <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas</a> 26-metre has been designed to accommodate a combination of the two uses and will be able to sleep up to 16 people, or to cruise with 100 on deck for day, or part day, charters.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/304320/image/large-9d0352585e91f97f99aedcc28d92aac8.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/304320">“Really my father has tortured the naval architects over the years on this project, with so many changes and we have gone through a number of designers as a result. He was trained as a naval architect himself and as such has a very clear idea of what he wants. Now the yacht is nearly complete, her interiors are being finalised. But only two months ago he decided to add another set of thrusters to the yacht… it has not been ‘smooth sailing’, as one might say.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/304322/image/large-6047628b573cbf833e8b66977008df5e.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/304322">While part charter and part personal are the destined uses of this yacht, the owner is keen to use the vessel as a flagship for Rassas, with the view to build more on the same model (complete with customisations) in the future. Skander adds, “of course the next one won’t be done the same way. We have improved a lot of things over the years. When we first began this project we were a team of 12, with no CNC machine, but now we have a skilled workforce that has learned a lot. It definitely won’t take us eight years to build the next hull!”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/312635/image/large-7d8923f9a2af69663bb17ebd6b01b96e.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/312635">Powered by twin JCB 210 horsepower engines, the yacht has a full GRP sandwich construction, but Rassas now has its own stainless steel atelier for its fast racing boats, and will utilise this new capabilities for the balustrades and detailing of the catamaran. As for her interiors, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas</a> has a three-person carpentry department, including a teak specialist, who have been with the company for over a decade. The shipyard even has an oven, opening the door for potential carbon construction in the future. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/312637/image/large-7f01c9ebc5250128c7530d4d4508f93e.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/312637">Skander also explains how the local area is a hive of yachting activity, with neighbouring companies offering their expertise and assistance. “There are many companies local to us that build for international shipyards, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/358" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Azimut Yachts (Company)">Azimut</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/361" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Ferretti Yachts (Company)">Ferretti</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7047" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Beneteau (Company)">Beneateu</a>, they all make hulls in Tunisia and from that the local community has learnt a lot. Tunisia isn’t the first place people think of when it comes to yacht building, but there is a growing industry here and we are happy to be a part of it!” The <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7462" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Rassas Construction (Company)">Rassas</a> 26-metre catamaran is due for delivery later this year.&nbsp;This article is featured in&nbsp;Issue 48&nbsp;of the SuperYacht Times newspaper.&nbsp;You can find a full archive of all previous SuperYacht Times newspapers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.superyachttimes.com/newspaper" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;

Constructing the 26m Rassas catamaran in Tunisia

Francesca Webster shines a spotlight on Tunisia, to find out about an eight year catamaran construction project at Rassas Construction.