Servane Moreau: Could you present yourself in a few words?

Jean Coadou: My name is Jean Coadou, I was born in 1948 at l’Aber Ildut, and now live in Brest. I retired from the Navy 15 years ago. I was in the Navy for 32 years. I started as Crew Officer and finished my career as Superior Officer. Today I am a member of the Club Nautique de la Marine de Brest (Yacht Club of the Navy in Brest) where I am in charge of the Racing sector.

For the last ten years, I have been jury for the Race Committee on numerous regattas such as the Spi Ouest France, the Cap Istanbul, The Med Race, the Tour de Finistère, the Tour de Bretagne à la Voile…

 

SM: On what boats have you sailed ?

JC: Essentially, I have sailed professionally, because of my job, but I have also done some regional racing on cruisers.

I have never, however, sailed on dinghies, sports catamarans or trimarans. It was therefore a totally new experience for me on the Diam 24 One Design.

 

SM: What was your first impression of this boat?

JM: On land, I found her good looking and very simple to launch thanks to the beach trailer.

 

SM: And on the water?

JC: I found the Diam 24 OD very sound.

 

SM: How did you live the trial sail ?

JC: I found this multihull very reassuring as I never feared that we could capsize, specially as we had an excellent skipper in the person of Joseph Brault, and we were sailing on calm waters in a steady breeze. We just had to find the right VMG to optimize sailing as these are not the same as on a monohull.

 

SM: What did you think of the boat’s performance?

JC: I was happily surprised by its performance and passage through the water. I was surprised at its facility and ease in passing through choppy seas. It is a very fine tuned and sensitive boat that gives considerable acceleration.

 

SM: Could you give me the positive and negative points of this boat?

JC: The only negative point I found on this boat was the noise the daggerboards make during accelerations – but at the same time – that’s « cool » as it means we’re going fast.

Otherwise, I have only positive comments to make:  its ease of use, its sensitivity, its fine tuning, and its well balanced feeling at the helm. It is a reassuring boat that has excellent water penetration capacities and to conclude, it is a simple boat to launch and haul out on a beach trailer. It took three of us to haul the Diam 24 OD out of the water on the Moulin Blanc slipway.

 

SM: What are you expecting from this series and its programme?

JC: The advantage is that this multihull will be sailing as a one design boat within its own class. I thinks the rules should be simple and above all, clearly thought out to avoid any possible deviations. The class must be well lead and controlled from the start.

 

SM: What would be your conclusion for this trial sail?

JC: I’m delighted to have discovered trimarans and especially this one. The Diam 24 One Design is a fun boat that sails fast. It is a comprehensible boat for the public.