Builder Alubat

History of Alubat Yachts

The Alubat shipyard was founded on the Atlantic coast of France, in the town of Le Sables d'Olonne in 1973. The concept of the shipyard was simple and innovative. With the majority of privately oriented shipyards keen to experiment with fibreglass, Alubat planned to build only aluminium boats.

The prototype of the first model of the future successful OVNI range - OVNI 25 - appeared in 1974. It was a fixed keel boat - there were still four years left until the appearance of the yacht with a lifting keel. In 1978, OVNI 28 guided the development of the Alubat shipyard along the path that brought it to success.

The French shipyard did not return to fixed keel yachts until 1994 when the CIGALES range with a new more chic finish debuted. Since the shipyard's launch, very famous designers such as Marc Lombard and Philippe Briand have been working on the projects.

Alubat successfully overcame the change of centuries, but faced the first problems in the crisis of 2008. It took several years before the shipyard returned to operation in 2016, after a period of change of ownership, litigation and staff cuts. 

The shipyard owes its salvation to a group of businessmen, loyal owners of Alubat yachts. Thanks to them, the shipyard has managed to preserve the production, technology and philosophy of quality and reliability for long-distance cruising.

Current Status

Not many yachting brands concentrate on a particular type of vessel. Alubat does. If you ever hear of an aluminium sailing yacht, it is likely to be a boat from the French shipyard Alubat.

Production

The Alubat shipyard calls home the Atlantic coast of France, the town familiar to any yachtsman - Les Sables-d'Olonne, also known as the Vendée Globe region. After the restructuring and the change of ownership, the yard employs 30 people. The shipyard has built 1600 aluminium boats since the beginning.

Model range

Now Alubat offers potential customers a wide selection of models, divided into several ranges. Firstly, it is the most famous range of OVNI, which now includes four lifting keel yachts with hulls from 12 to 15 meters. Another traditional range of fixed keel yachts - CIGALE - has also been updated.

In 2016 Alubat and the French studio Mortain & Mavrikios Yacht Design presented the first-ever aluminium sailing catamaran OVNICAT 48. This catamaran for blue water cruising features aluminium hulls and a fibreglass superstructure.

Features of Alubat Yachts

Alubat yachts are a niche product for determined clients. Over four decades, Alubat has proven its worth in long-distance sailing, especially in harsh seas and extreme latitudes. On the other hand, one should not expect these boats to exhibit outstanding speed, and the behaviour of a yacht with a lifting keel on sharp courses may surprise the first person to stand behind the Alubat steering wheel. The specialists at the shipyard are not trying to deceive their clients. Instead, they maintain close interactions with them to help build the yachts that the customers have chosen. This helps ensure that the customers get the exact yacht they were looking for and can confidently embark on a long sail.