Marianne (unbuilt)
Project Overview
Marianne was an unbuilt International 12 Metre project conceived under the International Third Rule for America’s Cup competition. No sail number was ever authorized or issued, as the yacht was never constructed.
The project originated in France under the auspices of the Société des Régates Rochelaises, supported by a syndicate headed by Xavier Rouget Luchaire, which had previously acquired the Twelve Metre Columbia. The intention was to develop a competitive French challenger using advanced design methodology.
Design and Technical Approach
Marianne was designed by two young French naval architects, Guy Ribadeau Dumas and Philippe Briand, both early in their professional careers. The design effort was notable for its reliance on a computer-based design program developed by the Société Marcel Dassault.
At a time when most Twelve Metre designs were still based primarily on manual calculations and empirical refinement, the use of a Dassault-developed computational tool represented an ambitious and forward-looking approach to yacht design. Contemporary accounts describe the program as technically sophisticated and innovative for its era.
Abandonment of the Project
Despite the promise of the design and the novelty of the computational approach, the Marianne project was abandoned due to insufficient funding. As a result:
Construction never commenced
No measurement or rating was completed
The yacht never entered Lloyd’s Register
No official Twelve Metre sail number was issued
Historical Significance
Although never built, Marianne is of historical interest as:
A French Third Rule America’s Cup project
An early application of computer-assisted yacht design
An early collaboration involving Philippe Briand, who would later become one of the most influential yacht designers of the modern era
Marianne remains a documented example of how technological ambition and financial reality often intersected during the late Twelve Metre period.