The 42-metre Alumarine catamaran Douce France – one of the stars of ‘The Charter Year’ feature in the latest issue of SuperYacht World – is preparing for the new season in the Far East by undergoing a refresh under shrinkwrapped polythene at Yacht Solutions in Thailand.



The special plastic compound covering shrinks when heat is applies, so that it forms a tight seal around the scaffolding, enabling engineering and painting work to continue inside in a temperature-controlled environment, whatever the weather is doing outside. The tent took seven days to construct, and before the work started the team at Yacht Solutions had training from Atlantic Shrink Wrapping in Washington.



“The superyacht industry in Asia is growing and there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of superyachts either in the region or transiting through, and by offering this service to international standards we believe we will attract more vessels to Thailand all year round for refits, conversions and paintwork,” says Gareth Twist, the managing director of Yacht Solutions.



Once the work is completed, Douce France will be ready for another successful season of chartering. “We are looking forward to some more spectacular diving in the Biak Islands,” her captain Pascal Goger told SuperYacht World. She has room for 12 guests and charters through Ocean Independence for €90,000-€100,000pw.