History

1984

Jürgen Peter, the founder of FORMATsystem, started the construction of his first ocean-going catamaran. There was generally still a lot of prejudice against multihulls and even more against the “semi-open” concept. The idea to combine the advantages of a saloon with the large cockpit of an open bridgedeck met with total lack of appreciation.

1988

The first charter trips convinced the crews of the advantages of the semi-open concept. A lot of times, groups of between 10 and 12 people had dinner together in the cockpit, under a roof and protected against wind.

1990

The idea of the pendular mould for catamaran hulls was born. It was the aim of this development to be able to produce round-framed hulls in sandwich with minimal effort and mould work. Renaming in FORMATsystem.

1992

Some different designs, specially suited to the production according to the FORMATsystem, resulted from the experience with the construction of a few one-offs and from over 30,000 sea miles sailed on multihulls.

1993

The first pendular mould, the basis for the FORMATsystem, was built and the first construction kits were delivered to self-builders.

1994

The first FORMAT catamaran built on a shipyard, a FORMAT 33, had flowing lines, a large semi-open cockpit and a distinctively better performance than the first FORMAT cat. It was 5 % lower, 10 % wider, had 20 % less weight and 30 % more sail area.

1995

The first FORMAT 700 was launched – a trailer cat serially produced with the help of negative moulds. The beams inserted through the hulls, the wide hulls with narrow waterlines and the combined mast-beam-centreboard system were unusual.

1998

A number of FORMAT catamarans from Czech production were delivered. The production came to an abrupt end with the death of the company’s manager.

1999

The first complete construction kit left Hamburg Port in a container bound for the Canary Islands. The open FORMAT 10 was moored at Corralejo/Fuerteventura after one year of construction work in the open air.

2001

The FORMAT 1070, the prototype of a day charter cat, was built in record time at Yamaha Motors in Dubai under the supervision of FORMATsystem. Small groups of people can relax in luxury on elegantly curved seats at a large oval table with an inserted lava stone grill.

2002

Due to limited capacity, new pendular moulds as well as detailed moulds were built in Poland. At the multihull symposium during the “Boot” in Düsseldorf, Jürgen Peter presented his product range at the time, the essence of over 50 designs. It comprised 10 models of between 7 and 14 metres in length.

2003

The first catamarans from Polish production were delivered. The four new models were individually tailored to the requirements of their owners.

2004

One FORMAT 1090 cat reached its destination in Istanbul after a journey of 4600 km on canals, on the Rhine, the Danube and the Black Sea. It was the second FORMAT cat in Asia, after the “Fun CAT” in Dubai.

2005

The FORMAT 1070 Dubai was completely redesigned for serial production. The new version was named “Fun CAT 40”, was 12 metres long, had electric drives, a permanent bimini and stylish furnishings for 6 people.

2008

The construction of negative moulds for the new FORMAT 400 C was started. This independent cabrio design is based on the semi-open models of the system building series and is designed solely for serial production.

2009

The first Power Cat was designed for a Swiss Owner. Power FORMAT 400 is 5 meters in width and can travel trough the canals and rivers from Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.

2010

Launch of the FORMAT 400 Cabrio prototype. Magic Moments is exclusively tested by Yacht magazine and turns heads wherever She moors. The vast cockpit triggers enthusiastic reactions and makes everybody feel instantly at home.