Sea Loop Marine Unveils Loopia 290, a Wheelchair-Accessible Electric Power Catamaran

Gilles Wagner's Sea Loop Marine pulled back the curtain on the Loopia 290 Family at the Nice Boating Tomorrow exhibition in Nice, France on March 30, positioning the 9-metre electric power catamaran as one of the first purpose-built small multihulls to treat wheelchair access as a core design requirement rather than a compliance checkbox.

Naval architecture came from Marc Lombard Design Group, whose twin-hull form gives the Loopia 290 a 3.90-metre beam, wide enough to make step-free deck circulation genuinely practical. Sea Loop worked directly with APF France Handicap Vendée to integrate accessibility from the design stage, not as a retrofit. The result is a cockpit and deck layout with no steps breaking the circulation path, with widths throughout suited to wheelchair movement between cockpit and bow.

Propulsion is twin 40 kW electric motors, calibrated to the lakes, estuaries and sheltered coastal water that Sea Loop identified as the actual operating environment for most small-boat owners. The company's position is direct: a large share of pleasure boaters rarely venture offshore, spending the bulk of their time at anchor or covering short daily runs. The Loopia 290's drivetrain is built around that real-world usage profile rather than offshore passage-making credentials that most owners never call on.

Materials reflect the same deliberate thinking. Alubat builds the aluminium hulls; composite superstructures use bio-epoxy resins and natural fibres including flax. Sea Loop's stated construction target is approximately 70% recycled materials with full recyclability at end-of-life, a specification that sat comfortably within Nice Boating Tomorrow's sustainable innovation brief.

Modularity runs through the entire concept. Sea Loop has described fishing and diving derivatives alongside family dayboat and rental-fleet configurations, making the platform adaptable without structural redesign. That flexibility opens the door to clubs, dive operators and lakeside resorts as much as private buyers.

Early orders were reported at the launch, and Sea Loop has outlined a roadmap adding 250 and 350 variants to the family. For a market segment long defined by offshore performance benchmarks, Loopia's focus on social space, low environmental footprint and inclusive access represents a commercial bet that the overlooked majority of daysailors are a bigger prize than the bluewater niche.