The new boat allowed him to go to sea more often and carry more weight, thus doubling his turnover. His fellow fishermen wanted the same boat and Cheetah Marine was born.

The Cheetah range has now grown to four basic catamarans, 6.2m, 6.9m, 7.4m and 9.95m, with several versions of each size available. Production began primarily with commercial fishing and potting boats but now encompasses hydrographic survey vessels, harbour patrol craft, leisure angling boats and a rare expertise in designing catamarans equipped to allow disabled passengers to enjoy a trip at sea.

Over the years, as more high-tech materials have become available, so specifications of the Cheetahs have been upgraded.

'Now that we have specialist structural foams, multi-axial materials and honeycomb panels to use, we can build stronger, lighter and tougher boats, says Cheetah Marine's owner and designer Sean Strevens. 'Each hull is stiffened with 100mm structural foam bulkheads every 600mm.

Decks are now made from 15mm plythene honeycomb between layers of triaxial fabric. Plywood is kept to a minimum or not used at all. Wheelhouses are laid up using foam sandwich construction. The boats are lighter, stronger and very rigid.

The benefits are enormous.'

The majority of Cheetah's are still used for commercial fishing and the 100th is no exception.

It is a 6.9m model built for Oban skipper Gregor Hutchison, whose priorities were space and the ability to work single handed in rougher conditions than he could in his previous monohull.

The Lady Angela has met all his demands, offering ample space for up to a ton of load while still maintaining excellent handling characteristics.

The full wheelhouse permits comprehensive instrumentation and allows three people to keep dry.

Potting needs were satisfied with hauling protection on the starboard side, a swivelling davit, shooting bar and a Seawinch hauler mounted on the specially designed wheelhouse bulkhead.

A double rail around the stern makes stacking creels easy and 2in stainless steel stern posts are bonded into each corner. Keel bands and a chine band have been fitted for beaching and pot hauling. A gantry over the wheelhouse door will house navigation lights, a radar reflector, VHF aerials and GPS aerials. Electrotech Marien will fit all electronics and twin engine Hydrive hydraulic steering completes the fit out.

Cheetah Marine's order book is healthy, with eight 6.2m or 6.9m craft to build and a further two of the 7.4m Cheetah. The builder has recently become the European agent for Australian catamaran builders Noosacat.

This will allow Cheetah to market a full range of work and leisure catamarans from 5.7m to 14m, with extensive fit out options on the leisure side.

MJ Information No: 17720