Katamar
Head office:
S.p.A. Edoardo Bianchi
Milano-Taliedo
(Bianchi Nautica, according to the April 1958 brochure)
The motorboat Katamar was a brief excursion by the Milan company S.p.A. Edoardo Bianchi into building leisure boats. Bianchi was known for bicycles, motorcycles and cars; the boat division was set up as Bianchi Nautica by Giuseppe Bianchi, the son of the founder Edoardo. Sales began in 1957. The brochure on which this article is based dates from April 1958.
The claim
The Katamar was advertised as «l’imbarcazione a motore costruita in plastica più venduta nel mondo!» – the world’s best-selling plastic motorboat.
Technical data according to the brochure
| Hull | Polyester resin, laminated and moulded onto a glass-fibre fabric; double torpedo hull (scafo a doppio siluro) |
|---|---|
| Length | 3,25 m |
| Width | 1,30 m |
| Hull weight | 72 kg |
| Engine | Two-stroke, 125 cm³, 20 kg |
| Power | 4,5 CV |
| Speed | 18 km/h |
| Standing area | 2 m² free for the passengers |
| Price | L. 245’000 F.F. |
The engine and drive unit were fitted without screws, bolts or wing nuts. The brochure highlights the manoeuvrability even in shallow water as well as the easy transport – the boat could be carried on the car roof.
Sales and target group
The boats were sold ex works and through commission agents. Borgarello was responsible for Turin and the province, Via Camerana 2 on the corner of Corso Vittorio Emanuele 57.
The advertisement promotes trips on rivers, lakes and the open sea and names fishing, hunting, leisure and bathing as its purposes – intended for the rising Italian middle class of the economic-miracle years, who were looking for an affordable, lightweight motorboat.
The end
Sales fell far short of expectations. The losses were so high that Bianchi gave up the boat business again after a short time.
Sources
Brochure of S.p.A. Edoardo Bianchi, Milano-Taliedo, April 1958 (Uff. Pubblicità E. Bianchi) · Newspaper advertisement of the commission agent Borgarello, Turin · F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi on Wikipedia