Grand Pavois 2007

This is the third time I deliver my chronicle on the largest "on the water" boat show of the western european coastline. Over 800 exhibitors, 100,000 square metres of exhibition area and over 100,000 visitors - a large show and that is beginning to be seen with some glitches here and there... No WiFi in the press centre! Not enough transit buses between the car park and the show - a VERY long line of people, so I walked the 2 and a half kilometres. OK the weather was beautiful and I enjoyed the view of the beach along the way.

A swedish motor boat from the early 20th century being restored.

This year I spent quite a bit more time talking to exhibitors that in previous years. Lots of plastic, way too much plastic for my tastes. Some nice plastic however, that has historical ties with amateur builders, is a plan from Dick Newick (Echo II) destined to be built by a yard in northern Brittany.

This boat was in the center of the wood village - no descriptive panel so I know nothing about it.

Amateur builder action is mostly centered in the wood village (and of course in the equipment and motor halls). The Italians I saw two years ago were back with a new eighteen footer styled boat nicely built in ply. Very athletic sailing with huge sail area adapted to the kind of conditions found on the lakes up north or the east coast of Italy, light winds and smooth waters. I reminded a couple of French companies that I am still waiting on their plans for inclusion in these pages.

Bouvet Rames Guyane 2009

Two years ago I discovered this transatlantic rowing race and met and wrote about the future winner quite accidentaly at another show. This event now has corporate sponsorship hence the name change. The next edition is scheduled for 2009 and it looks to be a bumper crop with nearly 20 rowers already well advanced in their campagne. There is also another project for a new event West/East from the US (north-east maybe even Cape Cod...) to Brittany. A northern route makes for a tough race and rowers must be confirmed ocean rowers only. More information on the events after the Paris Boat Show in December.

A raid boat, this type of craft remains one of the most popular for amateur builders here.

CLC importer?

I had the extreme pleasure of seeing a CLC Chester Yawl "in the flesh" for the first time. The person presenting the craft is in negociations to become a distributor of kits here in Euro land (there is already a UK distributor).

Affaires maritimes

Once again I talked to the people who make the laws governing the building and use of boats by amateur builders. I am increasingly worried about my own projects and how to cut through the red tape and stay on the right side of the law. These issues concern other european countries as well so I will push forward and am working on getting some real answers to my questions.

Building is subject to ISO norms. These norms are avalable on a CD sold for 334,88€ (US$ 475). I will leave it to the reader to decide if that is a fair price to pay for norms that were established with financing by tax payers money... I heard for the umpteenth time that these ISO norms are different from USCG norms "because they are calculated differently" so US plans have to be re-certified. Makes you think that water and waves may not be the same on both sides of the Atlantic! This is a blatent case of "fair trade" rules at their very best. And it is most strange because this country is overflowing with young talented naval architects - some of the most imaginative and talented in the world IMHO. They are not selling many plans because amateur building is subject to a stranglehold set of rules and regulations.

FIN

"Where do amateur builders fit in to the greater scheme of things" was the question I asked at the Fédération des Industries Nautiques. These are the people who "help" the lawmakers set the laws governing boat building in general while defending the interests fo the boat building industry as a whole. The most powerful and influential members of the federation are the largest builders of pleasure craft in the world. You know the names, just look at the French plastic floating at a dock near you. Shortsightedness and the domination of the large industrial boat yards means that the federation does not see that amateur boat builders are consumers of products made by members of the federation too!

Amateur builders from the 1970s are in part to blame for this situation. It was an anything goes period where ugly, non identified and sometimes floating objects in steel and ferocement popped up in fields all over France. These boats were as I said often ugly and very often dangerous - built by dreamers wishing to head for the southern oceans and their island paradises.

Since then naval architecture has grown up: the plans, materials and techniques for amateur building are sophisticated and high performance. So much so, that in many cases (some of us would say most...), amateur built boats are better than the factory built ones! They are certainly better adapted to our needs. And dare I say that recent fuel efficient designs are kinder to the environnement than the gas guzzling offerings of the factories! I did not see many displays promoting environment kindness at the show... If you are an eco-friendly navigator you sail. No other choice!

People from the above institutions have free right of reply here in these pages.

So this year was a very political show visit for me, not many pretty pictures. For the moment the solution to my particular problem is to build and register my futur boat under the Belgian flag. Sounds silly, is silly but seems to be the only "reasonable" way to build a US drawn plan on this side of the pond.

The end...

Tony Grant, La Rochelle September 22nd, 2007