Grégory Godard is a carpenter with a passion for boats. He inherited this passion from his late father. His father and he had a project, to buy a rusty boat and restore it to its former luxury.
A few months ago, on social networks, Gregory, father of 2 children, came across an advertisement proposing to buy a boat, the Viking joy III, for a pittance. Grégory then saw the possibility of being faithful to the promise made to his father.
Historic surprise
It is when he gets his hands on the boat and climbs aboard that he will experience a surprise, to say the least. This boat, whose mahogany hull has been varnished, which spent 7 years in the water of the port of Rouen without any attention or maintenance and which has a gaping hole in the port side is a boat that participated in the victory of the Allies in June 1944!
Viking joy III is, indeed, a Jboat, a generic name for boats mainly used by the American harbour police, of which about 145 were built and of which, until the discovery of the Dieppois, there was no copy left. This one is part of the J960 series of shallow draft boats.
Boat made in the USA by the creator of the Higgins Boat
This boat, built by the Higgins shipyard in the United States, was seen by some in the port of Antwerp, Belgium. This is the same shipyard that created the famous "Higgins Boat", about which the President Dwight D. Eisenhower told historian Stephen Ambrose: " He [Andrew Higgins] is the one who won the war for us. If Higgins had not designed and built those ships, we would never have been able to land in Normandy. The strategy for winning the war would have been fundamentally different as would its outcome."
The J-974, the serial number of Gregory's boat, is a 36-foot launch, built during the war and delivered between June and July 1943. It was part of an order of 29 boats placed by the US Army [ And not, exceptionally, the US Navy as one would expect] . It was, shortly after delivery, shipped to Europe.
The life of this boat, we let Grégory tell it " In 1967, it underwent major transformations. A cabin was added. The most important one, which made no sense to me, was to varnish the entire mahogany hull. Water ended up seeping between the hull and the varnish ". Fortunately, more fear than harm, is what the owner explains to us: " i examined the hull and found no trace of fungus, the wood has honourably lived through its severe treatment. The living works need to be redone at least, most of them. There is a considerable hole in the port side plating. But nothing that can't be done, with a little elbow grease. "
Return to military status
Speaking of refurbishment, if the carpenter originally intended to restore his boat to a recreational state, he would now like to restore it to its military state. He purposely needs the help of the entire boating community. In fact, after some of our local colleagues talked about his discovery, he discovered the generosity of the sailors: " i am pleasantly surprised to have received messages from France, Belgium, and even the United States. A lot of encouragement to rebuild the boat of course, but also photos, drawings and extremely detailed information. One of my contacts told me about the original plan of the boat. I'll gather it all together and make sure I don't betray this boat. "
Gregory plans to use this boat to talk about the war. " In Dieppe, we suffered the bombings and the pain of war. I am part of this generation rocked by the longest day and I would like my children to know this part of the history of the city. They will also have the opportunity to touch this history, I am happy to be able to bring it to them with this boat "he explains.
A large-scale nautical project for the carpenter, who is highly motivated to play the detective, the historian and the researcher for his boat.
By the way, what is Gregory's next nautical project?" I'm going to get a boat license. I could say I'm flying a World War II boat! "
In search of goodwill and information
Of priceless historical value, Grégory is now calling on all those who are willing to retrace the history of his boat and to refit it. " The boat is in Rouen, the first thing to do is to bring it back to my workshop in Dieppe. This can only be done by road, she is not in a condition to sail. And her hull is fragile too. Having her next to my workshop will allow me to rebuild her better, I will have all the necessary tools at hand. Wood is my trade. "
Do you have any information about these J Boats designed by Higgins? Any tips or opportunities to support Gregory in moving or rebuilding his boat?
Come and tell us about it on yacht-club, we will follow together the progress of this extraordinary renovation !
