From furniture to boat
At the age of 28, Xavier settled down next to the Tramasset shipyard, on the banks of the Garonne. He closed the door of his furniture restoration business in Belgium. His eyes, used to meticulousness, want to escape to a wider world, he is driven by the desire to learn new things, always related to wood. More precisely, his hands feel the need to touch, to fly over, to draw: it is the noble profession of tracing that he wants to master.
At the end of the 90's, the old Tramasset shipyard came out of its torpor and revived thanks to the enthusiasm of two young carpenters. They propose to renovate wooden boats, to help those who want to build their own boat. They also provide training. It was during one of these training sessions on the route that Xavier discovered the workshop, now a listed historic monument, and its port, Le Tourne.
John Beetle, inspiration for Melville and Ford
Under the team's supervision, Xavier built a Beetle cat. This 3.80 m x 1.85 m cat-boat was designed in 1921 by an American from the East Coast, John Beetle, who was inspired by the local whaling boat. The choice of this half-decked, single-sail boat was obvious to Xavier because of its versatility and aesthetics. Its stability of form due to its great width reassures beginners. Its great maneuverability and popularity also make it an easy boat to resell "although Belgium is not the ideal market for wooden boats", he concedes. Let's note that according to an article by our colleagues from Chasse-Marée devoted to this boat, Melville was inspired by the Beetle shipyards to write Moby Dick and John Ford did the same to design his automobile production lines! But let's get back to our amateur shipwright.
Draw each part of the boat
Xavier found a picture of the plans in the nautical press and he started from there. It's that simple! After drawing the plan to scale, he drew all the parts. "It's essential. The boat, when it is on a plan, only exists in two dimensions. It must become a volume," explains Xavier. The curvature of the hull or the curve of the bow must go through the paper before being materialized in wood. "It's better to redo a drawing than the piece itself," he adds.
It takes him a whole day to trace a straightener. There are 20 of them. The tracing of shapes is done on plywood on the floor. In Tramasset's workshop, his work space measured 6 m by 10 m. Then he cuts the pieces in different woods. For the strakes, it will be cedar, for the mast northern red fir. The whole thing is assembled by rivets, which requires the assistance of a second person. This is the longest part of the construction. The total weight of all this: 300 kg. The solidity is evident from each of the oak frames, which are very visible since there is no bench. You don't sit on a bench, you sit on the floor, leaning against the coaming that gives the hull an elegant collar.
Two years of work
"To be assisted by experienced people": this is the only advice Xavier would give to the amateur who would like to start such an adventure. "In this field, there is not much written material, the know-how is transmitted orally
The construction will have taken two years or more. Would he do it again? Absolutely! Although he considers himself more of a furniture restorer than a cabinetmaker, and has returned to his former profession in Belgium, he speaks of his life as an amateur carpenter in Tramasset as a pivotal period in his journey.
More builder than browser
Back in Belgium, the boat did not sail much. It is true that Xavier lives far from the coast and that, apart from his profession, he has now turned to the construction of remote-controlled model planes. Today, the Beetle cat is waiting for the buyer under its shelter. It is about twenty years old and it is as new!
