Continue to keep our unused boats alive
Launched in 2017, the Nantes-based company Bathô specializes in the renovation of old pleasure boats to transform them into unusual homes on land. Since 2021, it has been taken over by a tripartite group, including the SOS association group, through its ecological transition and circular economy branch. At the head of this unusual shipyard, Thibault Saint-Olive, a naval architect by trade, assumes the role of workshop manager and director. The activity remains the same: giving a second life to our dear boats rather than giving them to the deconstruction.
Models from the 70's to the 80's
Bathô works mainly on old models of the 70s and 90s which do not necessarily find buyers nowadays. The dimensions are also important as Thibault Saint-Olive explains: "My go-to model is Sangria. I also want to work on a Tequila, I haven't done that yet. These are models whose names sound very vacation-like, and it lends itself well to that. To create an unusual habitat, you need sailboats between 7.5 and 9 meters long. I also constrain myself to the road gauge, a master beam of about 2.50 m, with a maximum of 3 m."
New, offer boat parties
Since the takeover, the director has also introduced a novelty. Boats that are too small are cut in two and each part is used for a specific purpose. He details: "The Love Love or Flirt are too small to offer a real kitchen or shower. I salvage them and cut them in half to create these separate elements. The front part is positioned vertically and becomes a kitchen, a toilet, a book and game box or a beach hut. It's a real totem pole with a nice volume. The aft part of the cockpit is revised into a picnic area. The only loss is a 30 to 40 cm gap between the cockpit and the companionway. The cockpit is closed in with laminate and the forward tip is placed on a base that serves as a floor."
The architect has also developed a new concept on a larger 9.50 m model. The aft deck - added in addition to the cockpit - disappears to leave a main side entrance into the hull. The aft cockpit is cut away and transformed into a private sundeck, and the space below is transformed into a "children's tote," with a bed that goes under the companionway, like a kind of dormitory. He details: "The boat retains its wow factor with true headroom and a side entry into the hull. The smaller traditional boats have a deck with a classic cockpit entrance."
500 hours of work to refurbish a boat
Each recovered boat is depolluted, deodorized, stripped of its batteries and completely transformed. The different materials - composite and wood scraps - are then sorted in the manner of a sorting center. The rigging is still reused, but truncated for stability and matting and dismasting before and after the season, the stainless steel die renovated and re-laid. The engines are of course taken out and put back on the second hand market after some repairs.
Thibault explains: "There are quite a few good engines that had inaccessible leaks to repair in the engine hold. Once they are removed, they can be repaired, because some of them still have a good life ahead of them. For outboard motors, I advise customers to value them themselves. Likewise, if they have equipment to keep. It also helps to reduce transportation costs, for example."
As for the deconstruction process, the transport of the boat, craning, dismantling... is at the owner's expense, unless he can take it away by his own means. It is necessary to count approximately 1 000 euros for 100 km, but sometimes, an alternative is possible, as the director explains: "Often I take 100% of the costs out of my own pocket. It all depends on the person you're dealing with. For some, it's a gift that gives their boat a second life. It reassures them, because it has an emotional value. Finding a second life for it makes them happy and in mobile cruising, it gives meaning."
Once emptied and cleaned, the boat is completely refurbished and everything is refurbished as Thibault explains: "We scrape everything, re-coat, paint it marine grade, put in plywood, redo the upholstery. It's a big budget. For example, for a Sangria, the saddlery item represents 4,000 euros. Everything that is decorative and not kitsch is reused. We combine simplicity with efficiency and cleanliness. Our boats are the praise of simplicity, functional and simple, but well made. We try to offer the highest quality boats possible. After working 4 years in Bangladesh making useful boats, I worked at Amel on 50 and 60 feet boats. With Bathô I mix my different experiences. These are beautiful objects without making things too complex to control the production time, which is 500 hours for a boat. The idea is that once refurbished, it can last another 10 or 15 years."
Each boat is fully equipped: Nespresso coffee machine, induction cooker, 40 L fridge, microwave... The 220 and 12 volts electrical networks are also redone. The whole can be autonomous in energy thanks to the installation of solar panels and wind power.
Unusual housing in a hotel residence or additional living space for individuals
If the majority of the boats transformed into unusual dwellings are sold to campsites or hotel facilities, some individuals choose to acquire a model to gain an extra room, or to create a gîte. The Nantes-based company also offers full customization, such as a boat transformed into a meeting room with a coworking space for 8 people.
Thibault concludes: "There are quite a few boats installed in private homes to add a room to the house and entertain friends or children. One customer fell in love with a Victorian from Wauquiez. She loved the concept of having a beautiful boat in her garden for her grandchildren. You can also have a small office in your backyard."
Each model is sold for between 26,000 and 28,000 euros, excluding transport costs. The boat is then transported to its new home and connected to the various networks, prepared by the customers. Grey water is collected in a phyto-treatment tank. The boat is placed on a cradle, installed in a non-intrusive way with large screws. The exterior terrace and the various associated elements are then grafted onto it.
