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Since 1910, Burgaud's sailmaking business has kept pace with the changing face of sailing, from inshore fishing to replicas of historic frigates. The video tells a story embodied by the building itself, a witness to the technical developments, strategic choices and family transmissions that have shaped the Noirmoutier workshop.
A fishing port sailmaker faces up to the demands of coasters
At the beginning of the 20th century, sails were still the driving force behind fishing and coastal transport vessels. In l'Herbaudière, then in the port of Noirmoutier, Émile Burgaud, trained in traditional canvas cutting and assembly, took over an existing workshop and set it up on Quai Cassard.
The company's specialty is work sails. Mainsails with horns, jibs on props, one-third sails for coasters. The fabrics are cotton or hemp, heavy and sensitive to humidity and mildew. Cutting is empirical, based on know-how handed down in the workshop. We learn by observing, tracing on the floor, using the needle and hinge.
For sailors, the stakes are simple. A well-trimmed sail holds its course, handles the breeze and lasts the test of time. A badly trimmed sail tires the rigging and slows the boat down. A sailboat's reputation is built on the quayside, for all to see.
World wars and fabric shortages: how to keep the business going
The First World War and then the Second upset the organization of the workshop. Apprentices left for the front, and canvas supplies became scarce. Business slowed down for lack of raw materials.
This period sheds light on a point often forgotten in the history of sailmakers. Their dependence on the textile industry. Without cotton and hemp, there would be no sails. Some craftsmen temporarily converted to other heavy sewing work, or joined the aeronautics industry, where canvas and lightweight structure assembly techniques found an extension.
For today's sailors, this sequence is a reminder that sailing remains a technical product subject to the availability of fibers - natural yesterday, synthetic today.
From cotton to Dacron, the technical transformation of the 1950s
After 1945, the nautical landscape changed. Pleasure boating expanded, and production dinghies and small cruisers appeared. Dacron and nylon gradually replaced natural fibers. Fabrics became more dimensionally stable, and more resistant to UV rays and salt water.
For a traditional sailmaker, this transition means a complete adaptation. New weights, new sewing machines capable of assembling thinner webs, understanding elongation under load. The floor is enlarged to accommodate larger surfaces. The workshop doubles in size to meet growing demand.
Orders are also evolving. Muscadet, Forban, Frégate and other production units require reproducible sets of sails, with standardized cuts. Sailmakers are progressively moving away from workboats to the world of pleasure boating.
From regattas to large spinnakers, diversification and technicality
From the 1970s and 1980s, regattas and sport cruising influenced the workshops. The emergence of lighter, more colorful spinnakers demanded a fine mastery of nylon fabrics, radial reinforcements and tack and clew finishing.
Jean Pierre Burgaud, partly trained in the South of France, brings back modern cutting and assembly methods. The use of leather for reinforcements, more precise tooling and the gradual integration of new materials all testify to the company's growing technical expertise.
At the same time, the workshop participates in the structuring of the local nautical sector, working alongside the deck hardware industry and associations dedicated to maritime heritage. The sailmaker's work is no longer limited to producing sails, but is part of an ecosystem.
Traditional sails, how to rebuild an old rig
The major turning point came with the order for sails for traditional units. From longboats to replicas of privateers and frigates, these projects called for a return to our roots.
Making more than 700 m² of sails for a bisquine, or more than 2000 m² for a frigate like the Hermione, requires specific organization. Research into old plans, selection of suitable fabrics, old-fashioned sewing, selvedges, illets and garcettes in line with historical practice.
These projects are of interest to heritage enthusiasts and professionals alike. They demonstrate that a craftsman's workshop can mobilize contemporary skills in the service of complex traditional rigs, with parrots, tapeculs and multiple jibs.
Family transmission and adaptation to new markets
Over more than a century, the Burgaud sailmakers illustrate the transmission of a manual craft within the same family. Each generation brings its own interpretation of the market. Fishing, yachting, regattas, heritage, diversification into other nautical services, including on-board electronics.
And behind the story told by the video, a question remains for yachtsmen and professionals alike. How can a local workshop continue to exist in the face of industrial standardization and mass-produced international sails?
Part of the answer lies in port anchorage, proximity to sailors and the ability to switch from a coastal cruiser jib to the full sail area of a three-masted yacht.
In Noirmoutier, the blue facade is more than just a backdrop. It's a landmark for those who live by the rhythm of the tides. And as it approaches its 120th anniversary, the workshop continues to cut and assemble, between the memory of the stones and the salt on the quays.
