The Vaurien, fresh momentum for dinghy sailing
In the early 1950s, French sailing needs to reinvent itself. A large part of the fleet has disappeared in the wake of the Second World War, destroyed or requisitioned by the occupying troops. At the same time, its structures have changed: in spring 1942, the Vichy government’s sports commission published a decree transforming the Union des Sociétés Nautiques Françaises into the Fédération Française de la Voile (which changed its name in 1945 to the Fédération Française de Yachting à Voile).
The changes run deeper than just the name, with the new organization integrating owner associations, whereas the previous one was only open to clubs. By enabling the heads of the main classes to be better represented within the official bodies, this more open approach supports the robust development of sailing dinghies and small keel boats, the only categories that survived the years of war without too much damage.
These small units even saw an upsurge in interest during this period, with the restrictions – in terms of travel and raw materials – logically leading to a preference for low-cost practices, realigned around inland waterways. They were also supported by the encouraging policy put in place by the recently established federation, which was able to offer its members supplies – sail cloth, construction materials, various equipment, etc. – which were difficult for people to access in the context of the time, helping drive the development of amateur building.
Series with limited distribution
This upturn in dinghy sailing is however still very relative if we look at the size of the fleets. None of the series in France at the time reach the distribution figures that we will see in the following decades. The renowned Optimist, the introductory dinghy created in 1947 by the American Clark Mills, which went on to become the most widely sold sailing model in the history of recreational boating, is still not known in Europe (it will not appear until 1954 in Denmark and 1965 in France). Also unknown are the Sailfish and Sunfish, the minimalist dinghies selling in huge numbers in the United States in the early 1950s, before passing the milestone of 300,000 units worldwide slightly later… The Snipe, another famous American series (launched in 1931 by the architect William Crosby), has established a small presence in the Finistère region, but is still barely represented in the rest of France. The most active classes in France at this time are the Caneton and the Sharpie 9m2, which will reach the relatively modest total of around 1,000 units each after 20 or so years in the first case and a dozen years for the latter.
The Caneton is a two-person dinghy created in 1931 by the members of the Cercle de la Voile de Duclair, near Rouen. Designed at their request by the architect Victor Brix, it is 5m long and has 10.50m2 of sails, with a chine hull that is ideal for classic timber amateur construction. Initially a one-design, the series ended up transforming in 1946 to adapt to a very different reality: built by more or less experienced amateurs and sometimes by trade professionals who were not actually specialized in boats, the Caneton Brix did not always follow its initial plans… The owners’ association therefore adopted the principle of a set of restricted rating rules – drawn up by the architect François Sergent – which set a maximum length of 5.05m, a width of 1.40m and a sail area of 10m2, leaving a lot of freedom for the different forms chosen. Alongside the 500 “Brix” launched up until then, the following years will see a few hundred Caneton units with restrictions designed by a wide variety of architects, some professional and others not.
The Sharpie 9m2 is created through an initiative by regatta racers from the Cercle de la Voile de Paris (CVP) – including Jacques Lebrun, Jean-Jacques Herbulot and Jean Peytel, just back from the 1936 Olympic Games in Kiel – who submitted a proposal to the Swiss architect Pierre Staempfli to look at an affordable solo dinghy, adapted for both beginners and regatta racing. Its draft design, reworked by the team from the CVP sailing association, becomes the official boat for the French solo championships from 1939.
It will soon face competition from the Moth, a restricted series launched in the United States in 1930 and widely adopted in France during the occupation period by regatta racers from the Sport Nautique de l’Ouest club in Nantes. However, its fleets will not really develop until the 1950s and even more so in the following decade with the arrival of the one-design Moth Europe.
Herbulot, a true master of all trades
The major turning point in these years is linked to a regatta enthusiast who had not necessarily planned a career in boats. Born far away from the sea – in Belval, a small village close to Charleville-Mézières – on March 29, 1909, Jean-Jacques Herbulot takes an interest as a young child in the small boats on the Ardennes rivers. When his family moves to Paris, this gives the teenage Jean-Jacques an opportunity to discover sailing at Les Mureaux. He quickly finds his feet, becomes a crew member on Aile VI, Virginie Hériot’s 8m international class, then switches to the Star and shines in national and international regattas, including a magnificent fifth-place finish at the Los Angeles Olympic Games (he will be selected again for the Games in 1936, 1948 and 1956). A perfectionist and interested in everything, he cuts his own sails and does this so well that prestigious crews place orders with him for their own boats… In the meantime, he has graduated as an architect, which will enable him to work in this area for the City of Paris after the war. He takes his first steps in naval architecture in 1937, when he suggests certain changes to the Sharpie 9 m2 project proposed by Pierre Staempfli. The next year, in 1938, in Dives-sur-Mer where he spends his holidays, the heads of the MMM fleet – Monotype Minimum de la Manche, designed in 1920 by the Havre-based “pharmacist-architect” Gaston Grenier – ask him to create a new sail plan to replace the initial one, which is considered to be outdated.
His first real creation does not take shape until 1941. Jean-Jacques Herbulot has taken refuge at the time in Lavandou, accompanied by his wife Hélène and their daughter Florence. While fishing and growing vegetables to support his family, the demobilized architect (he served for a few months in the French air force) sets out to design and build a sailing dinghy. He draws inspiration from the planing lines successfully tested by the British Uffa Fox in the International 14 class to design a very light 4.50m dinghy (twice as light as a Sharpie or Caneton!). This requires a certain level of motivation because, as he does not have another vehicle, Jean-Jacques needs to cycle back and forth to Hyères – which is around 20km away – to acrobatically bring back the long planks of pine and mahogany that will make up his hull. Then known as the Herbulot Dinghy, this boat, which clearly outperforms the series available at the time in France, is chosen as the official boat for the French two-person championships in 1943 and 1945.
From the argonaute to the vaurien
While the Herbulot Dinghy is a game changer, transforming an architecture that had barely changed for half a century, and can be seen as a first outline – with more sporty features – of the Vaurien, its audience was still limited (just over 350 units were built, including around 50 by amateurs). The next turning point is in 1943, when the sports commission – where Jean Peytel, a friend and Star crew mate of Jean-Jacques Herbulot, works – commissions the young architect to draw up plans for an introductory dinghy to equip the sailing schools led by Captain Rocq in Socoa, Nantes, Annecy and Sartrouville.
This leads to the Argonaute, a fixed-keel sailboat with a 3.80m hull and 0.60m draught, initially produced by a yard in Castelnaudary, then opened up to amateur builders, with its plans sold at the Le Yacht book store in Paris. While the fleet will barely reach more than 100 units, it will make it possible to train large numbers of people and act as a link between Herbulot and Les Glénans. When the international training center (CFI) is created in 1947 – the first name of the famous CNG sailing school – its founder Philippe Viannay receives around 15 units of the small keel boat and meets Jean-Jacques Herbulot, who is quickly called on to provide after-sales service for a boat that is ultimately poorly suited to the Brittany archipelago’s sailing conditions due to its frequent beaching – whether intended or not. The two men click straight away, and Jean-Jacques Herbulot is asked by the center to design a live-aboard yacht – the Cotre des Glénans, with its first two units launched in 1950 – in addition to “making the impossible possible” by designing an affordable dinghy that is easy to maintain, but lightweight and performs well. This will be the Vaurien, a series that quickly establishes itself, with an interesting name: Vaurien means “rascal” in French and owes more to the name of Philippe Viannay’s dog than its low cost price…
A prototype is built at the end of 1951 in the Viannays’ apartment in Paris, then tested the following summer in Penfret. The Nantes-based yard Aubin – on the banks of the Erdre – then produces the series’ first official unit as requested by Alain Coyaud, who heads up the magazine Les Cahiers du Yachting and wants to exhibit it at the 1952 Paris boat show.
The reasons for success
From its appearance in Paris on the Cahiers du Yachting stand, as well as the demonstrations at the CVP then the Touring Club de France base, in Vaires-sur-Marne, it is an instant hit with the public. The architect negotiated with the Morbihan-based yard Costantini to produce an initial series of 200 boats. By summer 1953, they are all sold, and by spring 1954, the fleet has already doubled in size… We have never seen anything like this before in France, where people were up until now happy when they managed to make around 20 identical hulls! And these strong levels of interest continue with other yards, which will in turn build the Vaurien more or less everywhere (Martin, Besnard, Bonnin, Guindé, Roussineau, Chantiers de Meulan, Craff, Ateliers Maritimes Croisicais, Roussineau, Spair Marine, Bihoré, etc.), as amateur building is not authorized at the time. Today, there are just over 36,000 Vaurien units (including the polyester versions developed from 1964).
The key factor behind this success is the innovative approach of Jean-Jacques Herbulot, who successfully capitalizes on a material that is not yet well-known – plywood – creating a rapid mold assembly process. His attention to detail and cost efficiency does the rest: he successfully optimizes the use of the slightest offcuts, so that the entire building process takes just three boards. He is also able to convince Eugène Le Rose, head of the famous sail maker in Concarneau, to adapt his traditional methods to produce hundreds of identical sets of sails in record time. The result is a sailing dinghy available for 55,000 old French francs – the equivalent of 1,300 euros today – which is three to four times less than its competitors at the time! Combined with this economic argument is its simplicity of use, with its lightweight design (able to be transported on a car roof, easy to handle on the beach, etc.), and its attractive performance levels.
The momentum generated around this series is also important, from word-of-mouth with Les Glénans to the support of Cahiers du Yachting, the presence from the first year of a motivated owners’ association – AS Vaurien – and even the original communications rolled out, including the iconic promotional posters from the illustrator André Collot.
Growing numbers of series
Following this rapid start by the Vaurien – the first French boat classed as an “international series” by the International Yacht Racing Union – our recreational boating landscape sees a lot of changes. Firstly, thanks to the influx of practitioners attracted by this more accessible and affordable dinghy. As well as the arrival of new players on this market, such as CIDEVYV (Compagnie de Développement du Yachting à Voile), set up in the mid-1950s by Jacques Derkenne, who will play a major role in this rapid development, awarding the construction licenses and managing the distribution of the boats designed by Jean-Jacques Herbulot (starting off of course with the Corsaire, which brings fresh momentum to the live-aboard sailing segment when it first appears in 1954).
This boosts all production, illustrated by the large number of series that appear during this decade. Some competing directly with the Vaurien, such as Maurice Amiet’s Simplet, Eugène Cornu’s Mousse and the P’tit Gars from Costantini, who quickly launches his own model just after receiving his order… Others with sportier features, such as the prestigious 505, created in 1954 following the meeting between the British architect John Westell and the Caneton owners’ association, with Westell agreeing to adapt his high-performance Coronet in line with the ASPROCA standards.
The launch of the 420 by Lanaverre in 1958 and the rapid development of polyester laminate construction will once again redefine the landscape…
The Herbulot galaxy
This prolific architect launched nearly 80 models during his career.
Here are some of his most well-known creations: Ambassadeur, Argonaute, As de pique, As de trèfle, Baladin, Beaufort 14, Beaufort 16, Beaufort 18, Boucanier, Brick, Cap Corse, Cap Vert, Caravelle, Cavale, Corsaire, Corvette, Dogre, Empereur, Étendard, Frégate, Figaro, Figaro 6, Flibustier, Galion 13, Galion 16, Gouverneur, Kotick, Lacustre, Liberté, Maraudeur, Midship, Milord, Mirage 722, Mousquetaire, Noroît, Océanix, Pacha, Vaurien…
