Yanmar & DubourDieu Courrèges What a team! The new Yanmar 8LV370 Z engine

and joystick on the Dubourdieu Picnic Sport

styled by Courreges

A historic first, a Yanmar joystick on a French boat!

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Dubourdieu’s new Picnic Sport styled by

Courrèges. The fashion-house was responsible for

the hull’s decoration, upholstery, furniture and

choice of materials.

Courrèges and the Dubourdieu yard have joined forces to build White ocean, a stylish new-look Picnic sport under the label of the famous fashion house. neptune reports on the launch. Text by Michel Luizet - Photos Jean Vacheron and writer

Dubourdieu Picnic Sport

Pooled talentJacques Bungert and Frédéric Tortoling, the bosses at Courrèges. Emmanuel Martin (centre photo), boss at the Dubourdieu yard.

The three entrepreneurs had fun co-designing White Ocean.

Test Dubourdieu White ocean

Take the sixties iconic de-signer Courrèges, and take Dubourdieu, the last French yard to build using only wood. At first glance, the brands seem unlikely bedfellows. At

first glance only. If you look clo-ser, you will see they have much in common. They both share values of excellence and skills that are 100 % French. The first puts to-gether most of its collection at its fief of Pau. The second, labelled « living heritage company » (EPV), has for the last two centuries been at Gujan-Mestras, in the Arca-chon basin. The two separate fa-mily-owned companies were both taken over by totally outsider en-trepreneurs. In 2000, Jean-Pierre Dubourdieu handed over his yard to Emmanuel Martin, who had come from the world of wines. Courrèges was taken over in 2011 by the former heads of Young & Rubicam France, Jacques Bungert and Frédéric Tortoling, with the blessing of founders André and Coqueline Courrèges.

Design and materials A childhood memory lay behind the coming together of the two brands. Emmanuel Martin had vivid recollections of the famous 1974 Matra Simca Bagheera, to-tally styled by Courrèges. Cars to boats, this was an easy transition that the fashion house could easily make, he thought - the idea grew on him. The head of Dubourdieu contacted the two entrepreneus, whose career paths were not so different from his own. They got on famously, and nine months la-ter everyone assembled outside the Dubourdieu yard in Larros for the launching of White Ocean. The boat’s name of course comes from the iconic « Courrèges white», emblem of the fashion house. The main colour of the boat though is an attractive pale grey that sits elegantly with the white upholstery initialed Cour-règes and the raw teek fixtures and fittings. There had been meetings in Paris when the different tasks

Taking over a family-owned boatyard known for its wooden hulls was a clear challenge, especially at a time when 100% artisanal boats were not given their proper value. When Emmanuel Martin approached Dubourdieu in the early 2000s, Gujan-Mestras’s small company was one of the last pinasse or fishing-smack builders in the Arcachon basin and was not of great interest to anyone any more. Owner Jean-Pierre Dubourdieu, 74 years old, was a direct descendant of the 19th century founder, and was the last retainer of the culture and expertise of that venerable company. He had a wide experiencce but the misfortune to have no heir. Time was against him. Handing over the helm was slow and at times difficult for this was an asset that had been in the family for almost two centuries. Jean-Pierre Dubourdieu had nevertheless looked forwards when in 1980 he imagined a pinasse he christened «Classic Express» with a fast hull that can be seen in the film «Les Petits Mouchoirs» by Guillaume Canet (2010). Emmanuel Martin would continue in this direction with Picnic Sport in 2005, keeping the structure of the traditional pinasse.

Inset…

The Courrèges touch can be seen in the distinctly geometric design of sofas as well as in the choice of tables in ribbed plexiglass.

The work of Bordeaux architect Vincent Duchâtelet, the Picnic Sport stands out with it stunning line, giving it unequalled elegance.

The managers of Dubourdieu,

Béatrice and Emmanuel

Martin. The Courrèges

owners on either side of

artistic director Julien Gaubert.

The launch took place less than

100 m from the boatyard,

from the incli-ned plane at

the port of Larros, Gujan-

Mestras.

Dubourdieu yard: from the pinasse to Picnic Sport

In the workshop, two Express Cabins being built. Dubourdieu’s annual output is limited to ten boats.

t

The Matra Bagheera styled by Courrèges came out in 1974. Today it is a much sought-after collector’s car.

Test Dubourdieu White ocean

were defined and allotted. Artistic director Julien Gaubert, in charge of graphic design and bridge ca-sing, thought up transparent table tops in thick plexiglass, on a co-lumn of mirror polish stainless steel. Courrèges designed the Sil-vertex cushions, covered the galley furniture and worktops with white Kerrock, a synthetic resin in the spirit of Courrèges. The fashion house wanted a natural treatment of the wood to show off the precision of the carpentry. In designing White Ocean, Dubour-dieu used its Picnic Sport launched in 2005 as a blueprint. Neptune readers will know that we are total fans of this finest of models - it also exists in a bridged version by Bordeaux naval architect Vincent Duchâtelet (Neptune n°125 and 211). The Picnic has proved its

t worth and is now the darling of the Basin’s Happy Few.The deck layout includes a cockpit-salon, not so far removed from the fa-mous « bathtub » in the leisure pinasses or sailing smacks in the 60s and 70s. The design of the hard-top and some of the aesthetic features are unabashedly taken from the old days.

A rare and precious boatFor example the integrated ladder on the starboard of the bow is for beaching the boat on a sandbank, a favourite practice in the Arca-chon basin. The Picnic Sport is a rare and precious boat. The way it is constructed means that each model is unique, touching on arti-sanal. It is difficult to imagine that

below the thick layers of epoxy re-sin the hull, the deck and supers-tructures are all made of solid wood - sapele, teek, okoumé and mahogany. There are no moulds at Dubourdieu, only raw wood balls. A simple line on the ground is all that is needed for the assem-bly to begin. From start to finish, the superintendant oversees four carpenters, two joiners, one lami-nator and two apprentices. Nine months of labour per boat. The yard can build up to seven models a year, but that is a maximum. The White Ocean slips through the water superbly. You will feel it as soon as the Yanmar 370 hp die-sel engine starts up. It is one of the very first times that this new en-gine, with Z connectors, is used in France. The Yanmar is much ligh-ter than the D6 Volvo (220 kg less t

Test Dubourdieu White ocean

In this version, the double panes

between the wheelhouse and the bowrider are

in solid glass.

Fitted out for the first time with a pair of 370 hp

Yanmar engines, Picnic Sport can reach 38 knots, a little less than with D6

Volvo engines.

per motor!), a little less torquey as there is no compressor, but the consumer will be happy with lower fuel consumption and a more reasonable purchase price. At top speed and full load, White Ocean approaches 38 knots. The Yanmar joystick comes into its own when docking, switching smoothly from forwards to backwards. The boat is perfectly stable, classed in D category, and authorized to carry up to 16 people. That is to say two or three families going for a pinic out on the Arguin sandbank. The deck layout is unrivalled, with a double area to sunbathe on the deck, space to sit around double tables in plexiglass and a surround of so-fas. The port side space in front of the windscreen has toilets below. The sink, Nespresso coffee ma-chine, etc are tucked away under the Kerrock work surface. The table and glassware, all carrying the «White Ocean» logo, hide

away in dedicated space. This ves-sel is not a publicity stunt - White Ocean styled by Courrèges should soon be available in a limited se-ries. For the time being, the first model, entirely financed by Du-bourdieu, is destined to be a luxu-ry charter boat. The builder will lease out the boat from Arcachon for day trips with top-notch ser-vices and a captain at the helm. But this summer, White Ocean has been leased by a leisure sailor from the Var, and will be exhibited at the Cannes Yacht Festival in September. You will fall for it, you have been warned! n

tCHARACTERISTICS

Hull length 11,97 m / 13,40 m Width 3,64 m Draught 0,70 m Weight 8 t Transmission Z-drive maximum power 2 x 400 hp Hull Solid sapele and marine plywood superstructure Soli teekFuel 1 000 l Water 215 lWC yes berths - Ce Category B/6, C/10, D/16 pers.

nEpTunE TESTYanmar 8LV370 Z - 2 x 370 hp @ 3 800 rpm8 cylinders in V - 4,46 l - Joystick JC10

Capacity (rpm)

Speed (knots)

Cons.(l/h)

Performance (l/mille)

Autonomy*(milles)

2 500 20 62 3,1 2603 000 26 84 3,2 2503 500 34 120 3,5 2303 800 38,1 140 3,7 220

* With 20% in reserveConditions of test : 3 persons aboard, calm sea, wind force 2, 40% fuel.

pRICEOn application

ConTACTYard Dubourdieu (Gujan-Mestras, 33)Contact www.dubourdieu.fr

The transparents plexiglass tables can be adjusted for sunbathing fore and aft. Note the elegant structure in raw teek.

The Japanese Yanmar blocks are in alumi-nium. They are much lighter than the Swedish alternatives in cast iron.

The fashion-house used its icononic

colours : pale grey and Courrèges’ white.

Test Dubourdieu White ocean