Power boats. 20' to 25'. La Panoplie.

pan-o-ply.

1) a complete or impressive collection of things.

Well, let's see in terms of small powerboats from 20' to 25'.
They are different, but they have one thing in common: Aluminum. Over the years, I have come to appreciate the material, and on a one-off basis, probably the ideal medium.

The Lafitte 20. With a beam of 6'. Of a type quite common in the South and particularly in Louisiana. Strong, rugged, and stable.

Keel, Keel and Keels.

MiG-36

- There are as many sailboat keel designs as there are boats. For a keel, the objective is to offer a lateral plan to counteract the wind pressure on the sails by presenting a form below the waterline to help prevent sailing sideways. The keel produces the hydrofoil action, influences handling and steering, and offers a location for ballast. But why so many options? If our concern is towards relatively small sailboats, we can attribute the evolution to going from workboats to cruising boats and onto racing.

- Note: Also on the Blog.

Swing keel; Centerboard. 

- From immemorial time, the keels were long and adapted to the type of boats, commercial activities, conquest, but mostly for building considerations. The possibility of being launched from the beach, deep-sea fishing, and private enterprises all show that feature, which offers directional stability and the ability to hove-to, all included in the logical thinking of the time. They did not get involved, but superficially into the elements of keel action to resist the drift force.

- Colin Archer's  Norwegian Rescue boats, showing the underwater profile of a long keel.

Frigate

Another Half Hull from Demi-Coques, aka Chorus1, this time about the 1973 Admiral's Cup Frigate. Designed by Carter Offshore, the 39' in that event was the leading boat for the English team.

Taste of winter in Newport.

To say the least we have seen a lot of snow over the past 3-4 weeks. A few pictures are worth a thousand words.

Une vie bien remplie. 1922-2014.

- It has been 12 years now since my mother passed away. We all miss her very much, Chauncey, my son, Dominique, my daughter, and, for sure, myself, along with so many friends on both sides of the Atlantic. The following is what I wrote at the funeral in the South of France, in the city of Grasse.

12 February 2014.

- Mesdames et Messieurs. Ladies and Gentlemen.

- Je vous remercie beaucoup d'être venus, en grand nombre, ici pour assister au départ final d'une vie bien remplie. Mme Jacqueline Le Liepvre, du nom de son deuxième époux, était une femme qui n'est pas passée inaperçue et qui comptait beaucoup d'amis de par le monde. Je suis ici pour en attester. Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas toute l'histoire, je vais essayer de donner un compte rendu rapide d'une longue vie de 92 ans.
Né en Belgique, j'ai connu ses parents, mes grands-parents, qui étaient comme on dit des gens très bien. L'un aussi différent de l'autre mais unis dans un amour sincère, ils ont élevé deux enfants, ma mère mais aussi mon oncle Yves ici présent avec son épouse et ma cousine Florence. L'enfance de ma mère était plutôt dorée. En partie grâce à sa grand-mère pour laquelle elle avait une affection sans limite. Avec une jeunesse consacrée à la danse et à des études sans conséquence, rien n'aurait pu prédire à un autre futur que celui d'une jeune femme accomplie bâtie sur son rôle de jeune fille de bonne famille.

You want to have a leg up on the cold?

- Buy "Belle Ile". A 1995 steel, 33' M.B.C.C model. (Modern British Channel Cutter). Presently located in the Canary Islands. She can take you to the Caribbean, where I understand it is warm now! There is still time before the hurricane season. I am waiting for more information, in the meantime I can tell you that the asking price is 63K Euros.

- Belle Ile Video.
- I have just received more pictures of the boat.

- I designed Belle-Ile to recreate differently the nostalgic era of the Norwegian Rescue Fleet so well rendered by Colin Archer and so many others. The type of boats that shaped my life at an early age. I was enamored by Jacques-Yves Le Toumelin's  Kurun and the account of his voyage around the world. I must have been 12 years old at the time and in Boarding School. Not fun. When I got the book, I just could not separate myself from reading it again and again. To such an extent that I stole it from the School Library and it is still in my possession.

Have you seen me ?

- Well, it has been 42 years since that picture was taken. Now, it is common to see large boats, Imoca, VOR, Maxis, leaping out of the water like scalding cats. Sure, the 128' x 69,000Lbs., probably the lightest fiberglass structure for a monohull, does not compare in size and purpose to the others. She was designed for Jean-Yves Terlain for the 1972 single-handed Transatlantic race.