"I found the CNC kit to be close to perfection. After the initial trepidation being a first-time builder, the kit provided a sense of comfort knowing that human-introduced error would be minimal."
LOA 19'2" Beam 7'0"
Sail Area 218 SF Gaff Sloop
Glued Lapstrake construction (5 strakes per side)
More Information About Beniguet
LOA 14'6" Beam 5'7" Sail 154 Sq. ft. gaff sloop Weight 550lbs
The First Beg-Mail Pepito!
Beg-meil is a stunning small dayboat or a big sailing dinghy, if you will. Notice the elegant deck line that works so well, visually, with the sheer and profile. We are big fans of this boat and hope to have one built to bring to shows sooner than later. One is under construction in Montana by our customer Gary Davis and they should be sailing by next summer. Beg-meil has a centerboard that provides a great deal of stability to this sailboat making her feel more seaworthy and stable than one might find possible in a 14 1/2 footer. The deck, flotation, and ample freeboard make excursions out of the harbor easy and safe. She has a good amount of sail area for her size and would provide very fast sailing for those just looking for pure fun. When the wind dies or you get to the ramp and the wind is further out, she can be rowed by one person (oars cleverly stow well out of the way). Did I mention we want one for oursleves? This is a wonderful boat and will be well detailed in the 2010 Wooden Boat edition of Small Boats Magazine.
Download a PDF on Beg-meil
Ebihen 15/16
LOA 14'11" OR 15'10" Beam 6'1" Sail 167 Sq. ft.(lug) Weight 1100lbs (clinker)
Ebihen clinker ply-built with Gaff sloop rig
Ebihen strip-built with lug rig
Ebihen is a day boat in a ship's body. She is supremely seaworthy and safe and beautiful to say the least. Many options exist for the Ebihen. It can be built at 15 or 16' (we feel she'll be a better boat at 16') and it can be built strip-plank or plywood glued lapstrake (clinker). She can be rigged as a lug, gaff sloop, or "bourcet-malet lug" with mizzen. A flambart rig, two lugs, will be available in early 2011. The Ebihen owes some of its stability and seaworthiness to it's heavier built hull, but the water ballast system -- a simple tank that is filled and emptied via a hand turned valve -- provides greater stability at sea while still keeping the boat trailerable by ordinary car. An outboard is handy in a well aft next to the comfortable helmsman seats typical of many of Francois's boats. A customer is building his Ebihen 16 with the lug-yawl rig here in Maine and should be sailing by summer 2011.
Download PDF of Ebihen
Ebihen 18
LOA 18'2" Beam 6'11" Sail 258-300 Sq. ft. Weight 1830lbs
Ebihen 18 is a big, deep dayboat that provides more capacity and greater seaworthiness than the Ebihen 16 while still being a trailerable boat. Above 18-20 feet, a boat loses it's trailerability. The E18 carries a spread of canvas and can accomodate a crew of 4-6 and keep them busy, too. The available rigs are: gaff-cutter and flambart (two lugs) but others can be made to fit. The boat has water ballast, a steel centerboard, and also lead in the keel. Add the deck and you have a vessel that can easily venture into open water with an able crew. An outboard hides in a covered motor well aft.
Download PDF of the Ebihen 18
Stir Ven
LOA 22'1" Beam 7'3" Sail 278 Sq. ft. gaff sloop Weight 1896lbs
Download Stir Ven PDF
Méaban
LOA 22' 5" Beam 7'6" Sail Area 301 Sq. Ft. high peaked gaff sloop
"Meaban is a trailerable classic cruiser, with accommodation for 3 or 4. The centerboard is designed in order to pivot under the cockpit sole, avoiding a cumbersome centerboard case in the middle of the cabin. This allows both a large cockpit for day cruising as well as minimum but very practical accommodations with a small galley, many lockers, a toilet between fore berths, a sliding chart table and a foldable dinner table. A well for the outboard engine is built aft of cockpit, with the motor handle at helmsman reach. The propeller is just ahead of rudder for good manoeuvrability. A 4 strokes - 4 to 6 HP - motor may be installed and is completely hidden under the aft deck. The cockpit is self-draining for safety. To be trailerable, the boat needs to be light, keeping a minimum ballast for stability. That why Meaban is built on an "egg box" structure, with longitudinal and transverse bulkheads made of 10 mm marine grade plywood. The bottom planking is a developed plywood panel. The side planking is cold molded with 4 mm vertical strips of plywood over longitudinal stringers. The planking is lightly sheathed. Alternatively, Meaban may be strip planked. Meaban is proposed with a gaff sloop rig but a Marconi rig is also possible if preferred." (from http://www.vivierboats.com/html/stock_classic.html#meaban).
The mast is stepped in a tabernacle, a perfect place to use a strong, lightweight Birdsmouth mast. We also can supply 2-piece laminated spars for your rig. Contact us to learn about our masts and spars or visit the webpage.
Pen-Hir
LOA 24'9" Beam 8' 3" Draft 3' 10" Sail Area 364 Sq. Ft. high peaked gaff sloop
I watched carefully the development and launch of the project as this boat counts to my eye as one of the prettiest ever drawn. We hope very much to cut a kit and build one for ourselves. She is a powerful small yacht that seems to be a culmination of Vivier's approach using CAD-CAM design oriented towards full CNC-machining of much of the boat. The bottom is developed plywood and topsides are made of laminated plywood and epoxy but can also be stripped. A fascinating screen-capture sequence of the building process can be seen on the designers webpage for Pen Hir.
Download Pen-Hir Drawings