A passion for beautiful mechanics before wood
With nearly 200 boats built from 3.80 to 13 meters, Franck Roy can be proud of his yard created just 20 years ago. However, it was not in the nautical field that Franck started his career: he began by restoring vintage cars. That gives you a taste for a good job. At the same time, he was fascinated by woodworking and began training as a marine carpenter in Douarnenez. He then joined Sysba Marine in La Rochelle - we owe him the first RM and Sarbacane - then Latitude 46 on the Ile de Ré. For ten years, Franck worked on the Tofinou... before setting up his own site.
Progressive growth
At first he settles in the family garage. The success is there, which encourages the manufacturer to change premises regularly, to save space..
Franck Roy and his team invest in Marans a workshop of 1 000 m2. Well situated on the Nantes-La Rochelle axis, the construction site is the object of numerous spontaneous visits - including stars of the big screen whose names will be kept silent -... which sometimes end with a firm order!
Franck Roy and his team - 6 people - were now able to build their largest 13-metre unit under good conditions in new, even larger premises in Marsilly (1,300 m2 with a 10-metre-long paint booth).
A range from 12 to 42 feet
Today, Franck Roy offers a very wide range, from the small dinghy to the comfortable 42-foot cruiser. Most of the hulls of the sailboats are made of polyester, but the finishes are made of wood and the accommodation is always particularly neat.
In the catalogue, many old monotypes have been updated. Detail review :
- the Nantucket Cat Boat, a traditional 3.74 m long Houari cat-boat is the direct result of a very popular sailing concept from the end of the last century on the east coast of the United States
- the Monotype d'Arcachon, also a cat-boat, born in 1912; the Loup, launched in the same waters in 1929
- the Morgann (5.50 m and 6.80 m), plans signed Jean-Yves Manac'h very elegant before their long arch and their canoe bow
- the Balkis, an American 7-metre ballasted dinghy that will be launched in the next few days, and finally the Solenn series, ranging from 23 to 42 feet.
- In 2016, the yard launched an 18-foot scow, the hull of which was significantly altered the following year for better performance in light winds.
- The flag ship of the yard is thus the Solenn 42. This Mortain/Mavrikios strip planking plan took its first steps in spring 2017.
- Among the projects, a 37 could see the light of day in the Solenn range... A smaller cat-boat and a larger model should follow..
Very close to its customers
If Franck has always been driven by a concern for detail - the quality of finishing of his boats testifies to this -, he establishes a very strong relationship with his customers. For him, trust and respect for words are not empty words. And the owners give it back to him. Some are on their third boat, even fourth for two of them!
Franck is also involved in the restoration and customization of many boats, whatever their initial state. The same care for the sailboats that their owners entrust every year to the yard for maintenance and guarding
Loyal to its suppliers
Faithful to its suppliers and architects - Manac'h, Mortain, Mavrikios, Chabaud, Plessis and Dilasser - Franck Roy has been able to imagine and build yachts different from those proposed by the major general builders. Happy birthday to the CNFR!
