The WHY is a schooner ordered and built by an owner 30 years ago. It was this man who named her WHY, a name that has never changed during the life of the boat.
This character commissioned the WHY from naval architect Jean-Pierre Brouns: " He was a man who had done well in life and wanted a boat for his future home. A big sailboat so he could have people on board. Construction began 30 years ago. This owner had it built by a shipyard in Brittany by taking part in the construction. He liked the work well done and well finished. But alas, the construction took much longer than expected and health problems forced him to part with it before trying it out.
It is a traditional construction made of thin aluminium - thick aluminium did not appear until a few years later. The hull has multiple chines with a shaped worked stern.
It is an integral dinghy with a keel embryo and a pivoting centreboard. The WHY is therefore well built, solid, but not oversized. Although at the time, we tended to apply the adage "Too strong never fails" and not hesitate to add material.
Its owner wanted a sail plan that was easy to manoeuvre. He was a small man in stature who was not looking for physical challenges. Although I preferred the better performing sloop rig at the time, he chose the schooner rig to split the sail plan. So I designed him this system with 2 large furling genoas. "
Finally put up for auction, it was a couple who then bought the ship with the project of a great voyage. The WHY received her rigging and preparation for this purpose. However, they had financial worries and were finally unable to leave. The boat was stored on a dock in Pornic for 10 years without ever seeing the water.
It was here that Emmanuelle and Ghislain Bardout, with their project Under The Pole II, were warned of the presence of this boat. They visited it, liked it and bought it. At the time of purchase, the boat had never sailed! It was brand new, the woods were protected with plastic..
Even though the couple had received Roland Jourdain's endorsement for the choice of boat, there were still a lot of questions surrounding the WHY: is it a good boat? How does it react? Is he a good sailor?.
Ghislain contacted the architect Jean-Pierre Brouns to find out what he thought of it : " For me, due to its careful construction, the WHY could encounter bad weather and ice blocks. On the other hand, I had my doubts about getting caught by the ice pack. Indeed, I think that a round hull, without any appendages is more suitable for this kind of exercise. The embryo keel and the saffron of the WHY do not retract. Caught in the ice, the boat can't get stuck. It was cheeky to spend the winter like that.
Also, in hindsight, I saw pictures of the ship with tons of ice on deck. This is a dinghy. With little weight at the bottom, this excess weight at the top changes the righting torque. Sailing this way is still risky. "
But obviously the WHY is well born and the third life offered to him today with Under The Pole undoubtedly compensates for this long first stationary period on the quay ..
Features
Integral aluminium centerboarder
Architect: Jean-Pierre Brouns
Length HT: 19.50 m
Width: 5.50 m
Draft: 1.30 - 4.00 m
Weight: 40 t
Air draught: 20 m
Sail area: 253 m2
Engine: 2 x 65 hp
Water tank: 1000 l
Diesel tank: 2000 l
Moorings: 2 x 100 m
Capacity: 12 people in 5 cabins
