Maritime, aeronautical and automotive technologies in a semi-rigid
A semi-rigid vehicle with its own trailer, this is what Wettoncraft has just developed. A project led by Éric Divry - creator of the company - and Vincent Le Bailly - naval architect. The first is a seasoned yachtsman - an engineer by training - and a car enthusiast who deplores an implementation that is too difficult to navigate often and easily. Used to sailing in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, he is often confronted with towing logistics (storage, launching and outflow). He then decided in collaboration with Vincent Lebailly - to whom we owe the recent Open60AAL, a 60-foot proto made of volcanic rock fibre - to design the first boat in the world to integrate a fully retractable road trailer.
The Wetton 56 - 5.50 m at sea and 6 m on the road - combines marine, automotive and aeronautical technologies and took three years of research and development to develop. A first prototype - presented in Düsseldorf in January 2018 - validated the concept, but some modifications are to come, such as the integration of bench trunks at the rear that will completely close the cockpit or an increased length of 20 cm. The final version will be presented at the Grand Pavois this fall.
A 100% French boat
The Wetton 56 is entirely made in France. "The aluminium hull is made in Granville by AASM, a shipyard specialising in aluminium boats, the composite deck by Shoreteam in Caen, and the hypalon floats by Zeppelin in Le Mans. We assemble the various elements in our premises in Tourcoing, in the North. We also worked internally on the entire electronic and hydraulic part in collaboration with design offices on certain points" explains Éric Mézières, professional skipper in charge of sales.
