The Latitude 46 shipyard in La Rochelle is one of these shipyards whose atypical production is a source of wealth for French water sports. With its deep navy blue hull and varnished mahogany coamings, the Tofinou has become an iconic neo-classical style boat.
It is a concept of a top-of-the-range "day boat", a welcoming cruising yacht, which navigates between tradition and modernity.
An emerging generation
The new Tofinou 9.70 does not replace the Tofinou 9.50 which continues to be produced. It is part of the range and prefigures a new generation of Tofinou style.
From a technical point of view, this day-boat has a more powerful hull. It is wider than the rest of the range, but remains relatively light, which should give a good feeling downwind. However, it remains transportable quite simply thanks to its limited width of 3 m.
The deck layout and in particular the cockpit are designed by Peugeot Design. It consists of a stern bathing area, a helm station and a cockpit that provides safety for the crew.
We spoke with Christian Iscovici who explains this partnership with Peugeot Design and the concept of this boat.
Why use a car designer for a boat, when there are talented designers in the world of nautisme??
In fact, there are not that many designers in the boating industry. There are many more naval architects and engineers. As we did with Philippe Starck a few years ago, we sought an external impetus to get ideas for innovation.
I find that there are many parallels with the automotive world: the position, ergonomics and use are very similar.
And above all, they are used to working on the evolution of the lines in the long term. When you work for 5 or 10 years in the nautical industry, in cars you work with a vision of the lines at 20 or even 30 years.
What did Peugeot Design bring you through exemple??
Peugeot designers have provided us with styling in the ergonomic definition of the bridge.
The tight lines are them, we would probably have made a bridge with a slightly heavier appearance. They offered this yacht an aggressive and modern look while maintaining the classic codes that have made our reputation.
In addition, they used their expertise in reading the monitors to find the optimal position for GPS plotters, for reading angle, handling and protection.
What is the program of this boat?
The Tofinou 9.70 is a high-performance day-boat, and thanks to its bowling options (fixed and payable) it is also versatile.
We worked on the project so that the owner could sail alone. The target clientele of the Tofinou 9.70 is 50 years old and over, it is not always easy to find a crew, so with this boat you should be able to sail alone if the desire is felt.
Architect Michele Molino worked on bar approval and performance to make this day-boat fun. We hope to glide on the high seas between 12 and 15 knots of wind.
A launch in June 2019
The prototype of the Tofinou 9.70 will be launched in June, followed by tests before the owner can slide his beautiful sailboat over the water. We will be able to find this boat on the pontoons of La Rochelle for the Grand Pavois.
According to Christian Iscovici, the starting price for a simply equipped boat (sails and motor) will be around 135,000 ? including VAT and around 200,000 ? for a highly equipped boat (racing sails, lifting keel and carbon mast).
