Editorial and Article praising the simplicity and performance of the Goat Island Skiff in “Le Chasse-Marée” magazine this month – France’s premier traditional and wooden boat magazine.
I have translated the editorial into English as much as I dare – below.
Article Outline of the Goat Island Skiff
I knew the article was on the way and there were photos of the Goat Island Skiffs in France and the Netherlands. I’m not quite sure if I like the bowsprits for flying a light weather jib, but the owners are happy with the arrangement. The light wind performance of the goat is already excellent.
But the enthusiasm and excitement of the GIS builders comes through in both the article and the editorial (below)
Translation of the Editorial from Le Chasse-Marée – Praise for simple effective boats.
In Praise of Making it Simple
Translation (Approximate):
MAKE SIMPLE
“The Goat Island Skiff seems all in brutal simplicity”, writes Emmanuel Conrath in the text he devotes to it (see page 76). Yet this boat has filled his builder.
Once his article curled, Emmanuel left for a sailing-rowing weekend in the Gulf of Morbihan.
On his return, he was jubilant: “As a couple, we carried all the foreshores by 15 to 25 knots of wind, which allowed us to make some big-wave edges at 15 knots in the easy planing.”
The Goat Island Skiff , like the catamaran designed by Jean-David Benamou (CM 307) or the dinghies of Gilles Montaubin (CM 188), participate in a renewal of sailing-rowing, a family too long confined to boats rather heavy and very typical “type”, that did not reveal the full potential of this practice.
In this vein, moreover we see more and more “one-off”, unique constructions on original plans, which illustrate the growing interest for this light practice. Ideas fuse, projects appear every day or almost, as we discover especially on social networks. That’s excellent news.
However, when we look more closely, often there is also the “false good idea” that leads to the inadequacy of the support. Hulls too narrow or freeboard too weak to claim to sail on open water; lacking so much stability of form, or even initial stability, it is difficult to imagine a serene navigation on board; rigs too divided, so complex that we fear the moment when it will reduce or bring …
Often, to remedy a problem, we create another, we add side floats to a poorly designed hull, or that we install ballasts … In this bad spiral, lightness gives way to weight and clutter, enemies of simple pleasure, even performance.
It is often said that the smaller a boat is, the harder it is to conceive. Simplicity and efficiency are the result of a long reflection nourished by a diligent practice. As Emmanuel Conrath put it: “Whether it’s Michael Storer’s plans or John Harris’s plans, it looks like the architect has examined each of the rooms one by one to keep only the essentials. both superfluous and redrawing to simplify it further.
■ Gwendal Jaffry
