Doris, Doris
Thousands of dories were made in Fécamp, and this small boat is no stranger to the tremendous economic success of cod fishing in the late 19th century. Rediscover through the collections of the Pêcheries, museum of Fécamp, online on Joconde, the collective catalogue of museums of France.
Credits: this content was originally published on the Mona Lisa website. It was established in 2003 by Marie-Hélène Desjardins, retired chief curator of Pêcheries, musée de Fécamp and Mathilde Huet of the French Museum Service. The museum’s records are online on POP, an open heritage platform. The content was updated in November 2022 by Nadège Sébille, conservation attaché, in charge of collections at Pêcheries, Fécamp museum.
Presentation
The dory, a small boat native to North America, was used by the Newfoundlanders during the time of sailing to fish for cod on the Grand Bank of Newfoundland and then as a service boat on trawlers and also in the artisanal fishery.
Thousands have been made in Fécamp and this small boat is no stranger to the tremendous economic success of cod fishing in the late 19th century.
However, by virtue of a paradox well known to ethnologists and historians, it is the most common objects that are ultimately the least preserved and also the least known.
That is why the Musée des Terre-Neuvas et de la pêche de Fécamp, under the leadership of Newfoundland sailors such as the late Michel Desjardins and Paul Cavelier, undertook in the early 2000s a broad study of this boat like no other, from its distant American origins to the renewal of associations of our time.
It featured an exhibition entitled “Doris doris” held in 2002 at the Newfoundland and Labrador Museum of Fisheries and was accompanied by a catalogue and an online exhibition, which are listed below.
The works mentioned can now be seen at the Pêcheries, Fécamp museum, which opened its doors in December 2017.
Discover the Doris on Mona Lisa
Doris fécampois in Newfoundland
Doris fécampois in Newfoundland: its suitability for industrial thinking
On the eve of the arrival of the doris in 1875, the Newfoundland fleet was almost halved from its mid-century figure. The generalization of dories will correspond to a general resumption of fishing.
In 1880, Newfoundlanders brought in more than twice as many cod as four years earlier. But the increase in productivity per fishing unit is not spectacular since, at the same time, the number of vessels departing for Newfoundland has also doubled: they are 18 registered at Fécamp in 1876 against 36 in 1880.
It would seem that the use of dories, more than a rapid increase in yield, corresponds to the emergence of a properly industrial thought that will soon make it possible. In order to understand it, we first have to compare the dories and the longboats that have been used.
Longboats have always been reported as extremely dangerous. To lose a rowboat was not only to lose up to the eight men on board, but it was, therefore, to endanger the cargo and the boat, then led by a half crew. Dories fishing, on the other hand, characterized by the multiplication of small units on board which take place only two men, although it is also terribly dangerous, will have the advantage of never putting the whole crew in difficulty.
The very possibility of the loss of a man is integrated in the logic of production, which is why the relationship between group and individual is redefined in the sense of a greater atomization of the latter.
Doris Fécampois in Newfoundland: Team Spirit
A team of dorissiers consists of couples each composed of a "boss" and a "before" also says "second": “... The good understanding between the two teammates was so important for both fishing performance and safety that they were generally engaged together for the duration of the campaign...” recalls Marcel Ledun (1889-1962). Ten, eleven, twelve or more. There are thirteen pairs of dorissiers on the Leopoldine, the last three-mast Newfoundland, or twenty-six men out of the thirty-five that count the entire crew with the captain, the mate, the chief salter, the radio, the cook, the two novices and the two mosses.
Once arrived at the fishing grounds, the vessel is immobilized and the "wind areas" are drawn by lot: each couple of dorissiers is assigned a portion of the fishing territory whose vessel constitutes the centre and whose periphery is marked, as we shall see, by the set of second buoys of each of the bottom lines.
All the dories have a number, Michel Desjardins, mousse on board the Léopoldine, explains the usefulness: “The numbering of the dories was very important because each doris had to stretch its lines in a specific wind area. For example, on the first day, dories No. 1 would be positioned to the north, doris No. 2 between the north and the north, doris No. 3 between the north and the north, doris No. 4 in the east and so on, all around the vessel, depending on the number of dories. (…) They went around, shifting every day so that the doris wasn’t always in the wrong place. It also had a huge advantage: to spot oneself in the mist when the dories were lost, which happened quite frequently. For example, No. 3 could not find its buoys, but it could find the buoys of No. 4; therefore, relative to them, it knew in which wind area its buoys would normally be located. If there had been a mix of numbers, he would not have been able to spot himself and head in the right direction.”
We have already mentioned, by comparison with the boats, an economy of the risk incurred. The objective of the principle of equitable sharing is to exploit the whole fishing territory as well as to eliminate any risk of conflict between fishermen. Indeed, each couple of dorissiers is forced to accept its lot, the result of the combination of chance (the draw) and a principle that cannot be simpler (each in turn). However, despite the postulated equity, there is a hierarchy among dorissiers. This apparent paradox is, in fact, the dynamic element of the principle of productivity, which ideally nothing limits. In fact, the hierarchy depends on the quantities of fish brought back by each and gives rise to differences in the remuneration and living conditions on board. Captain Michel Desjardins still remembers: “Dorissiers were paid by the cod tail. The daily total of cod caught (was recorded) on a large slate hung at the entrance of the rear station, opposite the number of each dory and the name of the skipper; and each evening he also entered this total on a special notebook. Then, on the weekend, he added up the catch and so on until the end of the campaign. This allowed the men to know if they were among the best dorissiers, in the average, or in the less good. Some performed spectacular recoveries and climbed several places from one week to the next”.
The dories themselves, although by principle all similar, and even because of this similarity, often have the opportunity to differentiate themselves. This is what Michel Desjardins recalls, noting how important it was that the dorizer be able to “rig it to his liking, install the sail, the rudder, the hatches, in his own way. Before the departure, each dory boss was given enough canvas so that he could make a sail that he will install when the wind is good (…) At the dory’s armament everyone painted his number in his own way; sometimes some even called their doris by the name of their wife or daughter, but it was a bit out of order.”
Florence Calame-Levert
Doris fécampois in Newfoundland: the cod fishery aboard doris
On the Banks of Newfoundland, the cod were caught with bottom lines set a few days before the end of the crossing: each crew was given an average of thirty-two pieces of lines measuring one hundred and thirty-three metres, raw lines without anything on them. Afterwards, they were given piles: a pile was put on the line proper, and at the end of the pile the hook. It was necessary to climb on these lines about 70 hooks per piece, which made a total of two thousand to two thousand two hundred hooks per dory.
Once on the fishing grounds, before the actual fishing begins, the bait (or box) that will fill the hooks is caught.
Adolphe Bellet, president of the Fécamp Chamber of Commerce, described its operations precisely in a report entitled The Great Cod Fishery in Newfoundland, which he published in 1901: “The dories that were rigged during the crossing were immediately put into the sea; two men, the skipper and his deck-hand set up there, and equipped with boilers attached to long ropes, which they started with herring brought back from France; They start fishing for bulot, which is done very close to the ship. All the crew took part in this first operation and only the captain and the mosses remained on board. When the harvest is sufficient, the bulots are sent on board and crushed in special mills. We sift them to separate them from the pieces of shells to which they adhere and we begin the hulling of the lines, that is to garnish the hedges with the flesh of these molluscs.” Note that another type of box was also used by Fécampois fishermen: it is the squid that was caught from the side of the boat using special hooks called jigs.
Once the quantity of box deemed sufficient, begins a long period whose days are punctuated by the comings and goings of dories.
The lines are launched in the evening and it is at night that the fish take the bait: “What rocked the men was to know that the lines were wet all around the building. The lines worked by themselves during the night ”. The procedure for launching the lines is repeated every day identically. The couple of dorizers leave the ship and move away from it while facing it: they swim astern. After having travelled a few tens of metres, having taken care to respect their fishing area with the compass, the skipper set the anchor connected to the buoy by the line on which the line itself is also attached, which he would gradually put into the water. Bent over a wooden barrel where the line is coiled, he grabs a part of it and, while straightening, throws it into the sea. Meanwhile, the mate continued to swim until she was fully taut. “It took about two hours to lengthen in good weather, more if the weather was bad,” says Desjardins. Once the line was secured by a second anchor and its location marked by a second buoy, the dorizers made their way to the ship where they would spend the night.
Every morning, the crew members hear the captain’s voice: "Out! To overflow the dories". They moved away from the vessel in the area assigned to them the day before. The mate was forward, the skipper aft. They swim in front of the vessel, pass the first buoy, travel a distance equivalent to that of the long line and finally reach the limits of the fishing territory. The buoy was hoisted on board. The line and anchor were hoisted using the davit. The latter is stuck in the gunwale instead of a tolet, which, as long as the ascent of the line lasts, will have no use. During this operation, the setting of the doris is no longer the result of the dorissiers' action on the oars but the combined efforts of the two men who, together, pull on the lines to recover the cod caught on the hooks. The practical application of this principle also has, ideally, the advantage of giving the doris the right direction.
The cod are thrown into the bottom of the boat and the lines from which the hooks are released are stowed in the wooden baille, as the dory advances and fills. With the anchor and the second buoy on board, he remains at the doris to maintain his course and soon join the ship. Once they had arrived, the dorissiers sent the cod to the deck one by one, with the help of the pikers, under the control of the mate, the salter or often the captain. All the fish on board, they hoist themselves on the deck of the ship to work the fish; but they will become dorizers again before the end of the day.
Florence Calame-Levert
Doris fécampois in Newfoundland: fish, space and time measurements
The Newfoundland Bank dory measures fish caught, as well as space and time. A “dorssée” refers to the day-long fishery, all the cod contained in the dory that will be counted, one by one, and the number of which will be reported on the personal logbook. The dory is the yardstick for cod caught. It is, on the other hand, collectively that they participate in the formation of a fishing territory of which they give the dimension and constitute its unity.
Departures and arrivals of dories, each day repeated identically, are as many temporal landmarks constituting a time thought and lived in the same way by all members of the crew. But, sometimes the rhythm is troubled: a dory is missing...
Florence Calame-Levert
Doris fécampois in Newfoundland: floating tomb or last plank of salvation
A Newfoundland dory had a two-year life expectancy and was in good condition by the end of its first fishing season. Yet, despite these precautions and the principles described above, the local newspapers and the abundant literature devoted to Newfoundlanders report many cases of missing dories. When a dory had not returned to the ship, the crew did not go to look for him: if they had not had a misfortune, the two men still had a chance to find their way once the fog had cleared or to be rescued by another crew.
Opaque mist was the cause of most drifts or accidents and in each dories there was a trunk. It was not so much used to make known the position of the doris, since by principle no one will go after it, as to provoke an answer from anyone who could hear it. Indeed, all the ships were also equipped with it, and when it was put into action, it made it possible to locate it and let itself be guided to it.
In principle, the dory was equipped to become, if necessary, a survival unit: interdepartmental settlements required masters to have a supply of fresh water and cookies placed on dories, which the sailors carried in small rectangular tin boxes.
From the many testimonies, it seems that the reality was far removed from these official directives. This was denounced by the Vice-Consul of France at Saint-Jean de Terre-Neuve in a letter he sent on 18 August 1896 to the commissioner of the Maritime Inscription of Saint-Pierre & Miquelon: “These two men lost in their dories from 24 to 31 July were almost killed in need by the schooner Comrade of Lunebourg. As usual, these men had left the Duke of Granville’s side without taking any statutory provisions. The captain’s negligence is inconceivable as much as it is guilty.” The Americans impose a fine of 500F for each offence of this kind. There were few years when several families were not affected by the death of a father, brother or son: in Fécamp, between 1888 and 1913, fifty-seven dories were declared lost body and property. The proportion of disappearances will not decrease, with dories losses increasing as the Newfoundland fleet grows. Not all the long wanderings in the mist of the banks had a tragic outcome: the testimonies of ancient Newfoundlanders all recount miraculous rescues.
Doris “floating tomb” or “last plank of salvation”? It is probably not appropriate to ask the question in these terms but to open on the terrible words of Abbé Grossetête: “There are even, it seems, professionals of drift: the desire not to work, the hope of being treated well by the crews who collect them, is enough, it is said, for fishermen to expose themselves to the danger of meeting nobody, and die the most atrocious death”.
Popaul, one of the last dories
Although tens of thousands of dories were built in Fécamp, only one authentic specimen remains today. This is «Popaul», doris entered the collections of the museum of Fécamp in 1981, thanks to a gift of Paul Cavelier (1929-1999).
It was built to serve as a multi-purpose vessel aboard the Minerva trawler for the movement of mail and men from one ship to another. It was then painted in “Havre green”, the colour of the La Havraise de Pêche armament to which the Minerva belonged, and provided with a pair of whiskers.
Then moved on to the Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer, this dory was collected in 1964 by Paul Cavelier, who, before anyone else, had understood its heritage value. It was then loaned to serve as a stall in a Parisian fish shop.
Given to the Town of Fécamp on the eve of the opening of the Newfoundland Museum, it was, on this occasion, the object of a rehabilitation at the Moré Shipyards of Fécamp. The objective of the intervention was not to allow it to navigate again, but to replace only the elements necessary to maintain it, to preserve as much as possible the authentic character of this boat which is the oldest doris preserved in the French public collections.
Now a museum object, it presents the generic type of doris of the benches: indeed, at the time of its construction, they are still manufactured as at the beginning of the century. It also shows us how good the doris was to do everything: it remained the same as its sponsor intended it for fishing, service or pleasure. Today, we like to call him Popaul, the nickname of his donor.
Marie-Hélène Desjardins, Retired Chief Curator
"... Dories differed somewhat according to the regions where they were built but, except for Portuguese, their dimensions were the same: 6 meters long overall and 1.65 meters wide without frames...
In France, and in Fécamp in particular, they built with Northern woods of standardized dimensions. I saw a few dories brought back from Canada that sometimes had much wider borders than ours..."
Jean Clément (1928-2022), former shipwright
The construction of the doris in Fécamp
Doris construction in Fécamp: before the Second World War
Jean Clément (1928-2022), a former shipwright, explained in 2003:
"... I have never seen plans of Newfoundland dories in the yards but there were templates for each piece. However, non-standard dories, with engines or special arrangements, were made from plans.
The sole was made from 8 x 23 cm fir planks that were split into three equal-thickness planks. The dimensions of the sole were 465 cm long, 90 cm wide in the middle and 2.5 cm thick; the commercial dimension of the plank was 467 cm x 23 cm x 8 cm: four planks were sufficient to form the sole and there was no loss of wood.
For the curbs, it was the same: there are three curbs on each side in addition to the curb. The width of the planks was reduced to 21 cm, the drop of two centimetres of thickness was used to make the lists (7,5 cm x 1,6 cm) 4 boards of equal thickness were cut which gave after planing 16 mm of thickness.
The front and rear trim of the dory appeared to be well studied because each plank length corresponded to the standard commercial lengths that increased from foot to foot (33 cm) so the first plank above the plank was 5.67 m the second 6 m , the third 6 m, and33 m there was only a few centimetres of loss in length at each planking.
The parts forming the frame of the dory: stem, frames, transom, sole rods, gunwales, etc., were generally elm, impact-resistant wood and not very fragile. The planks, on the other hand, were made of Northern white fir and poplar (soft wood which resisted well to the impact of the boots and imposed by the Veritas office).
The construction was done in series: by 6 or by 12 depending on the demands or the workbook of the yard (they could be done in advance) sometimes in greater number when the yard obtained a large order from one or more shipowners of Newfoundland. The construction began as follows: for each structural piece there was a jig, the boatman drew the pieces and the sawyer cut and planed them to the desired thickness and then all these pieces were taken to the assembly shop for finishing.
The frames were erected on the slats with the varlope and the plane and the extensions and floors were assembled in an assembly mould that gave the proper angle to each frame. Stretches and floors were connected by 2 galvanized sheets of sheet 12 cm x 8 cm and held by 6 6 round iron rivets with 6 mm heads; the ends of the sheets were folded on the edge of the frames and fixed by 2 25 mm tips.
The sole consisted of four 23 cm x 2.5 cm thick fir planks (2 4.67 m and 2 3.67 m long) that were cut into 23 cm x 8 cm planks. Only the inner side was planed; the planks were assembled with clampsseams, the sole gauge was displayed on top and the contour and location of the frames and the sole rods were plotted. The 37 mm x 27 mm elm base rods were secured by 55 mm (4 per board) galvanized spikes, and the contour was then cut on the sewer giving the approximate angle of the frame.
The frames were mounted on the sole in the same way as the rods, then the angle of the sole with the frames was ground to the plane.
These operations were done in series, called spider assembly because the sole and its 6 double members vaguely gave the appearance of a giant spider. The planks were then shaped: the edges were straightened with varlope and the edges of the leaves were shaped. The edge of the planks was reduced by half its thickness, bevelled over 35 millimetres of width (width of the clin), this width was drawn, the plane roughed and the 'flat plane plane plane plane plane plane plane was finished with a special tool, it was called pushing the platforms.strips, then we made the 'epaulettes', that is, we reduced the clings at each end of the planking gradually over 40 cm long to achieve a perfect sealing of the clines in carrying the stem and the board.
Once this work was done, the planks were placed on the shelves on the starboard and port sides in the order in which they were to be placed, and the planking that was to be taken during construction was not to be sought.
All this work was carried out by a team of two men and one moss: “the canoeists”. The shaping of the other parts of the dories: stem, board and its curve, culton, bench greenhouses, etc being carried out at the workings of the two canoe-makers the foam during this time prepared the straps of connection of the plate edges, split the cotton to be caulked, rounded the tolets, Worked on the fake limbs.
After all these preparations had finally come «the assembly», we took a spider on the pile where they were stored, in a corner of the workshop, we fixed the bow and the painting then we put the whole on the site: a curved structure fixed to the floor, which gave the sole its arched shape once it was buttoned. The transom and bow were held by wooden arms bolted into the frame that was lifted and held by a piece of rope when the doris was completed and then the plumb was quickly checked with a level. Then 25 mm spikes were pricked on the bows of the stem and the transom, opposite the frames and sole rods for the sole. The foam extended the split cotton by making a half turn at each point which was then pressed; this method ensured the sealing of the galbord and the planks at the carrying of the bow and the transom.
The planking was then laid, first the curve which was nailed on the sole with 70 mm (about 1 every 8 cm) spikes and by 50 mm square diamond-headed nails in the stem and the board. The first 2 planks were then attached to the frames by a nail in the clin.
The canoeists drilled the holes that received the rivets in a staggered manner (9 between each frame) and the foam pushed the nails. These two winks were then riveted, one man on each side, holding with one hand the pile, a piece of round iron of about 2 kg, on the head of the nail and by flapping down with a small hammer with a round touch the rod of the nail by forming a small hook that entered the wood. These two strokes were first riveted before the third planking was laid, because the lower strokes could not have been reached, the arms were too short, it would have taken two to rivet, one inside the dory the other holding the pile outside, thus a waste of time. The third plank was then installed and fixed like the previous planks. When laying the planks, before nailing them, the hinges were adjusted and maintained with wooden clamps called 'couches', they were made of two pieces of wood, 50 cm long and 7 cm wide and 5 cm thick, connected to each other by a bolt one third of the length, the clamping was done by inserting a wooden corner into the upper part.
At last came the laying of the gunwales, top of gunwales, shoals, false limbs, culton and chest, these two pieces of hardwood which were fixed on the transom and on the stem and which were drilled with two 32 mm holes which served to fix the mooring dents, false stem and binding straps of the stem, transom, and rib heads and in the final the two lists. Then the holes of the plates were drilled through the flat edge four times two 20 mm holes of each edge 45 cm from the axis of the benches.
For boaters the dory was finished, it was taken out into the yard where a carpenter finished the rest: flushing of the galbries, caulking of the sole joints, adjustment of the benches. All these operations were done by hand, with hand tools without any portable machine. Before the Second World War Georges Argentin had obtained a large order for dories for Saint-Malo, part of which he ceded to Belfort Fiquet. At that time, the canoe team of one adult and two 19-year-old men (a well-trained and well-trained team) took 4 hours to ride a dory with 12-hour days and sometimes vigils… Another team went up to the vigil at about the same time but with an extra man..."
Doris construction in Fécamp: during the war
Jean Clément (1928-2022), a former shipwright, explained in 2003:
"... When I entered the Argentine shipyards in February 1943, I was assigned to canoeing as a moss. A series of dories was then built, some fifteen, for shipowners and craftsmen who, for want of anything better, outfitted rowing dories to catch mussels, bulots and some fish and crustaceans.
The requisition of the boats, the lack of fuel and the regulation of the exits, imposed by the occupant, reduced them to take over this small profession, it was necessary to live well!
The shortage of northern fir forced us to build these poplar dories, which increased their weight, especially since the wood was not very dry.
The yield had also changed, and the crew consisted of a worker, an 18-year-old, and a rookie moss only released one dory a day.
The customers also asked for additional facilities, a trunk in the back to pick up the equipment called 'culton', sometimes also a chest in the front, stranding rods on the sole, top of the plate to protect the dish-edge of wear at the carriage of oars, of a rudder that they put in place when they set sail, And sometimes they would also put in stability beads. They were large, 15 cm diameter, canvas socks filled with cork granules that were fixed with canvas legs under the liston..."
Doris construction in Fécamp: after the Second World War
Jean Clément (1928-2022), a former shipwright, explained in 2003:
"... After the war, the construction of the Newfoundland dory slowed down significantly. It was mainly used on trawlers as a service boat, and that’s when we started building plywood dories, saving a little time on construction, they were a little more resistant to shocks and the planks did not crack under the action of frost, they repaired more easily but were perhaps a little more fickle.
However, they were still being built for coastal artisans, especially upstream, Saint-Pierre-en-Port, Saint-Valéry and all the beaches up to Pourville. These were essentially 5-6 horsepower fixed-engine dories.
Their construction was slightly modified: the sole was widened from 10 to 15 cm, a piece of stern was put in place for the passage of the propeller shaft, Depending on the customer’s choice, a more or less high keel was added and often a grounding eye was added to the base of the bow to dry-tan it. The installation of a fixed engine was cumbersome and caused a loss of interior space. Around 1946, the first outboard engines appeared.
The marketing of these engines evolved rapidly and there were more and more powerful and fast engines, but heavier, which posed a problem to get the engine out before the grounding.
The expansion of the well, with a larger engine, also affected the buoyancy and stability of the dories. In the 1960s, platforms were built: boats inspired by the dory, but shorter, from 4.20 metres to 5 metres on the sole and in the very wide transom where the engine was fixed, which simply rotated on the grounding. The boom-and-bust period, in the 1970s, brought us orders for ever-larger platforms, up to 7.30 metres, with a well on the front of the board to receive a 50-horsepower engine that was flipped through a cut-out at the bottom of the board. These plates no longer had much resemblance to the dories, the frames were more numerous and reinforced, the flat edges were replaced by vertical rails that removed the binding straps. The assembly of the floors and extensions was no longer done with sheet metal plates but with glued and nailed plywood which prevented the threads from hanging. The benches were fixed and reinforced with curves and stanchions. The hull was lined with high quality 15 mm marine plywood, the sole was reinforced with two keels bolted to the sole rods and protected from wear by half-round irons. Protective braces were also installed to prevent wear of the shell plating on grounding. On the bow at the brion, a galvanized steel housing with a tow eye was bolted to the bow, hull and sole. These bays were often equipped with a net ledge, which required us to reinforce the gunwale on the starboard bow.
Some dories were still being built for the faithful who did not want plates, but these boats were more like the Warys in size. So Monsieur Beaufour of Saint-Valéry, who always required dory with copper riveted clasps, ordered us a dory with a very pronounced tonture, which gave birth to a new generation that the sailors called 'Doris Banane'
The appearance of aluminum alloy dories, with a longer lifespan and no maintenance, was the death knell of the wooden dories..."
A "doris-stallion" for the Fisheries, museum of Fécamp
The exhibition "Doris-Doris" presented in 2002 at the Newfoundlanders and Anglers Museum, as well as the publication of the associated catalogue, were the occasion for an important synthesis of knowledge related in particular to the particularities of the clin construction.
Jean Clément (1928-2022), who was a shipwright in Fécamp from the 1940s to the 1980s, was very involved in this exhibition.
First, by putting us on the track of the templates that he himself had developed to build dories, then participating in their collection, as well as in their inventory. He described the techniques and explained the uses.
The fruit of this patient work of explaining with words what he once did with his hands, is carefully recorded in the catalogue. Since then, his testimony has served as a guide for amateurs and other boaters who have built their own dories.
Due to its symbolic character of maritime heritage, a dory is displayed in the Fisheries reception hall, Fécamp museum. Convinced of the importance of safeguarding an intangible heritage – in this case the know-how of the construction at Clin -, the museum commissioned young carpenters who worked in 2010 under the leadership of Jean Clément to make a dory from the templates now kept in the museum, and exceptionally used for this occasion.
The old know-how was thus implemented at the Chantier du Cap-Fagnet, and acquired by a new generation of carpenters: Sandrine, Jean-Jacques and Florian. The follow-up of the realization of the wooden boat, which we now consider as the «doris-standard», was a rich experience: constantly, the carpenters had to find technical answers. For example, it is difficult to find wood species that were once used, in the right lengths, etc. Moreover, the tools have changed, as well as the nature of the hardware. The carpenters had to constantly think, exchange, adapt. It shows that throughout the century this industry has continued in Fécamp, it was probably the same. This adventure has thus nuanced the idea of a tradition of construction once frozen and unchanging.
Following the modes of transmission of know-how has sometimes been an amazing experience. The sense of transmission has been able to take the opposite path. For example, Jean Clément discovered the use of the Japanese saw that has long been adopted by the construction team!
Florence Calame-Levert
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