NEW TENT - first night on board

My first overnight on board using the new sleeping tent for my cruising dinghy, which is made from traditional cotton Ventile.

INTERESTED IN DINGHY CRUISING?
Read my book, "The Dinghy Cruising Companion":
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dinghy-Cruising-Companion-Roger-Barnes/dp/1408179164
And join the Dinghy Cruising Association:
http://dinghycruising.org.uk/

VENTILE
Is the trade name for a tightly woven long staple cotton developed in the 1940s by the Shirley Institute in Manchester and originally manufactured by Talbot Weaving in Chorley. It was used in the production of immersion suits for pilots forced to ditch in the sea during WW2, and continued to be used for this purpose long afterwards. As the Lancashire cotton industry began to decline, Talbot Weaving partnered with Stotz & Co in Switzerland to dye and finish their products, and eventually Stotz & Co started weaving their own cloth to a similar specification, branded EtaProof. Then Talbot Weaving began buying fabric from Stotz & Co, branding it as Ventile for sale in the UK - until Talbot Weaving was finally dissolved in 2019. Stotz & Co purchased the Ventile brand name in 2017 however, so the fabric continues to be manufactured in Switzerland - called Ventile in the UK and EtaProof in continental Europe.
https://ventile.co.uk
I purchased my Ventile cloth on the roll from Pointnorth in the UK, before Brexit created new restrictions on trade between the UK and EU. Pointnorth are very helpful in the selection of outdoor fabrics, and I recommend them.
https://www.profabrics.co.uk

AVEL DRO
Do you want a boat like mine?
Avel Dro is an Ilur designed by François Vivier, and built of clinker plywood by Les Charpentiers Reunis of Cancale in 1994. I bought her in France to import her into the UK, and more recently returned her to France again before Brexit came into effect.* The design is based closely on the traditional inshore fishing boats of Brittany in the early years of the twentieth century, hence her single boom-less lugsail rig and lack of a mainsheet horse, (sometimes controversial among my viewers). Although rare in Britain, Ilurs are relatively common in France. The name Avel Dro is Breton, and basically means a whirlwind.
Length 4.44 m
Sail area 12.2 m²
Beam 1.70 m
Draught 0.25 / 0.86 m
Design category C3
François Vivier's website (in English):
http://www.vivierboats.com/en/
Similar dinghies can often be found for sale on the website of the French magazine Le Chasse-Marée:
https://www.chasse-maree.com/revue/
Or try Le Bon Coin, (where you can buy anything in France):
https://www.leboncoin.fr

*Since January 2021, Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) residents who buy a boat in France or elsewhere in the EU, with the intention of importing it into the UK, need to pay VAT and other duties on the import. This also applies to UK boats exported to the EU.

MUSIC
Opening: Lone Traveller - Gabriel Lewis
In the bar tabac: Vintage Dream - Mathilda June
Closing music: Footprints in the Sand - Roots and Recognition featuring Melanie Bell
- all from Epidemic Sound

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Ronan Coquil

HISTORIC ILLUSTRATIONS
Historic Hurricane and immersion suit pictures - these works created by the United Kingdom Government are in the public domain. This is because they are photographs taken prior to 1 June 1957. HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide.

VENTILE PUBLICITY IMAGES
From the manufacturer's current website, Stotz & Co AG.

Видео NEW TENT - first night on board канала Roger Barnes