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Above: At the Latitude 46 yard in Île de Ré Opposite, top: Design drawing of the forthcoming 16-metre. Left: Owner Christian Iscovici
ince its move into production in 1989, France’s Latitude 46 yard – celebrating its 25th anniversary this year – has maintained a name for producing classically-inspired GRP craft. Initially there was
the 7m (23ft) Tofinou, of which some 230 have been built so far, but the range now spans four models with the addition of the 8, 9.5 and 12-metre hulls. With each new design the lines and spec
have become more advanced and modern, culminating in 2009 with the 12m (39ft 6in) Tofinou, a lightweight, carbon-toting flying machine that apart from the name retains barely a semblance of the original cute little daysailer. And later this year, in the summer, the first of the new Tofinou 16s will be launched.
Much of this development has taken place under the guidance of the man who now owns the factory, Christian Iscovici, who is no stranger to production boatbuilding. As president of Beneteau’s US arm, he set up the French manufacturer’s American production operation, building it in seven years from nothing but open land to a factory employing 160 people and turning over many millions of dollars a year.
After leaving Beneteau, though, he thought that he might indulge himself in a different style of boatbuilding, by acquiring this mid-sized, classically inspired company. And, 18 years after building his first Tofinou, Latitude’s founder, Philippe Joubert, was ready to sell. Since Christian took over the Latitude yard from Philippe and his wife Pascale in July 2007, he has certainly not been blessed with an easy ride. Financial conditions (the massive, global economic downturn), climactic conditions (an unprecedented tide that flooded Latitude’s home island, the low-lying Île de Ré) and a boating market in decline, have conspired to bring him one headache after another, but Christian is well aware that building boats on the scale of the Latitude operation takes as much knowledge of finance and solid business practice as it does design and materials. Philippe no longer has anything to do with the business, but his brother, naval architect Michel, through
his company Joubert-Nivelt, is still producing the designs for new craft. The concept for the 12-metre Tofinou, and indeed the new 16, which is a scaled-up version, comes from Christian’s mind, but the drawings and design, in keeping with the older models of both sailing and motorboats are from Michel Joubert’s pen.
Christian describes himself as, “more of a boat lover than a boat builder,” But in saying this, he is, charmingly, doing himself a disservice: he seems well up to the task of getting the business model just how he wants it. He has been far from idle in putting Latitude on a footing that he believes will allow it to push forwards.
GLOBAL NETWORK In addition to adding new Tofinou models, he has developed a global dealership network, referred to now as ambassadors. These number upwards of 15 in locations as far-flung as the US, Brazil, Norway Italy and Australia, and are already bearing fruit. As well as the Tofinou range, Latitude 46 also produces, in much smaller, custom-build numbers, the Andreyale trio of 10, 12 and 15-metre (approx 33, 40 and 50ft) motor launches in styles reminiscent of the American east-coast commuter boats. The Andreyale began in 1991 as a 10m cabined day-cruiser, commissioned by the famous André restaurant in La Rochelle. Three of the 12m hulls have been built as 20-seater water taxis for the luxury Four Seasons Hotel on Bora Bora, where they now ferry guests to and from the French Polynesian island’s airport as well as taking them for rides around the island. All the Andreyales are designed with heavy- displacement GRP hulls, with wood fit-out, while the largest, the 15m, is a full-on luxury classic cabin cruiser. At the smaller end of the range is a 7.5m (24ft 7in) sports boat, the Lady Scarlett, much influenced by 1960s Rivas, but with its own elegant style. Latitude’s preferred production method, for both motor and sailing boats, is to produce hull mouldings in GRP at an establishment in La Rochelle. These are then
Left: Fitting-out a Tofinou 9.5 Far left: The Andreyale 12m
CLASSIC BOAT APRIL 2012 87
MARTIN SMITH
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