Today, the term "Boat Makers" constitutes our identity, our "brand". This name also recalls our origins, the history of our ancestors. To find traces of the first boat builders, we need to dive deep into the history of Saint-Omer.
The origins of the boat builders
Everyone knows more or less the story of the birth of Saint-Omer, in front of its existence to the builders as well as to the "little hands" who made the marsh habitable and cultivable... Another trade, often snubbed by the chronicles, participated actively in the creation and development of the city of Audomaroise. Indeed, hardly had the last pencil strokes been thrown on the plans of the Saint-Bertin abbey than the crucial question arose of the transport of stones and construction wood, through the marsh. This is where the boat builders came in.
These simple workers quickly gave birth to a real corporation of skilled craftsmen and experts in naval carpentry, who first built cogues, then escutes and bacôves, very useful for the transport of goods.
From the Golden Age of Boat Builders to Decline
Around 1850, the Audomarois region still boasted six boat builders, mainly based in the Haut-Pont suburb. At that time, every family owned at least one flat-bottomed boat (bacôve) for transporting livestock and cauliflower, and two smaller boats (escutes) for daily travel. This gives you an idea of the high demand! It wasn't until the late 1970s that this demand began to wane. Land consolidation and the construction of bridges and roads facilitated the use of tractors, which replaced boats. Was the profession about to disappear, like the peat harvesters who once extracted and sold peat? Fortunately, no! The last boat builders, located in the Lyzel marsh , still perpetuate the ancestral techniques necessary for crafting our traditional boats.
The manufacture of bacôves and escutes in local oak
The story of each boat begins in the heart of the Clairmarais forest. The boat maker selects exceptional oaks there, allowing the cutting of beautiful and solid planks, before letting them dry for many months.
Once the wood is ready for use, the craftsman will first design the flat bottom, lay the first frames and the plating to form the hull, then the bows, without forgetting the "dromelots", an arc located at the end of the boat allowing to collect the drome (pole) of the market gardener who could thus move the boat effortlessly from the mainland. At the time, each manufacturer had their own way of designing this dromelot, which was in a way the signature of their work.
Once assembled using sturdy, old-fashioned blacksmith's nails and finished using the traditional adze, a sharp tool with a long handle, the boat will be sealed with oakum inserted into every crevice, then coated with vegetable tar to nourish the wood. All these operations require unique and secret expertise, and can take anywhere from a week to a month and a half, depending on the size of the vessel!
Timeless quality boats
The result is well worth the effort: in the marsh or in any body of water, the bacôve and the escute have retained their proud, timeless appearance for centuries. Cut to move quickly, designed to last more than 40 years, these unique boats are no longer used by market gardeners, but are the delight and pride of fishermen, marsh enthusiasts, tourists and lovers of beautiful things.
Article published in Audomarwouah magazine (November 2016) “ In the footsteps of the boat builders”.
Author: Jérémie FLANDRIN
