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 still had 6 boat builders, mainly established in the Haut-Pont suburb. Each family had at that time at least one bacôve for the transport of animals and cauliflowers and two escutes for daily travel. This is to say if the demand was strong! It was only at the end of the 1970s that it ran out of steam… The consolidation and the construction of bridges and paths facilitated the circulation of tractors which supplanted the boat. Was the profession going to disappear, just like the diggers who once pulled and resold the peat? Fortunately, no! The last boat builders established in the lyzel swamp, still perpetuate the ancestral gestures necessary for the design of 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 the set is assembled thanks to sturdy old-fashioned blacksmith nails and the finishes traditionally carried out with an adze, a sharp tool with a long handle, the boat will be sealed with oakum inserted in each interstice, then brushed with vegetable tar which will nourish the wood. So many operations requiring unique and secret know-how, which can last from a week to a month and a half, depending on the size of the boat!
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 boat builders”.
Author: Jérémie FLANDRIN
