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lesfaisseursdebateaux@gmail.com
▼ 43 route de Clairmarais 62500 SAINT-OMER
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About us

Our heritage, our history, our team

The last boat builders of St-Omer

In the heart of the suburbs of Saint-Omer, Rémy and Vincent Colin are the heirs of a unique and ancestral know-how. Indeed, these two children of the country are the last manufacturers of escutes and bacôves, traditional oak boats, used for centuries by the market gardeners of yesteryear. For the latter, the boat was the essential means of transport 40 years ago! It was used for hunting, fishing, cultivation, or simply to reach home after a hard day's work.

Today, the boat builders invite you to discover the Audomarois marsh (Saint-Omer and Clairmarais marshes) aboard these extraordinary vessels. They also offer a glimpse behind the scenes of boat construction by opening the doors of their workshop.

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Our heritage

XIIth - XVIIIth century

The origins, our heritage.
The shipbuilders corporation designs and builds commercial vessels around the port of Saint-Omer. These are scutes, cogues and naves. During the 1800s, the professional group abandoned commercial boats (belandres, etc.) to create the first bacôves and the escutes audomaroises. These boats are the only possible means of travel in the marsh.

1850 - 1950

The Golden Age of the Boat Builders.
Saint-Omer acquires railways and a station in 1848, which facilitates the transport of cauliflowers. At the end of the 400th century, the marsh had XNUMX market gardening families, half a dozen shipyards running at full speed. This intense activity will last until the Second World War.

Second half of the XNUMXth century

The market gardening crisis and the disappearance of boat makers
In 1950, the number of market gardeners decreased due to new farming techniques and now international competition. The swamp still has 3 Boat Maker workshops. In order to facilitate the movement of machinery and the mechanization of agricultural activities, the major land consolidation initiated in 1972 was completed in 1984. The marsh now includes service roads, bridges... 500 hectares of land are opened up and the boat becomes useless. The inevitable happened. In 1997, the last boat builder, Gérard Colin, retired. Is this the end of 800 years of naval traditions?

2009-2012

La Renaissance
Rémy Colin, Gérard's great-nephew, opens his own business. In the meantime, he has completed his studies in naval carpentry and has received, via a “campaigning”, the know-how of his great uncle. The tradition is saved! In 2011, SARL Colin will be created. The Boat Makers. Vincent, Remy's father, joins the adventure and becomes his son's disciple!

2013 - Today

The Boat Builders are reinventing themselves
The workshop is labeled Living Heritage Company. A year later, the team is growing. A few friends joined the Colin family to develop the business, which now offers boat and canoe rentals as well as guided tours of the Saint-Omer and Clairmarais marshes. From 2017 to the present day: The company has multiplied the achievements for the Gravelines moat, the Isles de Saint-Quentin park, the Amiens hortillonnages... and even for the Palace of Versailles! Les Faiseurs de Bateaux is now a mini-sawmill, a shipyard, a bar/restaurant and an open-air museum, as well as a pier from which everyone can visit the marsh along the water!

Our Team

Remy Colin

Founder

Carpenter's diplomas in hand, Rémy left for Arcachon in 2007 for a one-year internship in naval carpentry. Back in Saint-Omer, he did his campaigning with the last boat builder, then retired, and created his own business before the incorporation of the company in 2011.

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Vincent Collin

Founder

Vincent has had several professional lives: electrician, delivery man, kitchen designer… In 2011, he will begin his fourth retraining by founding the company with his son. It is in particular the latter who will train him in naval carpentry!

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Valentin Hellebois

Carpenter/ bar manager

A graduate in entertainment and cinema, Valentin joined the team in 2016 to learn about woodworking. He has since worked on the realization of many boats while working on the communication of the company.

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Benoit Eeckeman

Carpenter/sculptor

Wood sculptor, Benoît is a graduate of the school of Tournai and in 2010 created his company "L'Homme du Chêne". He has since had many achievements. It was in 2018 that he joined the team to put his skills to the service of Boat Makers.

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Jeremy Flandrin

Marketing & administration

A graduate in management and law, self-taught in the web professions, Jérémie is the "paperwork gentleman" of the team: social management, accounting, legal, writing, webmarketing, SEO... Who would have thought that he could have exercised all these passions at the edge of a river?

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Annie Collin

Chief cook

Passionate about local cuisine, Annie takes care of the cooking and reception. His speciality? Homemade Flemish waffles, a family recipe that she cooks wonderfully.

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Mélanie

Guidelecturer

Guide lecturer by profession and training, Mélanie settled in the marsh a few years ago and became passionate about the place. She now shares her agenda between our bacôves and group outings in Haut-de-France.

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Ursula

Guide

Ursula has been working in tourism for years and knows Saint-Omer like the back of her hand.

Knowing French, English, German and Dutch, she is the polyglot/interpreter of the troupe!

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Thomas

Guide & nurseryman

Passionate about nautical activities, thomas has been a guide in the marshes for years. He is passionate about nature and especially flora. This is why he created the Pépinière du Marais, his second activity!

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Dorothy

Reception and kitchen

We find Dorothée at the reception or in the kitchen. Its mission: to delight you with good regional dishes!

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Lucia

Guide & Market gardener

Lucie settled in 2021 on the lands of Rieflart, in the suburb of Lyzel. 

It is on the nourishing soil of the marsh that she produces delicious vegetables, while sharing her time with our team on the bacôves.

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Aurore

Guide and market gardener

Aurore is passionate about ecology, organic market gardening and specializes in rare & medicinal plants. 

Located in the Audomarois marsh in the Haut-Pont suburb, Aurore also travels the marsh by boat with our visitors to tell them about the place.

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Loic Boulier

Market gardener / cook

Organic market gardener for 10 years, Loic joined the Audomarois marsh in 2017. A trained cook, he is also in charge of delighting you with his products. Passionate about his new place of life, Loic is also a boat guide.

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Our Activities

Visit the Audomarois marshes differently: an authentic and unusual boat trip!

The boat builders invite you to discover, along the water, the various facets of the Audomarois marsh , a vast natural area recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2013. You will discover the inhabited marsh, the cultivated marsh as well as the wild marsh… These trips take place in boats, and more specifically in escute and bacôve, traditional boats of the Audomarois marsh.

Boat builders offer guided tours, self-guided tours, but also unique experiences that will enhance your festive events, association outings or company seminars in Saint-Omer!

Guided visit

The guided tour is a picturesque and bucolic ride carried out in a serene manner, in a small group, in a traditional boat (bacôve or escute), fashioned using a hundred-year-old oak by your guide himself!

On board, all the senses are on high alert: we appreciate the warmth of the wood, as well as the smells that fill our nostrils… It smells of nature, peat, wood impregnated with natural tar… The marsh itself offers us a magnificent setting and landscapes that will delight photographers… This natural and vibrant spectacle is pleasantly accompanied by ambient sounds: sometimes the wind rustling through the reeds, the quacking of ducks or the gentle lapping of the boat gliding on the calm water… A unique moment, made possible by the use of electric motors , which are ecological and silent!

The guided tours offered are unique and unusual! With the boatmen, you can admire the marsh in every season and at every time of day! Morning walks reveal the market gardening activity of this area, while the Audomarois marsh in the middle of the afternoon unveils all its colors and the richness of its wildlife. You can also try the twilight excursions on certain dates in summer… At dusk, the landscape takes on new hues and nocturnal animals emerge from their hiding places to offer an unforgettable auditory spectacle!

The rides take place in complete safety in stable, robust and comfortable boats!

In short, choosing Les Faiseurs de Bateaux for your cruises means opting for a unique and enjoyable excursion in the heart of the Audomarois marshlands! You can also enjoy a visit to the workshop and the archaeological shipyards!

Discover the guided tours of the Marais audomarois.

Self-guided tours and rentals

Looking for adventure? With the boat builders, you can rent a wooden boat and set off alone, with family, friends, or your loved one to explore the marsh. We've selected routes for you that offer a unique experience!

Events and business seminars

Event Experiences

Boat builders also offer to liven up your festive events such as family meals or birthdays: demonstrations of traditional boat handling, boat trips, organization of an unusual wedding procession by boat… 

An unusual walk in the marsh will also liven up your stag or hen parties… Guaranteed atmosphere!

Our event offers in the Saint-Omer marsh

Company seminars

Partner of your company, boat builders offer you services that will delight your employees and customers: business meetings on the water, CE outings, seminars and team building actions in the heart of the marshes... Unusual ideas that hit the mark every time !

Discover our “Business, Business and teambuilding” offers in the Saint-Omer marsh

Les piquinettes, bar and open-air restaurant

Les Faiseurs de Bateaux also includes "Les Piquinettes": a riverside café-restaurant housed in a unique bamboo tent. The menu features only delicious regional fare. A change of scenery and a delightful experience guaranteed!

A shipyard

Construction and sale of boats

And yes, it's not for nothing that boat builders are called that! The company has inherited ancestral know-how allowing you today to acquire a real bacôve or an escute, or even other traditional boats (jousting boat, flat hortillonnages...).

Our very wide range includes traditional boats of all sizes as well as wooden boats specifically adapted for family outings or fishing.

Discover our workshop and our traditional boat constructions

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