Train more than 250 Scouts in navigation
The Unitarian Scouts of France movement has about 30,000 members in France. Among them, more than 200 are sea scouts, spread over 9 localities, not necessarily coastal. In order to train new scouts and organise its camps, the organisation was finding it increasingly difficult to find suitable boats for hire and decided to buy adapted sailing boats. "Finding boats that are less than 8 metres long, easy to handle and habitable has become complicated," says Dominique Lerique, head of the acquisition project for the Scouts Unitaires de France, marine branch.
Selection of the Maxus 26
To choose their sailboat, the Sea Scouts drew up specifications, discussed them with naval architects and sent the result to the shipyards. "The boat had to be less than 8 metres long, easy to maintain, manoeuvrable, equipped with an inboard engine and fitted with a twin keel ballast. The rigging had to allow for an asymmetrical spinnaker and 3 reefs in the mainsail" sums up Dominique Lerique. Two models were selected, a Django from the Breton shipyard Marée Haute and the Maxus 26 from the Polish shipyard Northman. The Maxus 26 is very habitable and can accommodate up to 8 people. Secondly, the price of the boat built in Poland was 20% lower," the project manager explains.
Leasing management: an advantage for the safety of the seafarers
The Sea Scouts, grouped within all the federations, are subject to an audit every 5 years by the sports institutions and federations. The safety issues of the young members are paramount and could pose problems in the current fleet. "Our current small boats of 4 to 5 places, not always up to the latest standards, were maintained by parents. That ended up causing problems in terms of insurance. Lease management allows maintenance to be done by professionals. So we put the rental companies in competition with each other. Atlantique Location in Le Crouesty is ideal. It is the usual navigation basin for scouts, limited to 6 miles from a shelter. The boats are adapted to the area and we were very pleasantly surprised by the rental rate this summer" Dominique Lerique is delighted.
Prepared during containment by Catway, the rocky importer of the boats, the 5 Maxus 26 joined the Crouesty at the beginning of June 2020. Each of a distinct colour, they are easily visible to the fleet leaders, but also to the Morrbihan boaters!
