The Story of Pierre Paudeau and the Paris Pond Yachts and Paris Pond Boats!

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Luxembourg: A Port in a Basin

Subtitle: Since 1881, the basin of the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris has been crisscrossed by small white sails. The Paudeau family—architects, builders, and fitters of model boats for more than seventy years—have left their mark on this little body of water. A portrait. By Daniel Gilles, from the Arlette Paudeau archives.

Column 1

Every single day God makes, he comes on foot from Rue Claude-Bernard, where he lives, crosses the turbulence of Boulevard Saint-Michel, and passes through the gates of the Luxembourg Gardens. In this haven of peace, Pierre Paudeau is at home, right in the heart of Paris. The rumors of the capital reach him here only in a muffled whisper. All strollers of this park have felt this tranquility. All the sailors of the world know this magical moment when you step into a shelter after enduring the assault of the waves...

The Paudeaus have been the masters of the basin since 1922 Like every morning, Pierre Paudeau heads toward the local spot, hidden among the boxwood trees, which houses his famous cart. It was while strolling through the park in 1922 that his father, Clément, came to a halt in front of this curious vehicle pushed by a woman. On board, there were no children, but about a dozen sailboats. Sometime later, Clément left his locksmithing job to take over the concession for renting boats at the Luxembourg.

The wooden cart, designed to carry several tiers of boats with folded masts, now replaces the stroller of the early days. But since 1881, children, always equally impatient, await the arrival of the sailboat renter. After taking possession of their toy and registering their number in the notebook, they sail...

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...their ship for hours. They set off to conquer the most distant seas, endure storms and gusts of wind, and compete in fierce regattas. Behind them, the grown-ups watch over their little ones, enjoy the sun, and dream of far-off lands. Further away, behind the windows of the Palace, senators think about their bygone days...

Captains of the basin since 1922, the Paudeaus—Clément, Pierre (who passed away two years ago), and his wife, Arlette, who has now taken over the concession—have crossed paths with countless enthusiasts and casual visitors who came to dream on the golden waters of the Luxembourg.

Thus, at the end of the 1920s, a very serious gentleman came every morning to sail his large brig-schooner. Pierre Paudeau, amazed by the perfection of this replica, asked him where the plans came from. The man proudly replied that he had commanded this actual vessel at sea a few years prior. And he added, as if to excuse himself: "My morning distraction may seem childish to you. It is, however, the only possibility for me to reconnect with the time of sailing ships and my adolescence."

Later on, the Paudeaus were also challenged to duels several times by...

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...owners of foreign basin yachts who wanted to test themselves against the masters of the place. A retired admiral, finding the Luxembourg too cramped for his fleet, even rented the basin of the Parc de Sceaux for a fierce naval battle!

The Paudeaus build these magnificent basin models themselves. In the beginning, the workshop was located on Rue Visconti. The sailboats that came out of it were intended for rental at the Luxembourg or the Tuileries, of course, but also for sale to individuals or Parisian toy stores.

Starting in 1929, Pierre took over the keys to the workshop on Rue Visconti. Clément, for his part, preferred to retire to Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, where he was born. Pierre built fewer boats than his father, but dedicated the entire second half of his life to renting out the Luxembourg basin and maintaining the fleet. In the 1930s, no fewer than sixty boats were regularly spinning around. Today, about thirty units survive.

Pierre Paudeau always wanted to preserve these wooden models, whose shape is derived from old Vendéen boats. Polyester tests were recently conducted, but they were not conclusive. The Paudeau family prefers to preserve the sensual charm of these hulls that smell beautifully of varnish and linseed oil. Even if, today, the quality of paints has gone down.

Column 4 (Right-hand Side Text)

The senators watch the regattas, looking casual...

Architect, builder, fitter—Pierre Paudeau was also a sort of schoolmaster, an initiator. "You never grab a boat by the mast or by the bowsprit," he would tirelessly repeat to the budding sailors. He taught discipline, provided advice, patched up damage, and settled diplomatic problems for the entire basin with infinite patience. But he could also fly into enormous rages against those who didn't show enough respect for his sailboats.

Since 1881, white sails have brought life to the garden basin. Though the outfits around the stone edge have evolved, and the atmosphere and rules of this small world have changed, some things have not: the way of holding the boat by the keel, the models stuck in the center of the basin by that cursed statue, the swirl of children around the cart... Grown-ups still take themselves for children. And, between two sessions, the senators still watch the regattas, looking casual.)

Long before we began making our beloved Tippecanoe Boats, the famous Paris pond yachts sailed across the sailing ponds in Paris, France. In 1922, Pierre Paudeau's father, Clement Paudeau, began the family business with a wooden boat shop in Rue Visconti. The Paudeau family acquired the rights from the French Senate to rent model sailing boats in Paris. Pierre took over the shop from his father in 1929 and, in 1972, moved the shop to Rue Claude-Bernard and began selling and renting wooden model sailboats in the Jardin de Luxembourg.

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A Lineage of Sailors

Main Article (Left Column)

Born in 1876 in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, Clément was a toolmaker-fitter. He completed his military service in the Navy and installed one of the very first marine engines on a trawler in Saint-Gilles. In 1921, at the age of forty-five, he moved to Paris. It was while strolling through the Luxembourg Gardens that he noticed a woman pushing a child’s stroller filled with small boats. He then left his job in a locksmith workshop to regain his freedom, return to the maritime environment of his childhood, and build boats. This work would define the rest of his life.

In 1922, he acquired the Senate concession for renting boats (the first concession had been granted in 1881). In 1925, he established himself on Rue Visconti; it was there that he lived with his wife and where he built and maintained his fleet. In 1927, he handed over the concession to his son Pierre, who was then twenty-one years old.

In 1929, Clément Paudeau decided to return to Saint-Gilles. There, he continued to build model sailboats for his son and also supplied several Parisian stores: Le Nain Bleu, Le Nid (on Rue du Vieux Colombier), and La Maison du Blanc near the Opéra.

Main Article (Middle Column)

Pierre Paudeau was born in 1906, also in Saint-Gilles. He initially wanted to navigate for a living to fulfill his dreams—and to escape paternal authority. He embarked on a cod fishing campaign in Newfoundland, then performed his military service in the Mediterranean.

Upon his return in 1927, Pierre continued the work of Clément. He built and maintained the boats. Some of them supplied the fleets of the Luxembourg and Tuileries gardens, while others were sold in France—and all over the world. One day, the filmmaker Abel Gance would even order a two-meter model from him to film the Battle of Trafalgar for the movie Napoléon!

In 1929, Pierre moved into his own workshop on Rue Visconti. In 1972, he moved closer to the Luxembourg and settled on Rue Claude-Bernard. It was there that he lived and took care of his boats until his passing in 1994, at the age of eighty-eight.

It is now Arlette Paudeau—whom Pierre met at the Luxembourg and married in 1947—who holds the upper hand over the fleet.

Captions & Small Text Boxes

Sign on the Cart (In the main photo):

LOCATION-BATEAUX Vente - Réparation LETTING AND SALE of Boats

Bottom Left (Under the stroller sketch):

• Top Paragraph: Clément Paudeau and his son Pierre (above), in sailor uniform at the time of his military service.

• Bottom Paragraph: This transformed child's stroller dates from 1898. It is the ancestor of the current cart, designed in 1923 and featuring several tiers of storage for the sailboats.

Bottom Right (Under the group photos):

The guard, friends, and parents surround Clément and Yvonne Paudeau for this family photo taken in 1930 (above).

• To the left: The beautiful fleet of the Paudeau family, which included about sixty units in the 1930s.

• To the right: Pierre Paudeau repairs the rigging of a large regatta model.

Top Right (Vintage receipt/card in the corner):

CARTE... DU YACHTING MINIATURE... Maison PAUDEAU... )

The Jardin de Luxembourg is directly in front of the Luxembourg Palace. Two years after King Henry IV was murdered in 1610, his son, Louis XIII, became king when he was only 9 years old with Henry's wife, Marie de Medicis as Regent and Cardinal Richelieu as Chief Minister. During this turbulent time, Marie commissioned the Luxembourg Palace and gardens to be built in 1612. The Luxembourg Palace and its beautiful gardens were then constructed in the years 1615-1627. In 1612, work began on an aquaduct completed in 1624, when the Jardin de Luxembourg pond was first filled. History does not tell us when the first pond boat was launched in this now famous Paris sailing pond.

 

(Translation of the above image: 

Headline: The Workshop of Rue Visconti Sub-headline: Luxembourg: A Port in the Basin

Right Page Caption: Ceiling storage for drying paint. In the background, the models are packed and ready for shipping.

Right Page Body Text: Paris, sixth arrondissement. "Vente Ancien et Moderne", models, repairs. It was there that Clément Paudeau began his model-making activity in 1925. It was also at number 4 Rue Visconti that he lived. On the old photos hanging behind the window panes, one can make out the sail-tracing patterns for cotton sails. His son Pierre took over in 1929. From this modest workshop in the heart of old Paris, the navigating models of the Luxembourg basins (painted red and white) and the Tuileries (painted blue and white) would emerge, but also a multitude of other boats of very different sizes (the largest reached two meters!), which would be sold in France and abroad.

Left Page Body Text: The old workshop of the Paudeaus, at number 4 Rue Visconti, where Clément set up home in 1925. Plane, rasp, and gouge give shape to the exterior shape of the hulls. The lathe, equipped with a drill bit, allows for the interior to be hollowed out. Opposite, the new workshop of rue Claude-Bernard, where Pierre Paudeau set up in 1972.

Diagram Dimensions: 3.25 meters and 2.70 meters.)

Today, the gardens of Luxembourg make up the largest park in Paris, France. The French Senate meets in the Luxembourg Palace and the senators enjoy going outside to watch the Paris pond boats sailing on the pond. Children still rent model boats to sail on the pond from a wooden model sailboat cart just like Pierre Paudeau's.

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The Port Through the Ages

Header: Luxembourg: A Port in the Basin

Main Article (Bottom Center)

Since 1832, the basin has been the theater of multiple jousts. Over the years, the seasons and costumes have brought life to the stone edge. Boaters and parasols greeted the beautiful years of the 1930s. Winter froze the fountain and basin during the year 1936, which preceded the years of war. In 1943, uniforms were scarce, and spring, even more joyful than usual, foreshadowed the upcoming liberation.

The year 1970 brought the announcement of a serene era once again. The boats, in their own way, greet the passing years. The evolution of their silhouette closely followed that of actual naval architecture.

In fact, the Luxembourg basin, in its beautiful stone setting, watches over the very heart of the capital. It remains a great witness to passing time.

"Ah! How distant that time is when, as a little child, I used to navigate fleets on this tiny sea." (Text from a postcard from the beginning of the century).

Boaters and parasols of yesteryear have given way to the windbreakers of today, but the small body of water has kept generations of city dwellers dreaming!

Chronological Side Panels (Right Column)

• 1845 The model of the three-master in the basin already signals the existence of large boats.

• 1900 The trend of the hoop. At the Luxembourg, the pole is also used to launch the boats.

• 1936 On the stone bench, they dream of holidays in front of the fleet, all sails out.

• 1943 Under the German uniform, the war pierces through...

• 1970 Generations brought together by the same passion.

Small Inset Captions (Bottom Left)

• 1994 The boats, still present for over a century.)

 

Several more sailing ponds located in Paris are in the Jardin de Tuileries in the Tuileries garden. While the Luxembourg gardens make up the largest park in Paris, the Tuileries garden is the most central. The Jardin de Tuileries sailing ponds are located just in front of the Louvre palace at one end of the Tuileries garden. The garden is one long strip stretching from the Louvre museum to the Concorde Square along the Seine river. The garden was designed by Le Notre in 1664 under King Louis the 14th and was added to by many subsequent kings of France, with the intent to improve the Louvre Palace and the city of Paris. The image of the beautiful Paris pond yachts sailing across the tranquil waters of these lovely ponds has become one of the fondest memories for hundreds of thousands of visitors to Paris.

(Translation for above images:

A Century of One-Design Boats (Monotypes)

Header: Luxembourg: A Port in the Basin

The Construction Process (Right Page Text)

The navigating models made by the Paudeaus are crafted the old-fashioned way. The hull is hollowed out from a solid block of wood weighing 3.5 kilograms—either iroko or red mahogany. Once pre-shaped, it weighs no more than 2.4 kilograms. It is then hollowed out further around the edges using a wood drill bit, then finished with a chisel and a gouge.

The exterior shape is given using a plane and a rasp, following the templates. Once completed, the hull weighs no more than 550 grams. After adding the deck and the bulwarks, these hollow hulls weigh 950 grams. An iron keel is then screwed under the hull, which receives its riveted lead ballast.

A marine plywood deck seals the top of the hull like a lid. This is the weak point of the boat, the only possible entry for water. In the summer, due to the sun and water infiltration, the hull works. The bathtub of Pierre Paudeau’s home on Rue Claude-Bernard was often filled with boats in "soaking status" before restoration...

Pierre Paudeau made the rigging himself out of pine or pitch pine. The sails were long made of cotton, and even cut from the double roofs of camping tents! The Paudeaus would then add two pieces of aluminum or zinc to the deck: one for the mast step which allows the mast to be lowered backward in order to stack the boats on the intermediate shelves of the cart, and the other for the chainplate which allows the bowsprit to be held at the front.

The Evolution of the Boats

The Ancient Era

At the end of the last century, privately owned boats rubbed shoulders with those of the official park rental. Competitions and regattas were organized. Witness this 1899 brig-schooner, whose rigging is close to the real boats of the era, or those cutters with long bowsprits dating from 1890 and 1898. They feature houari riggings with gaff sails and extended keels to reinforce stability. The facade of the Senate causes violent wind shifts that disturb the little sea of the Luxembourg. In 1895, the boats were slender. Their live works (underwater hull) were narrow and did not feature a rudder. By 1900, the boats became beamier, and mobile rudders made their appearance.

The Influence of the Paudeaus

The models of the Paudeau family, originally from Vendée, were inspired by the boats of that region.

• First Generation (1922): This is the Antigone, a pilot boat from the Gironde in 1912, which inspired the shapes of the first Paudeau models. The rudder is mobile and the skeg is ballasted with lead. In this manner, the more the boat heels, the more the rudder tends to fall away under the wind, balancing the boat's propensity to luff when the wind freshens.

• Second Generation (1930): The ballast, consisting of two half-keels in lead placed on either side of the iron keel plate, ensures the stability of the boat in the manner of a bulb. Too fragile during land handling, the mobile rudder was removed.

Captions & Short Snippets

• Top Left Diagram (Page 81): The evolution of the basin boats through the ages: from the ancient era (1877, top left) to the arrival of Clément Paudeau, who built two generations of boats, in 1922 and 1930. At the bottom right, the plans of the boat born in the 1930s, which is still sailing today. To its left, the large regatta model from 1940.

• Bottom Left Article Box: Regattas with Targets! Between the two world wars, regattas raged on the Senate basin. One of them consisted of a precise and subtle game: released from one side of the basin, the boats had to hit targets placed opposite with their bowsprits. The one that hit the target with the highest number won! A club was created in 1929 in Paris to group the activity of model makers. Named the Yachting Club Miniature, it organized numerous regattas in the region with the help of the Ministry of the Navy. This was also the era of the Coupe du Yachting Miniature de Paris and the Coupe des Grands Magasins.)

Whether you're at the Jardin de Luxembourg pond or the Jardin de Tuileries ponds, you're sure to see skippers - young and old - sailing classic handmade wooden Paris pond yachts on the water. The famous Paris pond yachts were an inspiration for our own, handmade wooden model sailboats here at Tippecanoe Boats. The famous Paris ponds were also the inspiration for Frederick Law Olmsted when he was designing Central Park in New York City in the late 19th century. The city ran out of money for the plant conservatory that was planned as part of the park but the foundation had already been laid. Olmsted had recently been to Paris and had been fascinated by the sailing ponds in Paris so he turned the foundation of the conservatory into a sailing pond that has been one of the central attractions of Central Park ever since. You'll see many Tippecanoe boats racing across the pond now called Conservatory Water in Central Park and you'll find several Tippecanoe boats proudly stored inside the boat house at Conservatory Water.

   

     

 

(All colorized images and translations generated by Google Gemini)