Roger has released a new video about visiting a Breton boat “jumble” with a friend. We always love to see new boat videos from Roger!
Roger Barnes, June 1st, 2025 – Island Life in a Cruising Dinghy
Roger takes Avel Dro out for the first time in many months, in what was intended to be a gentle trip out to an offshore island, as part of a recuperation from an injury earlier in the year. He aimed to have a peaceful experience away from the crowds, amongst the wildlife of the Breton coastline.
AVEL DRO, my own boat.
Avel Dro is an Ilur designed by François Vivier, and built of clinker plywood by Les Charpentiers Reunis of Cancale in 1994. I bought her in France in 2003 to import her into the UK, and more recently returned her to France again. The design is based closely on the traditional inshore fishing boats of Brittany in the early years of the twentieth century – hence her simple boom-less lugsail rig and lack of a mainsheet horse, (sometimes controversial among my viewers). Although rare in Britain, Ilurs are relatively common in France. Modern Ilurs are slightly different from mine, as they have more built in buoyancy. The name Avel Dro is Breton, Avel = wind, Dro = to turn – so it means a whirlwind.
- Length 4.44 m
- Sail area 12.2 m²
- Beam 1.70 m
- Draught 0.25 / 0.86 m
INTERESTED IN DINGHY CRUISING?
- Read Roger’s book, The Dinghy Cruising Companion
- Join the Dinghy Cruising Association
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