Télémaque II, New chapter in Marion family’s Odyssey
Sep 27, 2019 / by admin / In Actualités / Comments Off on Télémaque II, New chapter in Marion family’s Odyssey
One of three brothers who are the fifth generation of a fishing family in Grandcamp-Maisy on France’s Normandy coast, Jean-Baptiste Marion was looking to secure his family’s future with a new trawler.
Télémaque II is very much a family affair, as Jean-Baptiste and Virginie Marion wanted to provide the best conditions they could for their crew – and for the next generation by providing their sons (aged 5 and 7) with the opportunity to continue the tradition.
They went to Coprexma for the design of the new trawler, which has been delivered by the Piriou Shipyard.
Throughout the construction, emphasis has been placed on sound insulation, not least in fitting heavy-duty insulation around the engine room with its 440hp Cummins KTA19 main engine, and the hull design strikes a balance between the requirement for good seakeeping qualities and the draft constraints of operating from Grandcamp-Maisy.
A key part of Télémaque II’s design is Coprexma’s ‘Tunnel of LoC,’ with the 2000mm diameter fixed pitch propeller recessed into an archway in the hull. This allows the draft to be optimised.
‘We have around 3.30 metres at Grandcamp-Maisy,’ Jean-Baptiste said. ‘It also improved propeller efficiency and it should translate into fuel savings.’
There’s a 50m3 fishroom and better space available for handling catches than a conventional design would have offered, as well as a more effective and comfortable arrangement of working and accommodation areas.
Aft there is plenty of stainless steel around the deck area to minimise wear from dredges and other fishing gear, as Télémaque II is designed to be able to alternate demersal and pelagic trawling with scallop dredging.
The <16 metre overall length was a requirement to be able to hold a scallop licence, but Télémaque II has the space available to carry two sets of eight dredges.
With the sea trials complete, it was clear that the new trawler is as quiet and stable as had been expected.
‘The working areas and living spaces are much more pleasant,’ Jean-Baptiste said.
‘There wasn’t a drop of water on deck even in choppy weather, and at the quayside we can’t even hear the engine,’ Virginie Marion said.
She takes care of the day-to-day running, managing landings and sales, which go mainly to the Grandcamp auction. She commented that the crew of the boat are close and form an extended family.
‘The guys have been involved in the build right from the start, and have been to the yard with us. There are two of the crew who look after cooking on board, so we left the galley layout to them to decide,’ she said.
‘All this has been made possible by working closely with Piriou and Coprexma, with both the shipyard and the design teams making themselves available and ready to help. We even set up a Facebook group so we could share pictures of the build progress.’
The decision to go to the Piriou Shipyard was largely due to having used the yard for the old Télémaque’s refit and maintenance work.
‘Even though it’s a 30-hour steam, we’ll be coming back with the new Télémaque. They take care of of us and make sure work is done well.’
Optimism
The new Télémaque II still had a few minor adjustments to be done before starting fishing in October, and although the Baie de Seine scallop fishery opens on 1st of October, the owners were careful to take their time to make sure everything was ready before making a start.
In fact, there are three more scallop boats due to join the fleet around the same time, demonstrating an optimism for the fishing industry – in spite of the uncertainty due to Brexit and the long history of conflicts over fishing grounds.
All the same, Jean-Baptiste and Virginie Marion have a strong belief in the future.
‘What worries me is that fishing vessels from other countries that could start fishing in our waters,’ Jean-Baptiste said.
‘But my family has been fishing for five generations and we have always been able to adapt. What we are looking for is the versatility that allows us to move from one method to another. Scallops account for nearly 70% of our turnover. So we concentrate on scallops and cuttlefish. We keep a close eye on the market,’ he said.
‘Let me do some fishing and I’ll tell you how it works out.’
Overall length …………………………………………………. 15,95 m
Overall width ………………………………………………………… 7,24 m
Hollow in the PP…………………………………………………………… 3.15 m
Propulsion / fixed propeller………………………………………………. Ø2000 mm
Engine …………………………………………………..CUMMINS KTA19 of 440 horsepower
Crew……………………………………………………………….. 6 p.
Hull / superstructure…………………. Steel / aluminium