96 JUNE–JULY 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com
Industry Insider
ERIC DIVRY
Eric Divry, founder, Wettoncraft Words: Ed SlackTIRED OF STRUGGLING to launch his boat from
a trailer, Eric Divry, a former director in logistics,
decided there had to be a better way. Four years
ago he brought together a diverse team to develop
a boat that could take the stress out of getting onto
the water. And so Wettoncraft was born. Having
unveiled their concept – the Wetton 56 – last year,
the first models are now coming off the production
line. Divry tells IBI about his ambitions for the
fledgling brand.What inspired Wettoncraft?
The idea to start the business was based on a
personal experience and a strong belief. I was
looking for a boat I could transport by road and
dreaming of getting out on the water more easily
and more frequently.
The biggest pain for most small boaters is
launching the boat, and then parking the trailer.
It seemed obvious that the
solution was to fit the landing
gear to the boat. There were
a handful of products out
there but they were costly and
besides, they didn’t get rid of
the trailer hassle.
I was convinced that in
the future amphibious boats
would be a good solution from
an environmental point of
view, as it reduces storage footprint in congested
harbour areas. So I decided to create my own
boat with a young and talented naval architect,
Vincent Lebailly. He challenged the idea and we
realised together that other boaters share the
same dream... That’s how the adventure started
four years ago.Nice idea, but
what were the
major hurdles you
faced developing
the concept?
Boaters dream
of a boat, not a
trailer! So we had
to come up with
a simple, elegantI was dreaming of getting on the
water more easily and frequently
design. Our target was to create a ‘trailer-free’
boat. Then it was a case of getting the right
team together. We believe a mix of skills and
experiences are a key for success. Some of our
engineers come from the agricultural industry;
our designers work for the aeronautic, car and
boat industries.
The investment’s been substantial with funds
coming from 12 business angels and 3 regional
funds who strongly believe in the success of this
project. Along with a lot of man-hour investment
delivered daily by the Wetton team!Tell us about production numbers
We’re looking to build 10 to 20 units in the first
production year to secure the manufacturing
quality level. We are planning more as various
new models are introduced. We’re in the process
of developing a new Wetton 67 that will be ready
by the end of the year. That
model will be able to travel on
land – so to cross a beach, for
instance, as well as being its
own trailer. Today we are able to
produce one boat per month as a
start and we plan to double this
capacity by the end of this year.
At the moment we’re mainly
focused on German, Swiss,
Benelux and French markets.What about pricing?
From June we will be able to offer a wider range
of the Wetton 56 with prices starting from just
€59,507, which includes French VAT at 20% and a
115hp Mercury CT 4 stroke.Where does the ‘Wettoncraft’ name come from?
We wanted an international name, one that was
easy to remember for anyone whatever their
nationality. ‘Wetton’ is based on an Irish first
name ‘Etton’, which is common in a small village
in the northern part of France where my family
comes from. It was a way of thanking and giving
credit to my father and grandfather who inspired
me to do things like start a boat company! ‘Craft’
obviously helps resonate the sense of quality and
handmade craftsmanship.A former director in
logistics, Eric Divry had a
dream four years ago of
developing a boat that
would take the stress out
of boatingIt was a way of
giving credit to
my father and grandfather
who inspired me to do
things like start a boat
company! A boat one minute
and a trailer the next –
the Wetton 56