THE
TOFINOU 8
WILL BE
ON STAND A220
AT THE LONDON
BOAT SHOWTOFINOU 8
Above left to
right: The design
is based on a
1930s original;
aft deck doubles
as sun-pad!
Facing page:
Sails are North
Pentex, while
spars are by AG+
in painted
aluminium and
the bowsprit is
carbonThe 7 remains in the range today – and true to their
word a white one has never been built.
The 8 was added in 2008 and quickly became a big
seller in what is now a seven-strong range of hand-built
Spirit of Tradition yachts, up to 16 metres. Originally
based on the Île de Ré, the factory moved to larger, state
of the art facilities in La Rochelle just over a year ago.
Julian says: “We’ve visited a few boat yards over the
years but we were really impressed, particularly with the
immaculate cleanliness of the place.” At the same time
they took the opportunity to narrow down their
specification. A suitably traditional dark-blue hue was
chosen for the topsides (there is a veritable rainbow of
choice), but the big decision was lifting or fin keel.
Tofinou claims sailing performance is unchanged
between the two – indeed the lifting keel is 200mm
deeper to preserve an identical righting moment. In
France the lifting keel is more popular – in La Baule,
near to the factory where there is a fleet of eight 8s, a
day’s racing can entail a morning round the cans and an
afternoon on the beach where shallow draft is essential.
This concept appealed very much to Caroline and Julian,
but they settled for a fin keel, mainly to maximise the
volume of the cozy cabin but also because their normal
cruising ground is south Devon, where the water is deep.
According to the UK dealer, Key Yachting, British-based
boats are a 50/50 mix of lifting and fixed keels, derived
largely by area, with lifting keels popular in shallower
waters such as around the east coast and Chichester.
What is Caroline and Julian’s verdict on the 8 after
the first season? “We get out on the boat two or three
times a week and we’re totally in love with it,” says
Caroline. “We can go from stepping aboard to heading
out of the marina in 10 minutes which makes evening
sails a breeze too. With lazy jacks, a roller furling head
sail, self-tacking jib and with all the lines leading aft she
can be controlled easily from the cockpit so if one of us
wants to take out inexperienced friends, we can do.”
In fact, that particular facet has been put to very good
use this year. Caroline formed an All Girls Sailing Group
at her local Royal Torbay YC and within one week hadJulian tells an amusing tale of how their Viper appeared
in the Beken calendar one year – “Keith Beken told me
afterwards that he only got off one shot. He intended
taking more but his RIB couldn’t keep up with us!”
The couple even owe their relationship to sailing,
having met at a regatta – Caroline was sailing a Dragon,
Julian a Flying Fifteen. But while club racing remains
very much on the agenda for them both, what they
wanted was a boat they could handle easily on their own
without needing to enlist a crew every time the wind
was blowing up. “We wanted something that we could
potter down to together on a nice afternoon, or even one
of us on our own or with a non-sailing friend, and just
simply go sailing,” says Caroline.
The eye-catching looks of the Tofinou 8 were the
immediate draw at the Southampton Boat Show, but
could she provide the two things missing on the couple’s
raceboats that were deemed must-haves on this
purchase? “An engine so we can get out when there is
little wind, or perhaps more pertinently get back in when
the wind drops,” says Caroline, “and a proper sea toilet.
It’s a big deal for any lady afloat – too many women
avoid drinking when sailing for that very reason and end
up dehydrated – it’s not healthy.”
The answer was yes to the engine and WC and
Caroline had the standard-fit chemical loo upgraded to a
proper plumbed in sea toilet. “I wanted an electric flush
loo, but it just wouldn’t fit,” she laughs.
Before committing to the purchase, Caroline and
Julian visited the factory in France. Glass fibre Tofinou
yachts have been in production for about 40 years,
starting initially with the 7m version which came about
almost by accident. An owner of an original 1929
wooden Tofinou that was in a very sorry state
approached the yard enquiring about restoring it. It was
decided that it was beyond repair, but the suggestion was
made that they form a mould using its hull as a plug to
create a new GRP version of it. The result was so good
that it was decided to build more. The yard asked the
owner whether he would mind and he agreed on the
understanding that his would be the only pure white one.