• The Dandy was invented by the Nantes company Beau as a boat.

  • Easy to handle, it allows you to sail without a licence, preferably on calm waters.

  • Cut for one person, it can be transported and stored easily.

It measures less than 2 meters long and 88 cm wide, but does not fail to attract attention.

Marketed for a year, the Dandy boat tries to break the codes of river navigation with its atypical use and look.

Designed by two thirty-somethings from Nantes, this original boat is an electric single-seater.

Easy to handle, it is aimed at both professionals and individuals.

“We imagined this boat so that it would be accessible to everyone, including people who are not used to going on the water.

We wanted something accessible without a license, without physical effort, without knowledge of navigation.

It is halfway between a kayak and heavier electric boats for day trips,” explain François Lagabrielle and Quentin Hubert, co-founders of Beau comme un bateau.

“He fits in the trunk of a car”

The small size of the Dandy, inspired by the phenomenon of mini boats born in the United States, is its main asset.

“We wanted a boat that could respond to the problems of storage and movement.

And so it fits in the trunk of a car and easily stores in a garage.

However, its modest dimensions allow it to be piloted by adults, "even adults", and weighing up to 130 kg.


Its battery gives hope of four hours of non-stop navigation at a maximum speed of 6 km/h.

No thrills, therefore, but "a feeling of sliding, a special relationship with the water because we are very close to the surface".

Unsinkable, the Dandy can also be used at sea.

It's a light boat, it's more intended for calm waters,” says François Lagabrielle.

"Something chic and quirky"

And then there is this rounded design, a little retro, evoking Venetian canoes.

“We wanted something chic, a bit quirky and pleasant to look at.

For children and grown-ups”, justifies the co-founder.

Composed mainly of composite materials, the Dandy is made entirely in Pays-de-la-Loire, in Mayenne in particular.

For the time being, around twenty of its electric boats have been sold, including fifteen in 2022, at a basic price of 7,200 euros fully equipped.

“We made our first model just before the health crisis, says François Lagabrielle.

The Covid has slowed down our plans but it's gone now.

The majority of sales are currently made to yacht clubs or tourism professionals.

The feedback is very encouraging.

»

The Nantes-based company hopes to at least double its turnover by February by taking advantage of the trade fair exposure.

Before looking further and developing rapidly “everywhere in France”, but also in Europe, “for example in Germany and the Netherlands where there is a lot of river navigation”.

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