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Origin and history

The Landriais dry dock, located at Minihic-sur-Rance in Ille-et-Vilaine, is a remarkable maritime building built in the early twentieth century. It was erected in 1908 by the builder François Lemarchand to meet the growing needs for repair of large-scale fishing vessels, including Newfoundland. Unique in Europe by its size and architecture entirely made of wood, it was 45 metres long and adopted an oval shape, inspired by the hulls of ships. Its closing system, consisting of two vantals blocked by cross oaks, allowed to accommodate large-scale boats, a rarity between Brest and Cherbourg at the time.

The dry dock is part of the industrial history of the Landriais shipyard, founded in 1850 by the Saubost family and taken over in 1880 by François Lemarchand. In 1905, he obtained permission to occupy a parcel of land to establish a naval repair facility, culminating in the construction of the hold in 1908, which was put into service in 1910. The site, specialized in the construction of doris and motor boats, evolved with electrification in the 1920s thanks to a Duvant engine, still visible today. The hold, in service until World War II, has been rehabilitated and has been protected since 1996.

The architecture of the dry dock rests on a wooden plank frame, with about twenty intertwined poles covered with a calfat edge. Nearby workshops and warehouses in parpaing, wood or sheet metal, equipped with rails to lift ships, complemented the infrastructure. The site, which is still active as a shipyard, bears witness to the ingenuity of traditional shipbuilding techniques. Its downstream end, closed by a vantal door, and its layout to accommodate the bow of the ships illustrate its adaptation to the maritime needs of the era.

The Landriais dry dock embodies an exceptional maritime industrial heritage, linked to the golden age of high seas fishing in Brittany. Its inscription in historical monuments underscores its technical and historical value, while its recent rehabilitation preserves this unique testimony of the naval know-how of the early twentieth century. The site, managed today by an association, remains a living place, where it is still possible to observe original elements, such as the Duvant engine or the hoist rails, recalling its central role in the local economy.

The shipyard, which employed 11 people in 1971, was adapted to technological and economic developments, from the construction of sailboats to the maintenance of recreational and fishing vessels. In 2015, he had 15 employees, perpetuating a craft tradition while integrating modern tools. The dry dock, with its adjacent workshops and specialized tools (saws, planers, winches), forms a coherent set, reflecting almost a century and a half of uninterrupted activity in the service of the Breton navy.

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