From 1956 to 1974, the slipway of the Americans was the site of numerous vessel launches built by the renowned Rémy Cariou shipyard, established on- site. Rémy honed his skills alongside his father Per and brother Marcel at the Larvor shipyard in Loctudy.
On Île-Tudy, Rémy’s workshop produced a variety of boats, including flat-bottomed boats, trolling boats, wooden pinnaces and coastal trawlers measuring thirteen to fourteen metres in length. Each launch involved some spectacular and delicate manoeuvres (the narrowness of the sloping alleyway didn’t make things any easier) and the moving ceremony of boat’s christening presided over by the rector of Île-Tudy, to which relatives, friends, neighbours and colleagues were invited – quite a gathering! The photos of the launch of the coastal cruiser l’Insulaire (skipper Jean Le Bris) in February 1969 speak volumes.
The original shipyard was located at 17, avenue de Bretagne. After being converted into a shop, « Ty Ar Pesketerien » became a home. The architecture of the façade has been preserved.
In 1969, Rémy built a new boatyard at 32 bis, avenue de Bretagne, overlooking the estuary. The boat l’Insulaire was one of the first to be built there. Given the difficulty of transporting the boats to the cale des Américains, rails were laid on the shore.
The hangar has since been demolished, and the space is now occupied by a small by a small residential building.
In the first half of the twentieth century, Île-Tudy was home to three other shipyards, those of Eugène Canévet, Clément Riou and Yves (known as Yvon) Cariou (no relation to Rémy).
