the Story of French shipyard Latitude 46 difficult. It should be considered the beginning of 1929, the code appeared the yacht Tofinou, or 1987, when Philip Joubert have made it world famous? Legend has it that classic wood 7-meter Tofinou was built by captain Merle in a defunct state Dahomey in 1929. Half a century later, its owner asked Jubera to restore the ship, but instead with the Tofinou was filmed the matrix and built a new yacht has already been made of fiberglass. The owner got his boat (supposedly the only Tofinou white), and then went custom build.
Thanks to the classic lines of the Tofinou 7 has become very popular. Was created a monotype class, and the yacht "sea people" (as translated Tofinou with Dahomey) began to participate in regattas.
the Idea of building a modern yacht in the classical style became the philosophy of Latitude 46, and the shipyard located on Ré island.
Under design BureauJoubert-Nivelt in 1995, launched a line of classic motor boats Andreyale, and early 2000s, a model Tofinou 9.5 and Tofinou 12. They, too, became a sports monotypes.
In 2007, Philippe Joubert is retired, having sold Latitude 46 French entrepreneur Christian itcovici the. The new owner added a line of 8, 12, and 16th yachts, which had a hand Philippe Starck.
In 2013, Latitude 46 went bankrupt and was sold to the French Experton-Revollier SA, which already owned the shipyard >Wauquiez. By the way, Christian Itcovici headed both companies.
In 2014, Latitude 46 changed residence from the Ile de Ré to the mainland of La Rochelle. The shipyard has 1,500 square meters of production space and more than 5,000 sq m maintenance hangars and storage facilities. The company, together with the shipyard Wauquiez is controlled by the family Itcovici, employs about 50 people.
the Shipyard Latitude 46 produces >daysailer and Tofinou range Andreyale classic powerboats. Also since 2007, the shipyard has been building yachts under the brand >Alphena Yachts.
the Basic rate the Builder makes on the brand Tofinou, the range is gradually expanding. At the Dusseldorf show in 2017, Latitude 46 Tofinou introduced the model 10C. The flagship model is considered to be introduced in 2012, the Tofinou 16.
Today there are more than 400 buildings Tofinou 7. and yet, these boats are a niche product. Daysailer Tofinou 7, 8, 9.5 and 12 recognized as monotypic classes and regularly participate in French regattas for classic yachts, like Régates Royales and Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Latitude 46 yachts builds-to-order with customization (if it's not against the rules of the class). The owners of the Tofinou is a narrow community of people with similar interests and prosperity (there's even Tofinou International Club). Owning a yacht Tofinou can be a window into this narrow circle, but a "pass" will be expensive.