The early days in La Rochelle

The AMEL Shipyard began operations in La Rochelle in 1964 when Henri Amel, who had previously subcontracted the construction of his sailing yachts to other yards, took over ARPIN (Ateliers Rochelais de Polyester Industriel et Naval), a company based in the Ville-en-Bois district of La Rochelle.
He had over 40 employees at the time, including draughtsman Jacques Carteau, who went on to become technical director and Henri Amel’s right-hand man, and later CEO of AMEL Shipyard.
The Copain, the Pampero, the Super Mistral Sport and the Euros 39 were all built in the La Rochelle workshops. As a pioneer in polyester construction, AMEL was building its boats using its own fibreglass cloth, using lamination to assemble the interior bulkheads, deck, and hull into one single piece, resulting in a perfectly watertight and extremely strong structure.