Yann Quenet: From France to Canada in a 4m boat

French micro voyager Yann Quenet is currently transporting his home-built 4m boat across Canada ahead of a Pacific crossing in the spring

Yann Quenet has nothing to prove. The Breton solo sailor has already sailed 31,000nm around the world in his 4m home-built plywood boat, Baluchon.

But like many micro voyagers, such as Sven Yrvind and Tom McNally, the need to get back out there and do it again is strong, which is why Quenet decided to set sail from Brittany in June 2024 on another circumnavigation, but this time he has chosen to take a more northerly route.

In his garage in France, he built himself a new Baluchon, which is 20cm longer than his previous boat. He also had a slightly higher budget of €6,000 (€2,000 more than the original Baluchon) and made slight modifications to the design.

Baluchon 2 has a cat rig with a furling mast and no boom. Credit: Yann Quenet

The self-righting Baluchon 2 has a double lifting keel, each with 60kg bulbs, and a retractable rudder to make the boat easier to lift out, as well as provide stability and a shallow draught.

It also means he can move the boat by trailer; currently, he is towing Baluchon by mini van across Canada ahead of a Pacific crossing in the spring.

Yann Quenet arrived in Canada 12 weeks ago, having sailed from Saint-Martin in the Caribbean to the French archipelago, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, in 39 days. These islands are south of Newfoundland, and he stopped here to provision before arriving in Quebec City via the Magdalen Islands, a Canadian archipelago in the Gulf of St Lawrence and up the St Lawrence River.

On arrival in Quebec, Quenet shared that the river’s current had been challenging.

“Quebec, can you imagine! We went up the St Lawrence River almost all the way with Baluchon, which wasn’t designed for this at the beginning; we had a bit of a hard time…I still can’t believe it, we are here in Quebec. It took us two months to go up the river, which isn’t very glorious, but hey, we don’t have an engine”.

Yann Quenet has spent much of his life designing, building and sailing small yachts, most of them out of plywood, including a 6.5m gaff yawl and 6.05m Auric sloop.

His first attempt at crossing the Atlantic ended in disaster when the 14ft Skrowl pitchpoled off Portugal, and he had to be rescued.

He then designed the self-righting Baluchon, with a small sail (cat rig with a furling mast and no boom) and sailed it 31,000nm from Europe to the Caribbean, South America, Polynesia, New Caledonia, Reunion Island, South Africa, Brazil, the Azores, and then back to Brittany, where he landed in August 2022.

As well as changes to the keel and rudder on Baluchon 2, Yann Quenet reduced the size of the portholes for insulation and opted for a slightly smaller sail.

He also installed an inside tiller (which has a tiller pilot, which he uses for port entries and when passing ships) for steering in heavy weather and is using the 110Ah gel battery he had from his previous circumnavigation, having ditched his lithium batteries. Waterproof containers are used for locker space, storing food, spares, and wet weather gear. Cooking is via a small camping gas stove, which is fixed to the cabin sole to keep it as stable as possible; given the limitation of this, his diet is mostly freeze-dried noodles, tins of sardines and packets of cookies when on passage.

Baluchon 2’s rudder can be removed to make it easier to trail the boat. Credit: Yann Quenet

His berth is a mattress inset in the cabin sole, which keeps him secure in rough weather and provides maximum headroom, and his pillow is his yellow clothes bag, which is essentially his wardrobe.

Baluchon 2 is fitted with AIS, a fire extinguisher, a handheld VHF radio, a Garmin tracker, and he has an Ocean Signal PLB1 RescueME Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), which he took on his last voyage around the world.

Want to read more articles like Yann Quenet: From France to Canada in a 4m boat?

A subscription to Practical Boat Owner magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price.

Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals.

PBO is packed with information to help you get the most from boat ownership – whether sail or power.

• • • • Take your DIY skills to the next level with trusted advice on boat maintenance and repairs
      • Impartial, in-depth gear reviews
      • Practical cruising tips for making the most of your time afloat

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter