Vogueur
©Marina Geray
THE FRENCH MANUFACTURER OF TOP-OF-THE-RANGE CANOES MADE IN ARDÈCHE
Set up by Benjamin Mella, a native of Ardèche, the small, hand crafted company ‘Vogueur’ has been making top-of-the-range composite canoes in its Ruoms workshop since 2016.
A faint smell of resin wafts through the workshop. Benjamin, assisted by his apprentice Samuel, are busy building the hull of a canoe. Precise, meticulous movements are required to lay the synthetic fibre composite material. It still needs the final touches to be completed, but the streamlined boat is already taking shape…
In the large room next door, around twenty superb, brightly coloured boats are waiting patiently to sail on the river Ardèche. Others will go much further afield in Europe, such as Switzerland or Belgium. 30% are exported. Originally from Ardèche, Benjamin Mella created the Ardèche canoe brand ‘Vogueur’ in 2016. It is a carefully thought-out project for this river and canoe enthusiast, who discovered canoeing at the age of 8 at the Annonay club.
EXPERIENCE IN HIGH-LEVEL DISABILITY SPORT
Although he competed for a good twelve years (at French championship level), Benjamin has been interested in boatbuilding from an early age. This passion naturally led him to train in the field of plastics and composite materials at Oyonnax, Chambéry and then Montpellier.
After a number of professional experiences, including working for a Grenoble-based orthopaedic surgeon specialising in high-level disability sports, in 2009 the call of Ardèche became too strong. “I came back to Grospierres in southern Ardèche to set up my own small business called Ardèche Composites Technologies. I continued to work in the field of disability sports for alpine skiing while developing industrial subcontracting for ULM Air Création in Lanas (composite parts for light aircraft).”
©Benjamin Mella
LOCAL PRODUCTION: A BLEND OF TRADITION AND INNOVATION
Although the Vogueur brand has been around since 2016, it was really in 2021 that Benjamin decided to devote 100% of his time to making canoes. Local manufacturing, tradition and innovation are the DNA of Vogueur. “Ardèche has a historic relationship with canoeing and our moulds are authentic old models to which we add our modern touch to make our boats very light and responsive on the water,” says Benjamin.
The updated, historic shapes combine original character and new manufacturing technology with high-performance composite materials. Around thirty canoes are made each year in the Ruoms workshop, just a few metres from the river Ardèche. “Many professionals, canoe instructors from Ardèche and elsewhere, are our ambassadors and use our boats.”
Benjamin Mella feels short supply chains are very important, so works mainly with material producers from Ardèche and neighbouring departments. “Our various suppliers are less than 30 km from here.” The wood, such as chestnut, ash, etc., used for the fittings is exclusively from Ardèche.
Whether in the classic, expedition or touring range, Vogueur canoes are designed for everyone who wants to enjoy the activity in a high-performance boat. These are top-of-the-range canoes made in Ardèche which wonderfully continue and extend the tradition of white-water canoeing on the rivers of Ardèche.
FIND OUT MORE
VOGUEUR
940 routes des Gorges
Ruoms, France
+33(0)6 16 92 50 34
The full interview with Benjamin Mella is here