Saint Michel 2 is a replica of the second yacht of Jules Verne, built in 1876. The new Saint Michel 2 is built by an association, "
la cale 2 l'Ile", based in the port of Nantes. One of the last task of the naval architect is the weighting and stability tests. Weighting consists in measuring the free-board in order to compute the actual displacement of the boat. The stability test aims at determining the height of the center of gravity. As no high accuracy was required for this project, the test was done with 16 volunteers which have built the boat and are now making the last outfitting. Each volunteer was weighted. See the white scale on the quay! An electronic device gives the heeling angle. In the past, we used a pendulum, with a basin full of water to deaden the movement. The boat weight (about 20 tons) was lighter than expected, probably because the wood (8 tons) is very dry, just after launching.
