They live in the following countries:

Thanks to all of them.

There are a lot of photos so it's pretty long to download them but it's worth a visit.

François Zanella's boat

  But who is François Zanella ?

Maybe you've heard of him or seen him on "Thalassa", the French TV programme?

François is an ex coal miner of the Lorraine Collieries.

He has always built models, most of the time model boats.

One day, he decided to build a model that was not 2 m long, but 33.50!

It is a model one eighth of a huge liner: 

The Majesty of the seas

The Royal Carribbean International, which operate the liner, have a nice website that you can visit if you click on the boat above.

The real liner is 268 m long, 33 m wide and it weighs 73,941 tons. It was built in 1992 at the shipyard "Chantiers de l'Atlantique" in Saint-Nazaire, France, and it can accommodate up to 2354 passengers and 827 crew members.

But let's come back to dear old François.

His model, if one may still call it so, has become a real masterpiece whose structure weighs 70 tons,

out of a total weight of 90 tons.

Of course, this liner which was built in his backyard will eventually sail as it has been built according to the standards of manufacture and checked by competent authorities.

François started building his boat on 10 August 1994 after logging 3500 hours drawing plans.

He totalled about 25,000 hours to achieve his dream.

He, for sure, has no idea of what a 35-hour working week is.

François first built a shed in which he started working on his project.

July 1995: he finished the prow in his hangar and then had to take out this 11 m long piece weighing 17 tons in order to have it

sandblasted

and painted.

Then he finished the stern which he had to take out too.

In the meantime, François' friends created an association in Saint-Nazaire and called it

"Zanella Majesty folie's" ;

Armel, Roland, Stéphane, André, and Jean-François, the team of Saint-Nazaire, at work.

Once the stern was out, François started working on the central part and his friends in Saint-Nazaire came to weld the three parts together, which saved him 4 months' work.

This is the team of Saint-Nazaire with François: Roland, Jean-François, Armel and André.

As you can see on the picture below, the anchors have been set up.

They weigh 80 kg each.  

1999: TSV company, based in Stiring-Wendel (Moselle)

lifted the boat and landed it onto concrete blocks.

February 1999: France Hélices offered François two propellers, which François estimated at its true worth.

This is what it looks like on the boat:

The stem propellers

April 1999: SNAT, Saint-Nazaire came to deliver furniture coming from "Chantiers de l'Atlantique" to put it up in François' boat.

SCHMITT, a lumbering company based in Lachambre (Moselle)

is about to put in the bathroom installations offered by "Chantiers de l'Atlantique".

This requires careful aiming to get it in the right place.

29 May 1999: Putting up of the funnel in the presence of the press and all the sponsors.

It was very moving and the siren did hoot.

My wife's poem to celebrate the putting up of the funnel on 29 May 1999.

This is not a word for word translation, of course.

Almost 5 years ago now,

François, a long since inhabitant of Morsbach,

Sailed out on a long cruise.

What was only a dream in the beginning,

Soon became an unbelievable passion:

To build his own boat, that was his mission.

From dream to reality, there was only a bridge to cross,

Which he did, wearing no life-jacket but a boiler suit instead,

Ever since navigating between pipes and metal scraps,

Hammers, screws, soldered pieces and pliers.

Relatives and friends often come alongside

This master piece ready for all weathers.

"Cast off ! " will soon be the words pronounced

By a nice, deserving, persevering and famous sailor,

Living in a small village of Lorraine,

Who is bound to become a real captain some day.

May 1999 : The Centre de Formation WAAG of Forbach (Moselle) helped François by lending him a trailer to fetch ceiling boards, pannels and furniture in the workshops of Montoir (Loire-Atlantique)

The truck was lent by Garage Pierrard, the Renault heavy vehicles dealer in Saint-Avold (Moselle).

Loading and way back from Saint-Nazaire

June 1999: Putting up of the bathroom installations, which are the same as those of the liner "Vision F 31", offered by Chantiers de l'Atlantique de Saint-Nazaire.

It looks real.

July 1999: Anstallation of the first sleeping-room, coming from the liner "Mistral",

also built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

August 1999: during the cruise on board the real Majesty of the Seas,

François is introduced to the Captain and visits the wheelhouse.

built in the Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

04 December 1999: At the Paris Boat Show : François is introduced to Georges Pernoud,

the famous TV presenter of "Thalassa".

May 2000: François conceived and built two lifts. Manu-Lorraine, based in Enery (Moselle), offered two masts of a fork-lift truck. Mangin, based in Saint-Avold and Ronal France, Bitche (Moselle) offered somewhat special shower doors and this is the result :

And it works !

Now François also works inside. He built two real panoramic lifts, including the electrical and hydraulic parts, insulation, wall partitions, heating, decoration and what not.

They are operated by L 10 hydraulic pumps offered by HYDRO René LEDUC, Azerailles (Meurthe-et-Moselle).

On the left, a general view and on the right, the L10 pumps.

On this general view, you can also see on the left, a large copper ring (I think it's copper),

manufactured by SCHAEFFER, Forbach (Moselle). This ring will hold the propeller shaft.

This is a real masterpiece.

 Unfortunately, the security commission asked François to put off one of the lifts.

About a week's work and more decorating is needed yet.

Christmas 2000:

Father Christmas was very generous: a boiler, a hot water tank and radiators.

This is the De Dietrich boiler coming from their company in Mertzwiller (Haut-Rhin)

and from Chauffage Becker in Sarreguemines (Moselle).

Maintenance by MSZ, "Z for Z.....A".

May 2002: The Mini Majesty of the Seas' wheelhouse is completed.

 The control panel.

June 2002: The Centre de Formation WAAG on another trip to Saint-Nazaire.

Paul, Grégory (working at TV8, the local TV), François and Bernard before leaving.

To glue the portholes, the glass windows, the partitions and to insulate everything, Wurth France, Erstein (Bas-Rhin)

offered François some waterproof glue and it does adhere, you can trust me.

The glue tubes.

April 2003: This is a view of the drawing room being equipped.

A picture taken from the dining room. It needs tidying up.

You've got to insulate, upstairs and downstairs, just as in a house.

ROCKWOOL Isolation, Paris offered 700 m² rockwool. It's going to be nice and warm in this boat.

This is the kitchen, the lift on the right, with its optical fibres lit up.

Of course, the furniture is still missing.

April 2003: This is the wheelhouse with its two pilot seats.

Each seat is equipped with nonskid footrests

This is an oil tank with gratings on the front.

The footrests and all that is going to be used as a floor in the engine room were offered by

Lichtgitter, Freyming-Merlebach:

The gangway under works. A good length of cables will have to be laid.

Câblere Lapp, Forbach (Moselle) offered François connection equipment.

July 2003: Aquarine based in Châtellerault (Vienne) offered François a corner bathroom.

Thanks to Isabelle and Stéphane who made the trip.

This is the upstairs bathroom, almost finished.

François has been working recently on the installation of the rosace which will be placed above the dining room window.

There are about 300 small fibres flashing. It's magical.

François and Bernard Baumel, a gifted cabinetmaker who made the wood structure of the rosace.

Here you are. The rosace in the dining room is finished.

Still in the dining room, while François was busy somewhere else, Sylvain Froehlinger did some paint and spatula work on the walls. Seeing this man at work is fascinating.

Of course, I oversee the work through the window, without being noticed.

Now let's go to a place which must be laid out neatly: the BAR.

First, the lower part, that's to say the store, without which a bar is of no use.

At the front and at the back. It's still empty !

Now the part hanging from the ceiling. Splendid !

You can see glasses down, and therefore still empty.

Robert and François, pretending they're having a drink.  

A more detailed view:

As for the sofa and the book, well, this will come later.

Now let's go to the kitchen.

Our friend Patrick Santoro, living in the small village of Ebring (Moselle).

He specialises in laying tiled floors and just like the rest, François included, he's a bit mad (no offence meant).

He spends time laying tiles without losing his smile.

The kitchen has been put up. It looks very nice.

 Maybe this is not very clear but this black door is the 2nd lift going up to the kitchen.

Lately, François went to see his friends of Saint-Nazaire and came back with about 150 m² carpeting

that Zanella Majesty folie's obtained with the help of Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

For the open doors days, on 12-13 June 2004, part of the carpeting was laid.

 In the entrance hall, there's going to be a frescoe offered by Granifor Forbach

and in details

The job is finished.

As you can see, François has done a lot of work lately :

The engines have been installed, together with the reversers

The transmission shaft, the reverser (in red), the engine and François's hands.

The rudder jack offered by ECKERT, based in Forbach (Moselle) and the generator.

You've got to think about how to pass under bridges or into tunnels.

The boat is too tall to pass under the bridge. What can you do to lower the boat ?

Easy for François : the radar mast, the funnel and the guardrail of the sun-deck are removable

and there is a second hold you can fill with water.

The boat is now 22 tons heavier and thus, lower

The ballast tank pumps :

December 2004 : Maud Fontenoy the future christener

of the boat with François.

This girl is now trying to row across the Pacific and is a model of courage and perseverance.

Good luck to her.

You can cheer her up at the following address, because she needs it :

http://www.pacifiqueamainsnues.com/

 She's here.

Congratulations, Maud.

The boat must be clean when her godmother comes.

This man climbs like a monkey.

After cleaning, the boat must be painted before she is launched.

Jean-Michel, Sylvain and Bernard (me) holding paint-brushes and rollers in awkward positions.

More and more pleasant to look at.

The following pictures will show you the dining-room, the drawing-room and the lobby to the lower floor.

The dining-room with and without curtains.

The drawing-room and the way to the kitchen and the bedrooms.

Yvette Serge Mayer sewed the curtains and did a good job.

A few views from aft.

To have an eye on all this, OMISECURITY and Panasonic participated in the record

of the largest navigating model in the world by offering the video surveillance equipment.

There are eight movie-cameras.

Four outside (two which can be used as rearview-mirrors and one on the sun-deck)

and four inside : one in the stokehold, one in the electricity room, one in the engine room

and one for the pumps that fill the ballast tanks.

Joël Roux and Gilbert Reyland installing and connecting the different movie-cameras.

Little space to work …

The whole boat will be under surveillance from the wheelhouse of course,

but also from the living-room

and also from the bedroom.

The outside of the boat is finished, the hangar taken down

and the visitors have a superb view on the shipyard in Morsbach.

The boat will be launched on 23 June 2005 and there will be a lot of people …

 GMBH Mayer based in Zweibrucken, Germany will transport the boat and, in the meantime,

loading preparations go on.

The boat must be as low as possible so the funnel must be dismantled.

It will be transported on another truck.

It is dismantled and put on its base in no time :

A model of accuracy for Jean and Laurent.

It's finished. The boat has been launched.

Loading, transport, launch, christening, everything was OK.

It was just GREAT.

The pictures will be on line in a few days.

While the local newspaper is preparing a special issue for 21 June, let's surprise the journalists.

It's a case of the biter being bit.

Philippe, Josette (with Cindy) and Vanessa.

In the distance, under a parasol, Véronique and François having a fresh drink.

Philippe Riedinger taking shot after shot of our local miner.

He is soon going to cast anchor to get some rest and make the most of his "liner" .

Thank you for having followed him to the end of his dream. See you soon.

Thanks to François, about 250 people met on the deck of the real "Majesty of the Seas" in Miami in August 1999 for a cruise organized by Royal Carribbean International.

François welcomed by Mr Richard Fain, CEO of Royal Carribbean International.

François invited to the table of Olav Nyseter, Captain of the Splendour of the Seas.

Some data:

 Scale: 1/8th

Length: 33.5 m

Width: 4.75 m

Headroom: 3.5 m

Draught: 1.06 m

Weight: 90 tons in fresh water and 96 tons in salt water.

Two 100 hp engines

Two 38 kw stem propellers

160 m² living space

60 m² upper deck

François on the upper deck.

Each of them has his own plaque and François must be thinking that without these people,

he wouldn't have gone so far.

 David, a young man who was surprised, puzzled and then excited by François's story.

He asked François if he might visit his boat.

François accepted and David was able to visit the dockyard of the Chantiers de l'Atlantique

In 1999, David came to Morsbach to bring a model of the hangar and part of the boat

(this picture will be on line in a few days).

In 2003, he camped for a week beside the boat and now he is here for the loading and the launch.

He has come with Caroline, a beautiful young girl.

She is a wine-grower's daughter and the couple made François a beautiful present :

a huge bottle of wine with the Majesty of the Seas printed on it.

Caroline Sourdais and David Moutard

Why not have some fun.

I have a friend in Saint-Nazaire who has a very interesting site on the boats built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique. Just click on the boat.

You must see it.

In August 2002, we went on a second cruise on the Explorer of the Seas with about 200 other people. It was just as terrific.

These cruises have been described. Just click on the links at the bottom of the page.

I'd like to thank all those who came for the last open day visit and had to wait in the cold and rain.

Some of the many visitors had to wait for as much as 3 hours!

But all of them were nice and we couldn't work any quicker.  

The preparations for the open doors days on 12 and 13 June 2004.

Germain, Gilbert, Christian and the friendly team of Thalassa

Paul, Cindy, Germain and Gilbert

Jasmine, Christian and Paul

Nicole, François, Jasmine and the Thalassa team on the boat.

 A few visitors wished they were allowed to smoke on board but the boat is " non smoking " and will remain so.

Marie-Jeanne and Christophe, who helped with the kitchen, a little tired in the evening.

Thank you and see you soon.  

 Page d'accueil § Petits clumbers § Clumbers § 203 § Sécurité routière § Conduite accompagnée § Tableaux

Permis de conduire § FORBACH § Forbach d'antan § Le bateau de François § François Zanella's boat

Le chargement du bateau § Le levage du bateau § Le transport du bateau § La mise à l'eau du bateau § Le Majesty après...

§ Navigation sur la Sarre §

Loading the boat § Lifting the boat § Transporting the boat § Launching the boat

Croisière sur le Majesty of the seas § Croisière sur l'Explorer of the seas

Amis à poils ou à plumes § Mes liens