circa 1950 MATONNAT 460 Type : Dinghy Length : 4,60 m Width : 1,58 m Weight : approx. 350 kg Number of seat(s) : 2 Engine : Honda Type : HB 4 strokes Power : approx. 35 hp. The name Matonnat is associated with boating from 1933, when Gaspard Matonnat set up a small canoe and light river boat construction site in Nevers, on the Nièvre River. This artisanal workshop quickly acquired an enviable reputation for quality in its region and continued its activities under the new name of G. Matonnat & fils in 1939. It even produced a few outboard competition "shovels" equipped with American Elto engines. The same year, Pierre Matonnat, Gaspard's son, opened his own shipyard in Arcachon. After the Second World War, the same Pierre Matonnat also moved to the Paris region, taking over the premises of the excellent De Saever shipyard, a pioneer in motorboating, located at 71 quai de la Marne in Joinville-le-Pont. Its building site plates now show the two addresses of Joinville and Arcachon. The Matonnat dinghies are made of double planking of solid mahogany assembled with copper on frames made of thin acacia slats. It should be noted that at the end of the 1940s, Charles Van Praet, like other competition enthusiasts, started motorboating with a Matonnat dinghy of this type, equipped with a 1000 cc Johnson outboard engine of the type used by the American army. His performances will decide the new pilot to persevere and to launch out in higher category with a Liuzzi racing runabout. In the 1990's, his son Jean found a similar boat and had it restored, keeping as many original elements as possible. In addition, he fitted it with a Honda 4-stroke engine from the late 1980s. This silent engine, much more docile, flexible and reliable than an old 1000 cm3 two-stroke American surplus, allowed him to participate in classic rallies, entrusting it easily, on occasion, to family members or friends, without worrying about possible mechanical problems.