PORTIER POWER BOATS FRENCH POLISH
Classic Boat|October 2020
Behind a name with a very French resonance lies the historical destiny of one of the most important builders of Swiss yachts, installed on Lake Zurich for more than 200 years.
GERALD GUETAT
PORTIER POWER BOATS FRENCH POLISH

There are few small family businesses – and even fewer boatyards – that can trace their origins back to the Napoleonic era. Location is key for standing the test of time, and around the alpine lakes you will find more boatbuilders with a long tradition of craftmanship than pretty much anywhere else. In Italy, Austria, Germany or Switzerland, the fresh waters are protected by mountain barriers, a defensive wall against the ravages of time that so devastate the marine coastlines.

However, the fate of the Portier house (originally Suter) is an exception. It was founded in 1815, a crucial year, full of twists, and the start of a new era in Europe. The emperor Napoleon abdicated that year on 22 June. In Switzerland, on 7 August, the Federal Pact was signed, forming the confederation of 22 cantons, of which Zurich, already one of the most populous in the country, was part. Its eponymous capital was already a major economic power thanks to the lake, which served as a transport route linking major border regions in the heart of Europe, long before the development of railways and roads. In addition, fishing was a crucial resource for the population, making the building and repairing of fishing boats a most important activity.

NO ONE IS A PROPHET IN HIS OWN LAND

In 1815, the year of Waterloo and the Vienna Congress, a man by the name of David Suter acquired some fine pieces of land in Meilen, ideally located on the edge of the water.

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