Our founder, Otello Salani, was born in 1924 on the coast
of Tuscany. He began working on boats at the young age of
13, when his family moved to the town of Limite sull'Arno
in the province of Florence, where much of the town's labor
force was dedicated to building wooden boats of every kind.
He worked for about 3 years
at the Arno Boatshop, until his nostalgia for the Mediterranean
coast became unbearable. He was passionate about boats,
and wood, and despite his young age was able to command
a good wage working in the big boatyards near Viareggio.
But wanderlust once again
won over and he began travelling around Tuscany with a few
other skilled coworkers, building everything from fishing
boats to elegant yachts. One day the word got out that a
certain Count Gaddo della Gherardesca was looking for talented
boatbuilders to build sleek rowing shells, and Otello's
curiosity was immediatly piqued.
The Count had begun producing
rowing shells in fine Spanish Cedar, and soon had his boats
in demand all over Europe. Otello worked with him for a
few years until a fight with the yard boss caused him to
leave, despite the exhortations of the Count who valued
his craftsmanship.
Deciding that the time had
come to be his own boss, Otello headed back to Limite, where
with his father-in-law he founded Salani boats. The year
is 1950.
|
A
new Salani double - 1960's circa |
Working mostly for the local
clubs in Limite (founded in 1860) and in Florence (founded
in 1890), his boats were highly appreciated. Meanwhile he
kept his passion for launches and motorboats, which were
in high demand in the economic boom times that Italy was
enjoying.
|
| Primo
Baran winning the gold in a Salani pair - 1969 |
By 1957 he was able to buy
a new boatbuilding facility and dream about his legacy -
as in that same year his son Leonardo is born.
|
Trying
out motorboats on the Arno |
In this manner 15 years of
intense boatbuilding go by, with rowing shells being built
alongside beautiful motorboats from 4 to 17 meters in length.
Even small ferry boats were built, one of which, the Dea,
is still in use today in Sardegna.
Inn the world of pleasure
boats, though, the competition is fierce and the workshop
is starting to feel small. Over the years the town had grown
up around the workshop and getting the completed boats out
of the door got harder and harder. Meanwhile the near-monopoly
that the Count had on the rowing market is coming to an
end, and so Otello decides to dedicate the company solely
to rowing, which at the time included kayaks and racing
canoes as well.
|
| Leonardo,
age 4, watching as a yacht is carerfully brought out
of the shop. |
Intuiting the direction of
progress, in 1970 Otello launches a fiberglass division,
producing singles and doubles for racing and school use.
They were yellow with black stripes... a combination that
more than two decades later would become well-known on race
courses!
|
A
"yolette" in fiberglass |
But despite the future being
in composite boats, the rowing market isn't quite ready
for them. Plus, Otello has a hard time finding boatbuilders
willing to work with these newfangled materials. The market
is still thirsty for wooden shells and so the fiberglass
line is temporarily put aside. He was ahead of his time.
|
| La
flotta della Marina militare con le sue barche Salani |
The 1980's are the apex of
the wooden rowing shell, with the invention of ultrathin,
ultraresistant hulls in plywood veneer. During this time
Salani Boats produced every aspect of their boats: oarlocks,
riggers, footstretchers, nuts, bolts, and fins, selling
accessories to other boatbuilders and rowing clubs. The
Salani oars, especially, were highly prized.
|
| The
Italian olympic team in 1972 with their Salani oars
on Lake Albano |
In 1976 Leonardo, now 19 years
old, begins to work alongside his father. After just a few
years he's called away for military service, but has the
good fortune, and talent, to be posted to Sabaudia to row
for the navy. Back home in Limite he keeps rowing and in
1982 wins gold at the Wolrd Championships as stroke in the
lightweight 8+.
Towards the end of the 1980's
Otello leaves more and more of the operation of the shop
to Leonardo, who is busy building up the composite fiber
division of the production. By the end of the decade, the
only boats still being produced in wood are the beautiful
open-water "yole" and "canoini".
In 1987 the next generation
of Salanis is born: Elia. A rower like his father, the continuation
of the family tradition will be his responsability, bringing
with him the novelties that the 21st century will offer.
Today, Salani Boats has over
2000 m2 of production space, double the original structure.
We produce over 200 boats per year, for markets in Italy,
Europe and beyond. The construction materials are the finest
in the world, hailing from Japan, Germany, Australia and
of course Italy. Our staff of boatbuilders has many decades
of experience, with several who began work as young adults
when boats were still being made of wood. All are Italian,
and proud of producing these fine, MADE IN ITALY racing
shells.
The know-how in their hands,
and the passion for rowing shared by all, allows us to stand
by our boats as no mere distributor or importer can.
