Design and Construction
The 1122 carries a solid fiberglass hull and deck rather than a cored laminate, and sits on a fin keel with a skeg-hung rudder. Her ballast is lead, quoted at 6,834 pounds against a 16,094-pound displacement, a 42.46 percent ballast ratio that the available comparison data places above 62 percent of similar sailboat designs anchor. That figure, combined with a beam of just over 11.5 feet and a loaded draft near 6.2 to 6.5 feet, gives her the section stability and righting moment typical of a Koopmans cruiser without recourse to a bulb or shoal profile. The yard's own history with cored decks on other models is not echoed here; the 1122's solid deck avoids that moisture-path concern by construction.
Rig and Handling
The boat is a conventional masthead sloop, and the standing and running rigging dimensions recorded for her are generous for the size. Jib and genoa sheets are listed at 11.2 meters with a 14 mm diameter, the mainsheet at 28.1 meters of the same diameter, and spinnaker sheets at 24.7 meters anchor. Those lengths confirm a full-sized overlapping headsail plan and a long traveler run, implying a cockpit laid out for crewed sailing rather than minimalist short-handed work. The draft band of 1.90 to 2.00 meters dependent on load means she will only comfortably enter major marinas, a real constraint for the cruiser who favors shallow gunkholing.
Accommodations
The available material supplies no interior arrangement detail for the 1122 beyond her status as a cruising sailboat of 36.81 feet overall with a 30.18-foot waterline. The 79-gallon water and 47-gallon diesel capacities suggest a liveaboard-capable range for a couple.
Refits and Ownership
With production ending in 2005 and the yard itself closing for good in 2018, any 1122 on the water today is a boat whose support network has shifted from builder to owner community. The solid-hull construction and conventional fin-keel geometry keep her within the reach of any competent fiberglass repair shop.
The Verdict
The Victoire 1122 is a scarce, thoughtfully ballasted Koopmans-designed cruiser whose solid build and conventional rig will appeal to sailors who value predictable stability over trend-driven lightweight construction. Her draft limits her to deeper water, and her rarity means buyer and owner must be self-reliant.
Pros
- Lead-ballasted hull with a ballast ratio above nearly two-thirds of comparable designs anchor
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck, avoiding cored-deck moisture risks seen elsewhere in the marque
- Conventional masthead rig with full-size sheet runs suited to crewed sailing
Cons
- Draft of 6.2 to 6.5 feet restricts her to major-marina access
- Only twenty built, limiting parts interchange and community knowledge
