Tanning

Tanning is indispensible for protecting sails. Before the fishing campaign, the sails are spread on the quays and on the slipways, and then the whole crew is working with brush brooms to work in well the rubber. Rubber is a product extracted from a variety of Indian acacias. It is diluted in containers filled with very hot water and then the sails are soaked in it. A lot of different tanning recipes exist. In Douarnenez, the sails of the luggers are nearly black due to double dose of rubber. After the First World War, the rubber was replaced by ochre.