The barquette marseillaise designed by shipwrights from Naples or Procida at the end of the 19th century quickly replaced the traditional Provençal boats. Compared to them, it benefited from the double advantage of a much lower manufacturing cost and a better sea resistance. The barquette's stability, shallow draft, ability to weave its way along the steep coastline of the Phocaean city and to be easily hoisted to shelter in the event of a brutal gale make it idealy suited to sailing conditions in Marseille.