Boatbuilding & Restoration
Caring for and restoring boats and yachts since 1998
My career in boat building and restoration started on the Thames whilst working for Peter Freebody’s and co and later on sailing dinghies, launches and yachts in the South West. Boatbuilding is the foundation of all products from my workshop.
Dinghies
Salcombe yawls have been a regular on my workshop floor being rebuilt, restored or re- decked for two generations of the Stones family.
These beautiful boats can be seen racing very competitively throughout the summer in the Salcombe estuary and as a fleet are are recognised as being one of the countries finest examples of traditionally built clinker dinghies.
Yachts
Yachts by their very nature require care and upkeep especially as they age.
Repairs and alterations that are carried out on them needs to be appropriate to the style they are built in and for the changing structural needs that they may have as they mature.
A whole keel may need replacing, or just a few cabinets making for a galley, either way I believe that a boat should look as though no new work has taken place; that the new cabinets, keel, or winch block had always been there.
New Builds
Building new boats gives me the opportunity for to express my own distinct style of woodwork that has been developed over the years through various influences.
This can be seen in finishing details such as edges, use of curves, timber choice, and in signature construction methods.