Tag: boat building academy

Boat Building Academy students build a good looking Joel White-designed Haven 12 1/2

Boat Building Academy Haven 12 and a half

Boat Building Academy Haven 12 and a half Gary Thompson and helpers Boat Building Academy Haven 12 and a half

This lovely-looking shiny new boat is a Joel White-designed Haven 12 1/2 built in epoxy glass and foam with a traditional fit-out and spars. She was made by three Boat Building Academy students, Gary Thompson, Yoann Henric and Nick Lawther (see second photo).

Sadly the Haven 12 1/2 was one of two boats that did not make the water on the students’ summer launch day – Lyme’s harbour master decided the wind was a bit too frisky.

Gary is at the far left in the second photo; he is to start work with Wessex Resin’s technical expert David Johnson; Yoann in the centre of the photo has returned to France to find work near Marseille,  and Nick plans to set up a small boatyard in Australia in a few months.

PS – On launch day boat builder, occasional instructor, very good friend of the academy and former Royal Marines sargeant major Roy Gollop donned his bowler hat and did the honours in getting the twelve boats organised and down to the harbour with something approaching military promptness.

Boat builders? Military promptness? It sounds marvellous if slightly implausible, but  a bowler-hatted Mr Gollop is probably not someone to argue with!

Boat Building Academy Roy Gollop Launch

Boat Building Academy students’ launch day summer 2011




Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy boat launch 2011

Reader Fraser McGruer sent us this link to his video of the Boat Building Academy students’ launch day summer 2011, which took place a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t often like the music people use as background to their videos, but I very much enjoyed this one, and I hope you do too.

Big crowds and strong winds at the Boat Building Academy’s summer student launch


Boat Building Academy launch crowds summer 2011 photos by Tracy Marler

Boat Building Academy launch crowds summer 2011 photos by Tracy Marler Boat Building Academy launch crowds summer 2011 photos by Tracy Marler

Photos by Tracy Marler

For years Boat Building Academy students at Lyme have been amazingly lucky with the weather on their big launch day – but not this time. These shots were taken at the summer launch day on the 7th June. The weather was mean and moody, and although the rain kept off for most of the day, Academy principal Yvonne Green reports that the big issue was wind.

‘Two of the boats couldn’t go in: the harbourmaster saw the Yachting World Dayboat zip through the harbour and decided the Haven 12 1/2 and the Half Rater were staying on the shore,’ she says, ‘but the other ten were launched to the cheers of a crowd of between three and four hundred people.’

It’s a shame about the weather, but what a great turn out!

I gather Yvonne is gathering together photos of the original boats for us. To read about the twelve boats the students build over the winter, click here.