Tag: lyme regis

Gareth Evans builds a Mallard at the Boat Building Academy

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I think Gareth’s probably the chap in the sensible hat

Finally, here’s more news of one more graduate of the Boat Building Academy at Lyme Regis – the fourth in a series about boats built by students while at the Academy, thanks to principal Yvonne Green

‘Gareth Evans’ working life had always been related to trees as a tree surgeon and forester, but the idea of boat building nagged at him for fourteen years. It wasn’t possible for him to take a year out of work until finally last year he joined the Academy and built a 12ft traditional clinker Mallard designed by Andrew Wolstenholme.

‘Gareth’s another of this year’s graduates who have gone into business in some way – he’s now renting workshop space in Exeter where he plans to use his knowledge of wood as a supplier, and his knowledge of boat building by building and restoring boats.’

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Charlie Hussey builds a modified peapod

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Seapod the peapod, built by Charlie Hussey

Here’s more news from Yvonne Green, principal of the Boat Building Academy at Lyme Regis – the third in a series about boats built by students while at the Academy.

Charlie Hussey built Seapod, a modified North American peapod originally based on a couple of existing peapod designs.

‘Frankly, at the beginning we tried to put him off the build,’ says Yvonne. ‘He had spent twenty five years in the IT industry, the last fifteen as founding director of a software services company. It was all a long way from working with wood and the build was not an easy one, a 15ft carvel double-ended sailing boat.

‘But we hadn’t reckoned on Charlie’s intelligence, tenacity and sheer hard work. We’re glad we were wrong. Seapod is a beautiful little boat. Charlie also found time, while on the course, to write a detailed weblog of the work he did. It’s at http://boatbuilding.wordpress.com He’s now back in Scotland, looking for a restoration job, and has started a new website and weblog, http://marinecarpentry.com‘

Thanks for the tipoff, Yvonne. I think it will be well worth following, and naturally I’ve added it to the intheboatshed.net blogroll, which appears to the right of this post.

Seapod was one of the best things I saw at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show this year and looking back at my files I took quite a few photos of her. As usual, click on the thumbnails below for bigger and better images. Well done Charlie!

Seapod pictured at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show

For more posts relating to the Boat Building Academy and its students, click here.

There’s a nice discussion of the peapod type in John Gardner’s book Building Classic Small Craft, which may well be available via ABE Books.

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Boats built by Boat Building Academy students

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Ian Thompson folding dinghy Nestaway

Ian Thomson and his Nestaway folding dinghy

Yvonne Green, principal of the Boat Building Academy at Lyme Regis has kindly sent us some photos and details of boatbuilding projects by recent students. Thanks Yvonne!

Ian Thomson joined the Boat Building Academy’s 38-week course because he wanted to develop a sectional dinghy, now known as Nestaway. Since leaving the Academy he and the student who helped him on the build have set up a workshop in Dorset and will be exhibiting at the Southampton Boat Show this year. Readers may also have seen it at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show this year.

In an earlier life, Ian was sales director for Nauticalia, so I’m sure he has the enterprise to make a success of the Nestaway, if anyone can do it.

The Nestaway photographed at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show

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