The gentleman builder
Classic Boat|March 2020
Weighing up the wonderful and not so wonderful memories.
The gentleman builder

It will have been well over a year since I downed tools, forsook the Old Milking Parlour down by the shores of Loch Broom, and vowed never to take up a ball-peen hammer in anger ever again, at least for money. Those who believe I should be pining for the smell of oak dust and the whine of the bandsaw can think again. These days, and it is in the midst of a bitter winter I write, the idea of heading down to the yard, turning the key in the old double doors and, in a cloud of steaming breath, set about fitting another plank to another clinker boat, fills me with dread as I stoke the embers in the wood burner and catch the news on the BBC.

This story is from the March 2020 edition of Classic Boat.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the March 2020 edition of Classic Boat.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CLASSIC BOATView All
Classic Boat

The Need For Speed

Saving lives at sea has always been bound to the speed of rescue, from the first rowing boats to the 60-knot, all-weather motorboats of today

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2021
ROW YOUR BOAT
Classic Boat

ROW YOUR BOAT

There has been a steady rise in recreational rowing over the past few years, and the choice can be bewildering. What’s the right boat for you?

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2021
Traditional Tool
Classic Boat

Traditional Tool

JOINER’S NAME STAMP

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2021
Classic misuse of a word
Classic Boat

Classic misuse of a word

Real classic ownership involves rot, rust and reward

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2021
Classic Boat

SCUD MISSILE

Herreshoff’s newly-restored Bar Harbor 31 Scud lit up the classic racing scene in the Med in 2020 with a double win at Cannes and Saint-Tropez

time-read
10 mins  |
March 2021
BOSUN'S BAG
Classic Boat

BOSUN'S BAG

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THE TRADITIONAL BOATER

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2021
DOUG LEEN - Tugboat man
Classic Boat

DOUG LEEN - Tugboat man

Vietnam vet, park ranger, dentist, small-craft conservator and tugboat skipper.... meet Ranger Doug!

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2021
CHANCE TO SAVE AN Albert Strange yawl
Classic Boat

CHANCE TO SAVE AN Albert Strange yawl

Chances at Albert Strange ownership don’t come up often, and Sheila II is the quintessential Strange – and one with a great history, too

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2021
AFFORDABLE CLASSIC Salcombe Yawls
Classic Boat

AFFORDABLE CLASSIC Salcombe Yawls

A friend and I once decided that walking might make a change from sailing. So we set forth to walk from Branscombe to Bigbury, a 100-mile stretch of the south-west coastal path marked by knackering climbs and knee-wrenching descents.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2021
Cardiff, Wales - Save The Elena Maria Barbara!
Classic Boat

Cardiff, Wales - Save The Elena Maria Barbara!

A rare, 18th-century schooner replica, restored to the tune of around £1 million, could be abandoned if a buyer is not found soon.

time-read
2 mins  |
February 2021