Moored in Las Palmas, among dazzling white GRP yachts, Sweet Dreams is a boat I'll never forget. An elegant monohull crafted M in wood from many different trees, the hull is western yellow cedar with Khaya mahogany veneer and the coachroof and cockpit varnished teak. The interior is fitted out with Douglas fir, teak and oak. Every detail - from the rounded corners of the companionway hatch to the cream-painted tongue and groove panelling - has been planed, sanded and varnished to perfection.
The Bill Dixon one-design is a work of art, so it surprised me to learn that the owner, Roz Preston had built it by hand in Dorset, alongside late husband John. Was she a boatbuilder, I wondered? No, she was a former special advisor to Tony Blair! Sweet Dreams was in fact a retirement project - which later crossed the Atlantic.
So how does one go from advising a prime minister to building a boat? It all began, Roz told me, when she and John enrolled on a year-long course at the Boat Building Academy (BBA) in Lyme Regis. This gave them all the skills they needed to get started on their seven-year labour of love.
Keen to find out more, I got in touch with the BBA, and was invited to join fellow students for a day of their five-day wooden boat restoration course. The centre, nestled in Dorset's idyllic Lyme Bay, runs a range of short courses from City & Guilds qualifications to traditional boatbuilding, GRP repairs and sailmaking. Longer courses include furniture making and the 40-week boatbuilding course.
Sparkling Lyme Regis
A frost glistened on the beach and seagulls squabble as I pulled into the car park next to a decrepit clinker boat, which I later discovered belonged to student Ken Brand. Students have the option to work on their own boats during the course, but sadly the bottom had fallen out of this one in transit, and it was deemed beyond economic repair.
This story is from the Summer 2023 edition of Practical Boat Owner.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Summer 2023 edition of Practical Boat Owner.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Shearwater sloop sailing in the 1960s
Genevieve Leaper shares her late father John Leaper's recollections-compiled from handwritten notes-of cruising the Channel
Timing an Atlantic crossing
Professional meteorologist and sailor Chris Tibbs shares his knowledge of how to choose the best time to sail 'across the pond'
Transatlantic first
It's 70 years since Ann Davison became the first woman to sail solo across the Atlantic. Katy Stickland looks back at her achievement
Going dizzy on an island sailing odyssey
Ken Fowler becomes the first sailor to circumnavigate every island in England and Wales-and all done in a 4m dinghy!
Boats for coastal cruising
Duncan Kent chooses a selection of the best sail and motor boats under 40ft most suitable for adventurous cruising along the coast
Industry view on HVO
The RYA, IWA and CA are working to help recreational boating transition to a Net Zero future, as the CA's
HVO RENEWABLE DIESEL Myth or miracle?
A new generation of biofuel that's cleaner, greener, better for your engine and less prone to microbial growth sounds too good to be true... but the facts beg to differ
Little ships and the wrong sort of waves
Why the correct manoeuvres for the sea conditions will reduce hogging and sagging stress on both ship and crew
Watching boats, saving jerseys
It's amazing what you can see from a hospital window if it's the right hospital
Sweating the mooring asset
Sam Llewellyn looks at ways of getting top value out of his boat's swinging mooring
