Swallows and Amazons dinghies & tenders

Could these be the perfect small family boat? Let your imagination guide you in one of these traditional clinker sailing dinghies, whilst exploring quiet coves and rivers away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Pictured here is 'Swallow' the boat written about in Arthur Ransome's classic children's books 'Swallows and Amazons'. We could build a replica of any of Ransome's boats from the information available, or build any other small rowing/sailing dinghy to suit individual requirements or budget

16' Norwegian Faering

These beautifully elegant rowing and sailing boats were the traditional working craft from the Oselver region in Norway. They are delightful to row being light and very easily driven by one or two rowers, yet with the buoyancy to carry passengers or camping gear.

16'6" inboard launch by Paul Gartside

With a small diesel inboard engine, this lovely little launch would make an ideal workboat or fishing boat. With a yacht finish she would become a nice picnic launch for pleasure use.
see more designs from Paul Gartside...

23' Steam Launch by Paul Gartside

This shapely, traditional steam launch with its elegant fantail counter stern could offer a great deal of fun. The beam is generous and construction very robust, which offers stability and better load carrying capacity than is common in steam launches. There is comfortable seating for 6. This would be a uniquely rewarding boat to commission, own and use.
see more designs from Paul Gartside...

30' Falmouth Quay Punt

The quay punt was created for the use of watermen who tended ships calling at the port of Falmouth. Like their larger brethren the pilot cutters, they would 'seek' well beyond the land in order to find inbound ships. This was a highly competitive business that drove designs to be fast and extremely seaworthy.

Several of these lovely boats have made extraordinary voyages round the world. Perhaps the most notable being 'Curlew' the 1898 quay punt owned by Tim and Pauline Carr. She spent many years cruising the islands of the southern ocean while her owners ran the museum on South Georgia.

Bristol Channel Pilot cutters

Sailing pilot boats were the most highly evolved vessels of their time. Of these the Bristol Channel pilot cutters were surely the pinnacle of seaworthiness and performance. Pilotage in the Bristol Channel was intensely competitive and also lucrative for successful crews (which often numbered just one man and a boy). This drove design to balance and optimise speed, ease of handling and most importantly sea keeping.

read more about Pilot Cutter designs...

82' Zulu

The final generation of these awesome Scottish fishing boats were arguably the most powerful British sailing craft of their size of any era. Their dipping lug rigs reached the technological boundaries of wood and cordage. Of the vast aerodynamically efficient fore lug, H. Warrington-Smyth was minded to write ' It is truly one of the finest sea sights of modern times, to see this great brown pyramid come marching up out of the horizon and go leaning by at ten knots, the peak stabbing the sky as it lurches past some seventy feet above the water. The sense of strain and power is not so produced by any work of man at sea'

With the demanding lug rig this would make an exceptional sail training boat or re-configured with the handier 'Shetland' gaff rig, would make the ultimate blue water cruiser.

120' West Country Trading Ketch

These grand ketches were once prolific in coastal trade. They declined rapidly post Second World War as competition from motorised shipping forced them out of business.

In today's climate with wildly rising fuel prices, perhaps we will see their like again. She would make an exceptional charter base with almost limitless potential for interior layout. Alternatively perhaps her owners could begin trading in high value 'Carbon neutral' commodities whilst also offering environmentally sound trans-oceanic transport for paying passengers.

Call us to discuss the possibilities.