July 2023 Newsletter

Dear Gweek Classic Boatyard Community,

As I write this letter on a rainy weekend I look back to the lovely weather of June and hope that August improves and we can enjoy more sailing adventures.

Image credit: Allan Smith

The early summer was full of activity with Andrew Massey Boats and Susie Ferris completing a long-term restoration of Sai See, a 1960 Sparkman and Stephens Finisterre 42ft yacht. Ben Harris Boats won the “New Sailing Boats” category in the Classic Boat awards for their gaff rigged cutter Constance. Ben along with his team raced three of his boats at the Falmouth Classics. 

Much of our shed space is currently being used to restore many different classic yachts. Since we took over the yard in in 2017 there are more classic restoration projects on the yard than ever. We have increased the number of undercover areas we have, which is allowing for more and more projects to take place; we look forward to welcoming more projects in the future.

On the engineering side Andrew Cox tested the new Cox Powertrain 300hp diesel outboards on a fast round Britain test in Magellan Delta. He achieved fast cruising speeds while managing excellent diesel fuel economy. Andrew is now the area dealer for the range of Solé diesel engines and has installed these engines into several boats here at the yard where they are proving very popular. His workshop and team have proved a great professional addition to Gweek Classic Boatyard.

Duncan Skingley has started to work on a one-off classic masthead sloop built in 1965 which was designed by Knud Reimers amongst many other projects.  James Pardoe has continued the restoration of the Deben 4 tonner.

Little Mint, the last surviving 1913 Brixham trawler, is nearing the end of its long restoration and will be coming out of the shed to have its mast fitted. We are so excited for John Shepherd who has stuck with this labour of love ever since we arrived at the yard. It is so good to see the yard such a hive of activity, including the holiday lets building projects advancing.  

Unsurprisingly with the volatile economy we need to increase our charges: we have worked hard to only be increasing by 6% and this will come into effect from September this year. We are still committed to offering greater flexibility for boat owners and remain competitively priced. Please see our price list at the bottom of this email (you can also view it on our website). This year has been a perfect storm of costs rising in every aspect and I hope we will see some relief as inflation starts to fall.  We have benefitted from a cheaper electricity contract which runs out in November and so we will be increasing charges per unit of electricity from then. This will be less than feared but we will see some increase that will be confirmed in the next month or so.

We have enjoyed supporting the Falmouth Classics again this year and it was wonderful to see so many boats that come to Gweek out on the water. The tall ships are back in Falmouth for the first time in 9 years this August, which promises to be a wonderful spectacle and we hope to get out on the water and see this prestigious event with you all. 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with the office to confirm your slot for the autumn – all returning customers are reminded to confirm by the end of July to guarantee your spot.  When you are ready to book your crane ashore date we will be happy to get you booked in the calendar if you have not already done so. We look forward to welcoming you all back to the yard this autumn and in the mean time wish you an enjoyable summer.

Kind regards,

Malcolm and Mark