Falmouth boatbuildingschool

Wow, that’s an old one! Most must have been shot the year before I started but the gig we built makes an appearance!
 
Old? Thats high tech compared to my time at Falmouth Tech college, 1978 - 79 Lecturers included Mr Keverne & For Grp Mr Lucas who was quite a character. Sam the Technician used to strop big planer knives & plane blades on the palm of his hand. He also had 4 fingers missing courtesy of a bandsaw accident when he was a young man.
I still strop plane blades on my hand to this day! And i have my fingers.
Good times, Wonder how many others stayed in the boat trade?
 
Keith 66 said:
Old? Thats high tech compared to my time at Falmouth Tech college, 1978 - 79 Lecturers included Mr Keverne & For Grp Mr Lucas who was quite a character. Sam the Technician used to strop big planer knives & plane blades on the palm of his hand. He also had 4 fingers missing courtesy of a bandsaw accident when he was a young man.
I still strop plane blades on my hand to this day! And i have my fingers.
Good times, Wonder how many others stayed in the boat trade?
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Best Health and Safety demo ever!

You can’t build a “handsome transom” without any fingers.

That place was a feeder college for a lot of boatyard management and designers via Southampton, now Solent University..
Ahem Wansy OP ?
 
Im curious, who went to Falmouth Tech or marine school & did you go into the boat trade & end up doing?
I went straight from there to Thames marine then did the rounds of the local boatyards before going on my own in 84 as Benfleet boat Co, packed up in 98 & did the house husband thing when our son was born then started again as Seax marine for a while, Finally shut the doors in 2014.
Still messing about with boats!
 
Keith 66 said:
Im curious, who went to Falmouth Tech or marine school & did you go into the boat trade & end up doing?
I went straight from there to Thames marine then did the rounds of the local boatyards before going on my own in 84 as Benfleet boat Co, packed up in 98 & did the house husband thing when our son was born then started again as Seax marine for a while, Finally shut the doors in 2014.
Still messing about with boats!
Click to expand...
Worked in boatyards then joined as crew on a coaster..
 
Keith 66 said:
Im curious, who went to Falmouth Tech or marine school & did you go into the boat trade & end up doing?
I went straight from there to Thames marine then did the rounds of the local boatyards before going on my own in 84 as Benfleet boat Co, packed up in 98 & did the house husband thing when our son was born then started again as Seax marine for a while, Finally shut the doors in 2014.
Still messing about with boats!
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Did it for a couple of years afterward but was shocked how precarious and poorly paid it all was . And management roles, everyone very stressed . But then deployed my so called skills in posh interiors in London , quite a circuitous route though!
And the only way to finance nice things like boats was to buy the grittiest house in the best street, and repeat.. that worked out ok so basically all the college years were an interim ‘tweak’ to that!
Falmouth now seems to be a rather less working port sort of place ..
 
I ended up as a workshop technician in a school, Money was still crap but it was regular & i could have the heating up as hot as i liked & not pay for it!
From attending the Wooden boat show i learnt that most guys who stayed in the trade had wives with good steady jobs in local government or education, kind of allowed the feast or famine boatbbuilder to keep going!
 
A&R Way in Argyll (Loch Gilphead) has steady work but it definitely gets lean at times. He recently expanded his sheds. His yard always has wooden boats in it being worked on.

He has taken on apprentices and was involved in trying to get a school or scheme set up in Scotland. I am not sure how that worked out. It’s not easy getting a boat builder in Scotland, or a skilled trade experienced in marine work on leisure boats. A lot of contact is word of mouth via forums or FB.

wooden boat builder: wooden boat: boat repairs: Traditional Wooden Boatbuilders and Classic Yachts : A and R Way Boatbuilding

My only association with A&R Way is as a customer.

At Ardfern Marina, I heard that their skilled workforce is getting old and their in house skill base may prefer varnishing g to woodwork. Their shed is alwats busy though.

Ardfern Yacht Centre, by Lochgilphead, Scotland

Crinan Boats is fairly rammed with storage these days and stalled Puffer renovation. Their big slip always appears busy with workboats, but no sure how much wooden boat building or repair gets done theses days.

Crinan Boatyard Ltd | The boatyard for the professional and the leisure seaman alike.

Clyde Boat Yard always appears to have skilled workforce going in but I heard the key bloke is getting on now and may not be interested anymore.

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Keith 66 said:
Im curious, who went to Falmouth Tech or marine school & did you go into the boat trade & end up doing?
I went straight from there to Thames marine then did the rounds of the local boatyards before going on my own in 84 as Benfleet boat Co, packed up in 98 & did the house husband thing when our son was born then started again as Seax marine for a while, Finally shut the doors in 2014.
Still messing about with boats!
Click to expand...

I did Southampton Institute's Yacht & Boatyard Management (1986-89) which had an element of wooden boat building in the first two years.

Left summer 1989 and was a yacht broker for Ancasta for a year then sold boats for Northshore 1990-96. Left the industry in 1996 to earn a "proper" living.
 
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