Woodworking/Boatbuilding Portsmouth, England

[John Bailey]

I'm going to be in England for awhile on my way to Greece this year. This coming Friday I would like to go to the Portsmouth, England area. I was hoping there is some boatbuilding around there. Anybody know of anything like that around Portsmouth. The area is South of London about 80 k.

Thanks for any information.

John

[Keith Beck]

John,

I was in Portsmouth a few years ago and I'm pretty sure there's some boat building going on there. There are several dock yards around there, so there's bound to be some boat building going on. I know for sure that there's an old sailing ship on the Naval Base there that you can tour. I believe the name of the ship was the Victory. Pretty neat history...

Keith

[Peter Pedisich]

John,

I had the experience of a lifetime this past March when I went to stay in London for a week and one day took a train down to Portsmouth.

As a history buff with a great interest in British Naval History; to stand on the deck of HMS Victory where Nelson was shot was humbling and inspiring beyond words.

To answer your question, try http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/visiting/index.html

Enjoy,

Pete

[Ian Barley]

John - what sort of boatbuilding? Portsmouth itself is a pretty "industrial strength" port and most of the activity around there will probably be more in the fibreglass vein. There are outlying areas which might be more rewarding depending on what you are looking for.

Peter - sorry I missed you when you came over. Timing of my holiday in Barbados could have been better but I hope you will forgive me when I say that it would have taken precendence anyway!.

I have never been to the Victory but everybody I know who has is impressed. Did you also visit the Mary Rose? I suspect that if you are at all maritime in disposition these are two great artefacts in very close proximity.

There is also a fascinating site at Bucklers Hard which was a hisoric boatbuilding community. (it is probably nearer Southampton than Portsmouth but its in the general area).

[Paul Hannagan]

Hi John,

I went to college in Pompy (Portsmouth) and still have family near there. I checked with my father, who is a keen yachtsman, and he said that most of the boatbuilders in the area have gone belly up.

There is a marina on the other side of the harbor in Gosport (God's Port because it is so well sheltered and easily defended). It used to be a famous boatbuilder's yard, Camper & Nicholson, but I think now only has a repair facility. You can get there by taking the ferry over and walking about five minutes. The ferry landing is right next to the Portsmouth Harbour train station.

Gosport was also one of the starting points for the D-Day landings. The D-Day Museum though is back on the Portsmouth side of the harbour in the town of Southsea.

http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/overlord.htm

Southsea is also home to Southsea Castle where King Henry VIII watched his favourite ship, the Mary Rose, sink in an accident prior to his fleet taking on the French.

The Mary Rose is housed in Portsmouth with HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. All three ships are extremely interesting to see for different reasons.

http://www.stvincent.ac.uk/WfS/Tourism/Portsmouth/HistShips/

If that's not enough to keep you occupied, Portchester Castle is a short drive away. It's one of the oldest castles in England and dates back to the days of the Romans.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.207

Edit: forgot to add one item that might be fun and different. You can ride a hovercraft from Southsea to the Isle of Wight and back. Not many places in the world where these are used commercially.

http://www.hovertravel.co.uk/

Have a great time,
Paul

[John Bailey]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Ian,

I'd like to be where they still do traditional boatbuilding. Clinker, carvel and relatively small boats. I've got plans to start a 15' Paul Gartside, British style boat this winter. The only reason I mentioned Portsmouth is my wife looked at a map and thought that would be a good area to spend the day. We'll be staying in Woking for a wedding and would like to travel south. What I'm really looking for is somewhere on the Southern Coast that would be considered a hot spot for small wooden-boat building and sailing. Got any ideas? One other thing, would we have any trouble renting a car for the day? I suspect driving on the left would take a little getting used to.

Thanks, John

[Ian Barley]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Ian,

I'd like to be where they still do traditional boatbuilding. Clinker, carvel and relatively small boats. I've got plans to start a 15' Paul Gartside, British style boat this winter. The only reason I mentioned Portsmouth is my wife looked at a map and thought that would be a good area to spend the day. We'll be staying in Woking for a wedding and would like to travel south. What I'm really looking for is somewhere on the Southern Coast that would be considered a hot spot for small wooden-boat building and sailing. Got any ideas? One other thing, would we have any trouble renting a car for the day? I suspect driving on the left would take a little getting used to.

Thanks, John

John

"Craft" boatbuilding is very very much a minority sport on this island. ("Craft" anything is pretty much a minority sport!) I am sure that there are people in Portsmouth who do it but I suspect that finding anybody will be pretty difficult.

I have done a couple of quick google searches but have been unable to find anything promising. If I was going to try to physically find a traditional boatbuilder I would probably head to somewhere like Hamble (www.hamble.net). Hamble is a centre for pleasure boating whereas Portsmouth is more a naval port. Alternatively Cowes on the Isle Of Wight is a big centre for yacht racing and I guess that might be a reasonably fertile location. You can get to the IOW on the hovercraft as Paul says.

I would honestly have to say that unless you find some details online (boatbuilding forums??) before you travel you will be lucky to find anybody involved in this craft. Sad but true.

However - if you are staying in Woking and are at all interested in the craft of Adirondack chair building I know a bloke who has a workshop on the outskirts of Woking who could probably be persuaded to give you a tour of his workshop. (Me!)

Car hire - you should be able to hire a car for a day. These people (http://www.affordablerentals.co.uk/Main/carlist.php) are just down the road from my workshop on the outskirts of Woking. I have never used them but their vehicles all look nice and tidy and their rates appear reasonable. I would recommend sticking with an automatic transmission because driving on the correct side of the road is usually enough to cope with without worrying about a real gearbox as well:)

[John Bailey]

Ian,

As I'm writing this we're about to leave for the airport, so I doubt there will be enough time to get an answer. If you could PM me some info as to how to get hold of you, if I can get to a computer, I'll try to contact you. Love to visit your shop. Not sure that would be in the wife's plans, but we'll see.

John