Wooden cutter being restored

1:48pm Friday 9th May 2008

A WOODEN boat dating back to 1940 is being lovingly restored at the reopened Seaking boatyard in Old Leigh.

A team of six professionals are working on the gaff-rigged cutter which was the last boat built at Shuttlewoods yard in Paglesham.

Don Ladell, who has re-opened the boatyard, said: "We're restoring it to its full glory. But restoring boats is not what we do, we build new ones. We've got a full order backed up for the next five years. We've got 14 boats to build."

They expect to complete the boat in August and start working on a 15m luxury cruiser.

Mr Ladell said: "We use a cross between old techniques and modern materials, we don't use fibre glass at all.

"This will be one of the fastest luxury cruisers in the world and the prototype exceeded every expectation we had. For everyone who works here it's a labour of love, it's all about love for the old techniques."

The team at the Seaking will build one boat at a time, with the full team of six working on each one.