Cockwells Expands into Mylor Creek Boatyard

At the beginning of 2010 Cockwells took over the running of Tregatreath boatyard in Mylor Creek, only 10 minutes from the existing yard. For over 40 years this yard had previously been run by the Heard Family, more recently by the late Martin Heard.

Martin, a well-known local figure and a good friend to Dave, was already in negotiations with Dave to take over the yard prior to his sudden and very sad death last July. Negotiations continued with Martin’s estate and the yard finally changed hands on Christmas Eve 2009 ready for Cockwells to take over in January 2010.

Martin’s son, Sam Heard, has retained the moulds for the hulls of the Falmouth Working Boats built by his father under the name of Gaffers and Luggers. He plans to continue to build these boats under the same name and, to begin with, will operate from the same site.

Cockwells is now operating the moorings and lay-up facilities under the name of Mylor Creek Boatyard. As well as the standard services that are available at any lay-up facility, Cockwells shipwrights will bring the added benefit of providing owners with their traditional boatbuilding skills and handcrafted naval joinery.

“The team at Cockwells have all been really looking forward to running Mylor Creek Boatyard. I feel honoured to take over from such a well respected character as Martin and excited about the challenge. We still very much want to keep it as a traditional boatyard with all the same facilities and we welcome all the regular customers and look forward to meeting them plus hopefully some new ones. Our passion of course is wooden boats of any kind and we will make sure that they get the specialist traditional service and facilities they require” states Dave Cockwell. “I wish Sam luck with the continuation of Gaffers and Luggers and hope we may be able to team up on some projects, with Sam using his knowledge to build the fibreglass hulls and Cockwells providing the craftsmanship for a bespoke luxury fit out”.

Dave Cockwell and Sam Heard

7 stages of building a Pilot Cutter – Articles in Classic Boat

Classic Boat magazine recently commissioned our General Manager (and budding author!) Nigel Sharp to write a series of seven articles on the build of our Pilot Cutter Merlin. The first of these was out in the January 2010 edition and they will continue on a monthly basis until July. For backdated copies of the magazine visit Classic Boat or visit our website to read the articles.

Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Opportunity at Cockwells

Petal a replica of the 55 foot Pilot Cutter Pet which was built in 1905 at the Rowles yard, was initially under construction alongside Merlin but, at the owner’s request, at a much slower pace.

The lofting was carried out on the floor of our shed which enabled us to cut and rebate the keel and other centreline components, and cut and assemble the frames.

Unfortunately due to personal reasons the owner of Petal decided he was unable to continue with her build. So here is an ideal opportunity for someone who is looking for a Classic Yacht around 55 foot. The main advantages over starting from scratch are that the build time will obviously be reduced (yet the interior layout and styling can still be designed to suit a new owner’s specific requirements) and that all the wood is available and was purchased at 2008 prices.

Once the frames are completed, the next stage will be to attach these to the keel.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity further do contact Dave at Cockwells on 01326 377366.

The construction of Petal frames