News from Wooden Ships Yacht Brokers

Covid-19 update

Covid-19 update. In these unprecedented and difficult times, many businesses have been forced to close their doors, hove to and ride out the storm. Here at Wooden Ships we are lucky, I have office sp…

2018 in review

Without getting political, this has certainly been a turbulent year with many questions left hanging in the air, not only about the immediate future of the yachting markets but also the country as a w…

Second only to Dorade

In any race it is the winner that gets all the plaudits while the runner up is consigned to history. So it was on the 1931 Transatlantic Race when 8 yachts started from Newport en route to the finish…

I name this ship…………………..

Some time ago I bought a yacht with the most dreadful name. I can’t mention it for fear of offending the owner or his descendants who gave her this name but suffice to say it is a spice I really do no…

So you want to buy a boat – 4

Following our previous look at buying a boat we near the end of the voyage as you come to the moment of change of ownership. The actual procedure should be in the initial contract but in case it has n…

So you want to buy a boat – 3

Survey is the next major hurdle and absolutely essential. Even for an experienced yachtsman, a time-served boat-builder and with money to spare we are all prone to an attack of starry-eyes. But get i…

Looking for a lifestyle change

Sailing is one of the great escapist past times and allows people to dream of a different life which is as far removed from their day to day monotony as it is possible to be. Some people in their you…

So you want to buy a boat- 2

So you want to buy a boat- 2. The Second installment of Peter Gregsons notes on buying a yacht Last time, we looked at buying a boat privately or through a broker. Following the broker route, keep i…

So you want to buy a boat?

Peter Gregson, who started Wooden Ships Yacht Brokers nearly 40 years ago, will be writing a series of blogs entitled “So you want to buy a boat?” about the process of buying a yacht, what to look out…

Summer in full swing.

Summer is here at last, the weather is fine and everyone is out boating it seems. The new Wooden SHips commercial pontoon on the river Dart is working very well, the only issue being the lack of spac…

Wooden Ships commercial mooring

Wooden Ships Commercial mooring on the River Dart We have recently had confirmation from Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority that our new commercial mooring on the river has been approved and will b…

Benefits of shared ownership?

Every boat owner, whether they have modern plastic or a traditional yacht will testify to the ever increasing running costs of their boat, berthing fees, insurance, haul out, antifoul paint! As we al…

Charter Sailing on a Traditional Ship

We have recently launched another section of the web site focusing on traditional charter vessels. Although not our core business, we have teamed up with good friend and owner of Bessie Ellen, Nikki…

2014 in brief

With the end of the year in sight and all the boats laid up for the winter this is the time we reflect back on the season’s work. We are regularly asked what the market is like for selling boats both…

Half Price pilot Cutter?

There are many of us who have in the past, and still today, dream of owning an original Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter. The history of these wonderful boats, the people who sailed them and the stories…

Trophies in the sun!

After four superb days of racing off the south coast of Antigua this week, we have managed to steer Spirit of Callisto to first place in class. Lying in second place after day 3 we had it all to do,…

Antigua Classics 2014 – “Yawl not ketch us!”

One of the benefits of working in this game is being able to mix business with pleasure, and that is exactly what I am doing this week after accepting an invitation to skipper a yacht for friends in t…

The Wooden Ships Archives

After more than 35 years of running the brokerage, we have built up a long list of boats and yachts we have either sold or inspected all over the world. Up until last autumn, these archives were a sl…

Laying up time

As some of you know we purchased a lovely yacht called Zircon just over a year ago. She is a 44’ Camper and Nicholson Bermudan sloop, built in 1960 as a Class 1 offshore boat. As you might imagine t…

Light at the end of the tunnel

I have to apologise for the lack of activity on our blog in recent months. It seems that the everyday work load at the moment is proving enough for us to cope with and the writing of blogs somehow se…

Scandinavian Sailing

For the last few weeks I have been skippering the top gallant schooner Activ in the southern Baltic, and as always over here, have been treated to a delightful fleet of traditional boats in both Germa…

Without doubt she’s a Classic!

In the last 6 months we have had several owners approach us with boats they wish to sell that are a little out of our comfort zone and do not quite fit our normal remit. The issue for us with these f…

Regattas and Sun

It has been a busy summer for us here, with the weather playing a large part I am sure. Our purchase of a new boat last winter rather put the pressure on to get her ready for the summer season and ta…

Summer Sailing

This weekend, 6/7th July, saw the start of the Dartmouth Classic Channel Regatta, with two days of racing outside the harbour. We were there aboard our 43′ Camper and Nicholson ‘Zircon’, fresh from a…

Buying at different ends of the scale.

Here at Wooden Ships we like to have a wide range of boats on our books, boats from all parts of the scale in price, size, condition and age. It is this variation that makes our business not only att…

The joys of simple sailing

“Buy the smallest boat possible that will do the job you want” This is a mantra we preach to buyers time and time again. As long as the money is in the bank, it is easy to go and buy a 50’ yacht whic…

Tenerife to Lisbon on the 1904 gaff ketch Bessie Ellen

Bessie Ellen is a Westcountry trading ketch, built in Plymouth in 1904 and is very typical of the type of boats that were being built in great numbers around the coast throughout the 19th an d early 2…

This Week’s Special

One of the more pleasant aspects of our work is when we discover a boat which really works, a boat which looks different from the usual, a boat with real character. Tara is one such – see Sailing Yach…

Perfect or project?

In these financially restricted times we are noting an interest in projects. The problem is that projects vary hugely in type, size and quality and one man’s viable project is another man’s firewood….

Counting the cost of boat ownership?

Are we the only small business to note a wind shift in the air? It seemed to us in the months following the Lehman crash that, while everyone talked of recession and naughty banks were in the news, do…

Tough times

There is a lot of interest in rebuilding wooden yachts, especially in these tough times when lumps sums of capital to buy is in short supply but significant payments can be made out of income thus spr…

Busy week at the brokerage

We have had a busy couple of weeks here with several sold boats moving around the country to new owners and lots of boats coming on the market that need viewing. Last week saw Eda Frandsen, the 53′ Da…

What makes a boat popular?

15 years ago I found a gaff cutter for some old friends. She started life as a Cornish sailing fishing boat built in Mevagissey around 1895, typical of hundreds such boats working Cornish inshore wate…

Scottish visit

I was recently reminded that there can be no better sailing grounds in Europe than the West Coast of Scotland. I said this to my friends on board their yacht in Troon Marina but was quickly reminded t…

Busy week on the River Dart

Regatta week is here again in Dartmouth, how do we know? because the fair rolled into town, loads of boats turned up and it’s raining! Sunday and Monday saw the heats and semi finals for the rowing…

‘PETTIFOX’ is relaunched!

Last Thursday saw the relaunch of ‘Pettifox’ which is now owned by John and Flick Moody of John Moody Marine Timber. They have been working incredibly hard on her at Baltic Wharf boatyard since they…

Welcome to the new blog from Wooden Ships

Welcome to the new blog form Wooden Ships. Here we will be writing about the boats, the people and the places that we are involved with, bringing stories of boats we have sold in the past, new boats…