I had a trip up to Neil Thompson’s Boat Yard near Holt today.
They are a family run boat building company situated close to Blakeney harbour on the North Norfolk coast. They specialise in the building, repairing and brokering of fibreglass traditional dayboats, yachts, workboats and steel barges.
They are well known in the Norfolk Boaty world and a bit like Sheerline and Haines they pride themselves on high standards, quality workmanship, sturdy construction and a friendly service. They offer specialised servicing and restoration for all boats in the Norfolk Range.
The boat I Surveyed today was a 1994 Norfolk Gypsy. It was designed in 1989 by Andrew Wolstenholme who is a well known Norfolk based designer of small yachts and dayboats. The Norfolk Gypsy looks like a new design but is based on a combination of traditional yacht designs.
The laminate thickness of the hull is considerably more than expected for this size boat. They use a combination of chopped strand matt and woven rovings which are all hand-laid. Certain key areas of the hull are additionally strengthened by the use of core matt which provides immense strength without adding to the weight of the boat.
Surveyor comments:
I put my moisture meter over the hull this morning, and basically as far as im concerned these boats just don’t get any osmosis blisters! Without becoming too technical about this point, they use the best gelcoat and resins available for hull construction, regardless of expense. They use an Isophthalic resin which is entirely compatible with the Isophthalic gelcoat they use. Combined with this resin they use ‘powder-bound’ matt (not ‘emulsionbound’ as most boatbuilders use) which breaks down more easily and prevents of small air bubbles in the laminate. All their hulls are ‘hand laid’ throughout as opposed to ‘spray-laid’. Added to all this, they mould thier hulls with clear gelcoat from the waterline downwards. Clear gelcoat is considered to be the very best protection against osmosis because the introduction of a colour pigment in the gelcoat can sometimes increase the danger of osmosis. Finally they apply the International Paint ‘Gelshield’ Epoxy Paint System to the underwater section of the hull at an additional cost if required.
They are a family run boat building company situated close to Blakeney harbour on the North Norfolk coast. They specialise in the building, repairing and brokering of fibreglass traditional dayboats, yachts, workboats and steel barges.
They are well known in the Norfolk Boaty world and a bit like Sheerline and Haines they pride themselves on high standards, quality workmanship, sturdy construction and a friendly service. They offer specialised servicing and restoration for all boats in the Norfolk Range.
The boat I Surveyed today was a 1994 Norfolk Gypsy. It was designed in 1989 by Andrew Wolstenholme who is a well known Norfolk based designer of small yachts and dayboats. The Norfolk Gypsy looks like a new design but is based on a combination of traditional yacht designs.
The laminate thickness of the hull is considerably more than expected for this size boat. They use a combination of chopped strand matt and woven rovings which are all hand-laid. Certain key areas of the hull are additionally strengthened by the use of core matt which provides immense strength without adding to the weight of the boat.
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| Neils main boatshed.. preping older models ready for sale. |
Surveyor comments:
I put my moisture meter over the hull this morning, and basically as far as im concerned these boats just don’t get any osmosis blisters! Without becoming too technical about this point, they use the best gelcoat and resins available for hull construction, regardless of expense. They use an Isophthalic resin which is entirely compatible with the Isophthalic gelcoat they use. Combined with this resin they use ‘powder-bound’ matt (not ‘emulsionbound’ as most boatbuilders use) which breaks down more easily and prevents of small air bubbles in the laminate. All their hulls are ‘hand laid’ throughout as opposed to ‘spray-laid’. Added to all this, they mould thier hulls with clear gelcoat from the waterline downwards. Clear gelcoat is considered to be the very best protection against osmosis because the introduction of a colour pigment in the gelcoat can sometimes increase the danger of osmosis. Finally they apply the International Paint ‘Gelshield’ Epoxy Paint System to the underwater section of the hull at an additional cost if required.
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