Welcome to the Boat Building Academy

'A centre for excellence'

Chris Humphries, Director General City & Guilds

Practical, professional or purely for pleasure - come and learn boatbuilding at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis.

Whether you want a professionally recognised boatbuilding qualification, a few days by the sea learning practical skills, or to build your own boat, there’s a course for you here in Lyme Regis.

Our boat building training courses are ‘hands-on’, taught by experts and vary in length from 1 day to 38 weeks. Based on Lyme Regis’s famous Monmouth beach in Dorset, the academy lies at the heart of the UK’s most breathtaking scenery, the “Jurassic Coast”. This stretch of coastline is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our students come from every profession, and from all over the world. Many will go on to work in the marine industries, but our courses also appeal to those taking a sabbatical from their ‘real' lives or simply escaping the rat race.

'My visit to the Academy was truly inspirational. I found the energy and commitment of the staff to be second to none. Their dedication to their craft and the students, and their passion for excellence in design and technical skills, clearly explains the success rates that the Academy has, and the very high level of results achieved by the students.  You truly are a centre for excellence in your field!'

Chris Humphries, Director General of City & Guilds

after visiting the Academy on 13th April 2007

NEW  We are now offering an eight week woodworking course.  Based on the same philosophy as our boat building training, the course is intensive, 90% practical and City & Guilds certificated (but with a far wider syllabus).  Because it is an 8 week course students minimise expense and loss of earnings while learning advanced skills in the shortest possible time.

If you want to change career, learn a new skill, take a sabbatical doing something completely different, need to sharpen your existing skills, have retired and can now do all the things you want to do...or if you just like wood...this might be the course for you.

The first course starts on 19th May 2008 and finishes on 11th July 2008.  Go to the Woodworking Skills page for full information.

For a photographic diary of boats built or being built by students go to the student page, click on either March 08 or September 07 class then click on the link beneath their photograph