Courses
Practical Boatbuilding, £14,883
This 47 week course is our main course and leads to an IBTC Diploma and the option of City and Guilds 2451 levels 3. We offer the course four times a year; January, April, late June and September. All students begin in the Joinery workshop where they will learn fundamental woodworking skills. After approximately 12 weeks students move on to the boatshed where they will work in a real boatyard environment. Students will learn to interpret the designers’ drawings, loft the boat and make moulds, construct and set up a backbone, steam timber and make frames, plank up in carvel and clinker, lay decks, make spars and fit out the hull. In short a student at the end of the course should be able to build a boat.
Joinery and Furniture, £14,883
The majority of the duration of this course will be spent in the Joinery section of the IBTC. Participants will start with a basic joinery course of approximately 12 weeks after which they will progress to more advanced skills and joints and look at furniture design. The 47week course will be tailored to individual skills and aspirations and should allow time for a final ‘show piece’ project. Students will be able to earn an IBTC Diploma reflecting their abilities and skills achieved.
Build Your Own Boat, £8,186
At the end of your 24wk course you should have completed and launched a boat of up to 5m in length. Restorations as well as new builds can also be considered subject to suitability. Your skills should allow you to build further craft with similar build techniques, as well as using the transferable nature of these skills to develop further areas of expertise.
Practical Yacht and Small Boat Survey. £4,498
Recognised industry wide and endorsed by YDSA this course is ideal for those with some small craft experience wishing to pursue a career in surveying. It is an intensive practical course using real boats and delegates are taught how to recognise and quantify a large range of defects under survey conditions. A unique feature of the course is the ongoing technical support offered to successful graduates by BMSE. For details please see prospectus. The course culminates in a full survey and successful completion leads to the IBTC diploma. Those successful are entitled to graduate membership of the YDSA and full membership of BMSE, see www.ydsa.co.uk and www.bmse.co.uk for details.
*Small Boatbuilding, £5,812 – 12 Weeks, leading to an IBTC Certificate
This is a short, intensive 12 week course and leading to an IBTC Certificate and is for those looking to develop a hobby or learn about a specific area of boatbuilding. After this course you should be able to build your own small boat. All students begin with four weeks of practical woodworking in order to build up the necessary hand skills. After that, you will learn how to set up and build a small dinghy, through constructing the backbone, setting up the moulds and planking a clinker dinghy, students also learn the techniques and skills needed to setup and build larger boats of both clinker and carvel construction.
*Woodworking Skills, £5,812
This basic joinery course of 12 weeks is the foundation element of both our 47 week Boatbuilding course and our Furniture course. In a practical way with lots of exercises you will learn how to use basic boatbuilding hand and power tools, identify woods used in boatbuilding, recognising faults and flaws in timber, using glue properly and choose woods suitable for specific jobs. It is possible to do this woodworking skills course and then to do the full boatbuilding course at a time that suits you best.
*Glass Reinforced Plastics. £732
In the practical element you will first learn to lay up a GRP bow section. After releasing this from mould you will then cut holes into the sides simulating damage and learn to carry out two different types of repair. The next stage is to lay up a small deck moulding which after trimming will be bonded to the bow section. Theory will cover release systems, gel coat resins & catalysts, reinforcements, moulding techniques, identifying faults, health and safety procedures and much more. This is an intensive 4 day course and is part of the full time boatbuilding course. External delegates are welcome to join this course too.
*Knots & Splicing. £320
Students learn to recognise, select and make up appropriate rope and cord to suit specific purposes on a boat. We use both natural and synthetic ropes and you will learn to work with both. This 2 day course is part of the full time boatbuilding course but also available for external candidates. All materials/equipment for this course are supplied.
*Router Course. £461
This intensive, practical 3 day course covers an introduction to routers, router use and health and safety aspects. It is centred around building your own custom made router table and all the skills and techniques required to make comprehensive use of your router. Course requirements are that you have a router of ‘trade’ or ‘industrial’ capacity, with a half inch collet and fine height adjustment capability. This course is now also included within the full boatbuilding course.
*Basic Boat Plumbing and Electrics. £320
This course is part of the full time boatbuilding course but external delegates are welcome too. We offer this 2 day course four or five times a year and is aimed at giving students a solid grounding in basic plumbing and electrics. Electrical theory including electrical definitions, Ohms law, cables, fuses, circuits, batteries, generators, solar, wind chargers and much more. A typical marine domestic hot water system is explained along with engine cooling, fresh water & bilge pump systems, tanks and pipe work, cockpit drains etc. Marine gas systems are also introduced.
*Lofting. £160 per day
The lofting course takes designer’s drawings and develops these on the loft floor. In 3-4 days or more (dependent on the complexity of the craft to be lofted) you will learn to draw full size, correcting any minor design errors to ensure a fair hull and make softwood patterns from the full size drawing as a basis around which to construct a new boat. This course is part of the full time boatbuilding course but also available for external candidates.
*Caulking. £160 per day
This 2 day course begins with preparing the oakum bails which involved teaching the students to spin the oakum to fit the size of seam. They’re then given an introduction into the different types of caulking irons and tools used for the caulking process. We then progress to the different challenges that they may face on various vessels and the appropriate measures needed to remedy them. Finally we culminate the course by practising these methods on an actual yacht so that the students can experience caulking techniques first hand. Assessment is carried out throughout the course with feedback being given at regular intervals.
Introductory Welding
This course is aimed at those with little or no welding experience. Over 5 day course you will be taught how to carry out safe and effective welds in many positions using M.M.A. welding (stick welding). Instruction will also be given on issues of welding Health & Safety. The course will also include looking at other forms of welding such as MIG & TIG and various methods of cutting steel. This course is run on a hands on basis, with the emphasis on personal practice.
Please contact us for prices and dates.
Tailor Made Courses. £640 per week
We also offer courses which are tailor made for individuals. Downloadable details are available for our longer courses, please contact us if you would like us to devise a course to suit your specific requirements.
All Other Courses. £160 per day
* These courses are included in the Practical Boatbuilding course. City & Guilds enrolment and exam fees are now included in the course fees as are course materials.
All figures inclusive of VAT unless stated otherwise.
September 2011