Ex-student returns to teach 40-week course at Boat Building Academy in the UK
Image courtesy of Matt Sills / NMRN Online
A former students of the Boat Building Academy (BBA) in Lyme Regis, UK, has been appointed as a tutor on the academy’s flagship 40-week course.
Emily Stokes studied at the academy as part of the class of May 2021. She went on to work at Spirit Yachts and part of the team restoring HMS Victory in Portsmouth honing her wooden boatbuilding skills.
Stokes will join tutor Mike Broome in assisting on the 40-week boatbuilding course from February 2026.
The Boat Building Academy on the UK’s south coast is a revered bastion of wooden and traditional boatbuilding education. While concerns swirl amid a widening skills gap, the erosion of traditional craftsmanship, and the struggle to attract new entrants into the traditional boatbuilding careers, the BBA is flying the flag for boatbuilding and bucking many trends.
From teach to tutor
When Stokes originally signed up to study at the BBA, it was the beginning of a total career change, aged 45, having previously being a secondary school science teacher and fundraiser for environmental charities.
She had signed up for a week-long introduction to boatbuilding at the BBA back in 2016, enjoyed it, but didn’t think changing careers was an option for her.
It wasn’t until she was working from home during the pandemic, spending long hours glued to a computer screen, that Stokes seriously began to consider a change of career that would incorporate her other passions and hobbies. She signed up for the 40-week course, which started in May 2021.
“I’ve always been hands on, and practical,” Stokes says. “I’d done some woodworking workshops before where I learnt to make joints and made small pieces like picture frames and boxes.
“I also love the sea and swimming, rowing and standup paddleboarding. My sister encouraged me to do the introduction to boatbuilding course after we wandered into the Boat Building Academy during a visit to Lyme Regis. I signed up, just to see if it was something I could do. I really enjoyed it.”
Leading boatbuilding training course in the UK
The first half of the course was spent learning how to use the hand tools of her new trade, as well as learning about wood, joints and making a toolbox.
“Once at the BBA I felt fully engaged and ‘on purpose’ for the first time in a long time.
“It wasn’t easy – especially getting my head around lofting and trying to imagine 3D objects fitting together in space every time I tackled a new task. It was also very strenuous. But it helped me build physical and mental skills like resilience, stamina and determination which are needed in this work.”
The second 20 weeks explored boatbuilding more in depth with Emily and her peers building three new boats together, which were launched in Lyme harbour to mark the end of their studies – a tradition that continues today.
Following the course she secured a job at Spirit Yachts, in Suffolk, and spent two-and-a-half years there working on luxury yachts. Spirit Yachts designs and builds wooden modern classic sail and motor yachts – MD Karen Underwood recently discussed her career path and the future of wooden boatbuilding with MIN.
“It was my first time being in a commercial boat yard and it was a brilliant setting. I worked alongside some very experienced people and got to do lots of different things – everything from painting the bilges, to creating fine detailed joinery on the inside of the owner’s cabin,” says Stokes.
Having been forced to cancel the trip of a lifetime due to the pandemic Emily and Dean decided to travel the world in 2024 – a move which allowed Emily to see boatbuilding first hand in other countries. Stokes cites New Zealand, Hawaii and the Philippines among her highlights for the different ways they build and use outrigger boats.
When she returned to the UK Emily took up her post on the Victory Live: The Big Repair and is thriving on the challenge and the part she’s playing in this project.
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