Fresh from the success of the first Wooden Boat Stage at SIBS – originated by Women in Boat Building – Belinda Joslin sits down with MIN to relay the importance of wood.
“It feels like a really exciting time for wooden boatbuilding in the UK,” states Belinda Joslin. She’s the founder of community interest company Women in Boat Building (WIBB) and, as one of the more outspoken boatbuilders in the UK, has already become known for her views on diversity, such as the time she pithily reminded the marine sector that equality is not “a yearly Instagram post.”
“There are some amazing younger boatbuilders coming to the fore, and listening to their passion and fascinating projects is really reassuring. People love wooden boats. They’re tactile and organic,” she says. That’s partly why her organisation, which has a global community, decided to approach the Southampton International Boat Show with the idea of a Wooden Boat Stage.
“I want to bring our world of wooden boats alive, and offer an alternative to the white plastic and huge ribs that tend to dominate the show landscape.”
In collaboration with the Boat Building Academy and the Wooden Boatbuilders Trade Association, the stage was created to give the industry a platform. This year was a pilot project.
“We’ve [WIBB] made it happen for the greater good of the wider wooden boat industry – it’s a tangible example of what diversity can bring to the industry.”
Joslin is pictured (left) with Will Reed from the Boat Building Academy.
Americans’ passion for wooden boats built via storytelling
Joslin was inspired after speaking at the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, Pacific North West, USA and specifically witnessing the Americans’ passion for wooden boats. “Their wooden boat world seemed alive.” She cites the atmosphere and storytelling as being part of that experience.
“We knew that the UK had the same skills, the same amazing boats and talented craftspeople, they just didn’t have a platform. So we created the platform for men and women to share their craft. People have been told so many times that wood is the past, but we think it’s the future.”
Pictured is Woodbridge Boatyard’s team giving a wood steaming demonstration.
Marine sector already has a solution for future sustainability
After his talk at SIBS, Jon Seal (watch his full build of a classic traditional wooden dinghy on YouTube) passed around a bowl of nuts, saying ‘have a boat’.
Joslin notes: “We have this incredible material which grows in many forms, which are ideal for different uses in boatbuilding, and have been used for millennia. Combined with modern treatments and a consistent maintenance programme, there is no reason why wood should not be used as the material of choice for future boatbuilding – we already have the solution for a sustainable industry.
“GRP is toxic and non-recyclable. There needs to be more support from British Marine and across the industry for the promotion and use of wood as an incredible, genuinely sustainable material.”
An ageing workforce needs fresh blood to survive
That may be, but who will build the boats? Earlier this week, Tom Marfleet told MIN that as well as the numbers of traditional boatbuilders declining, the people who haul boats, step masts, carry out seasonal servicing, shoring and winter storage – the skilled hands who keep the yards working year-round – are becoming fewer, older and harder to replace.
To a young person who’s not already involved within the industry, boat building is unknown, complicated and inaccessible.
“In the UK, we have a well-documented ageing, mostly male workforce across boatyards so we need to get more young people into the industry and create easy pathways for skills transfer. The training routes need to be simplified and better funded.
“We need to create a fun, proactive programme of activity that shares our amazing industry to the wider world and makes young people want to be a part of it. Women in Boatbuilding has a lot of ideas about what we could do, and proven track record now with the Wooden Boat Stage success – we just need some funding,” Joslin says.
Joy of wooden boat owners is unparalleled
Over the show’s 10 days, the Wooden Boat Stage hosted 68 events – with over 60 individuals involved in the talks, demos, have-a-go sessions, interviews and panels. “We were largely too busy to count show visitors – and loved the combination of consumers and visitors making the effort to come and listen and take part,” she says.
“A lot of the conversations were about sustainability of timber sources, which was surprisingly fascinating. The stage was sponsored by Sykes Timber, and Bob Sykes talked about their work in Indonesia, creating plantation-grown teak and supporting the communities out there.”
The ‘joy of owners’ made itself a key theme.
“Both Jack Livesey from Paradise Boats, John Mc Shea and Matt Lis from Woodbridge Boatyard talked about their owners’ involvement with the build process – taking pride in commissioning a piece of art, contributing to the design, making it their own and their pride in supporting craftspeople.”
Commissioning a wooden boat is commissioning a family heirloom
Joslin says there was a fair mix of sail and power wooden boat builders present. Wooden boats span both consumer groups. “They are commissioning heirlooms that they want to be in their family for generations – to pass on to grandchildren and create memories in,” she says.
“This is not a transient part of the industry. This is often a thoughtful, reflective, meaningful and precious investment that honours the trees and contributes to local economies and livelihoods.”
Wooden Boat Stage due back at SIBS 2026
The stage will return next year. “We already have a list of people who would like to feature on the stage next year … There were lots of incredibly positive interactions and feedback, at the time and afterwards.
“The daily steaming demo was a wonderful example of how seeing the craft happen brings it alive – show visitors would wander off and see the steamed wood in the boats next to the stage, and instantly understand so much more. People came round and stroked all the different types of wood and finish. Obioma Oji from Blue Tree Boatbuilders describes wooden boats as floating sculptures.”
But, even though she’s coming from pulling off an amazing feat, Joslin sighs. While the time feels right for a wood resurgence, sustainability is at the fore, craftsmanship is a solid career choice as it can’t be replaced by AI (yet) and owners are looking for heirlooms, there’s a challenge to contend with: WIBB, which she set up in 2019, needs continual support and funding to move forward. She’s appreciative of any support that’s forthcoming.
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