St Ives punt
Traditional boats have been developed through years of experience of working men going to sea and finding out what works and what does not. The designs are relatively simple, with no room for frills, but are effective, strong and possess a simple beauty.
This superb craft, including a sailing version is now available with our trading partner Wildway Boats take a look at that website for more details.
Origins
The original boat (left in picture) is from Cornwall, built to a St Ives punt design between 70-100 years ago. She can be propelled by oar, sail or sculled using an oar through the cut in the transom. This boat is seaworthy and built strongly to take West Coast seas and shingle beaches. We love this simple, beautiful design and have strived to ensure all of these characteristics are retained in her new sisters
Development
After acquiring this boat at the end of 2021 she was stripped back to bare wood to examine. She has been off the water for 40 years but had been well looked covered and her strong teak planks were in good order. Mark took a mould after painstaking making good the bumps and scrapes that she has collected from evidently hitting every rock on the West coast! The number of further moulds were made to refine to the current smooth finish. The final version has now been finished in high quality European oak to enhance her traditional look.
Quality
This boat has been remade a number of times to keep refining the hull to give a perfect balance of authenticity and finish. All parts have been created from scratch within our workshop. Only top quality materials are used including Lloyds marine grade fibreglass and Iroko hardwood.
On the water
As you would expect the St Ives punt performs very well on the water. Designed originally to cope with harsh conditions in the West Country, she is stable, has plenty of buoyancy and freeboard and rows beautifully.
With 2 rowing positions and bags of carrying ability this boat is very flexible and can easily take a young family out for a day on the water.
