The City & Guilds of London Institute Course 2451 Boat Building, Maintenance and Support at Level 3 is our flagship course, designed to enable students to gain jobs in the marine industry or establish themselves as boat builders in their own right.

Our aim is to give each person the competence to tackle even more difficult jobs with confidence.

There is no upper age limit and the course caters for those changing career (at whatever age), as well as the school leaver. A mature attitude, motivation and the enthusiasm and willingness to pursue the highest standards are prerequisites for successful entry.

Due to the small size of our School and because we have a high tutor to student ratio, we only take up to eighteen students at a time on each 'long' course. Emphasis is upon students gaining experience through learning practical skills in the workshop. This means that by the end of their course students gain not only a universally recognised qualification, but have the confidence, experience and skills to enter the marine industry throughout the world.

About half the students build their own boats, agreed after group discussion with the instructors at the beginning of each course, all of which are to a different design and up to a maximum of 16 foot in length (although exceptions can be made, depending on workshop space and other boats being built). Some students prefer not to concentrate on one build, but whether building their own boat or not, all students work on the whole range of craft in order to get as much practical experience of different boatbuilding techniques.

This combination of City & Guilds 2451 qualification and the necessary one-to-one instructor time needed to build an own boat is unique to the BBA. Students need to be aware that this is a very intensive and demanding course, therefore a high level of commitment is required.

There are two start dates per year; March through to December and September through to June. We allocate places to students on a first-come-first-serve basis on receipt of a completed application form. We do still have places left on the course starting on 15th March 2010.

The BBA can offer a limited number of single in-house rooms with use of a self-catering kitchen with laundry facilities, use of the dining and sitting room. Alternatively, students often rent accommodation together in the area which we do help you find.

Please contact us for details of fees and how to apply for the long course. Call Yvonne Green or Gemma Blathwayt on: +44 (0) 1297 445545 or email: office@boatbuildingacademy.com

City and Guilds 2451

10L26   15 March 2010 - 10 December 2010

10L27   6 September 2010 - 10 June 2011

11L28  14 March 2011 - 9 December 2011

11L29   5 September 2011 - 15 June 2012

The 38-week Long Course commences with a 6-week Joinery Foundation Course after which the syllabus covers the following skill areas:

• Lofting
• Traditional Boatbuilding
• Modern Wooden Boatbuilding
• Fibre Reinforced Plastic Boatbuilding and Fit Out
• Yacht Joinery
• Spar and Oar Making
• Engine Beds and Stern Tubes
• Finishing Coatings and Compounds
• Rigging, Chandlery and Cordage 

The skills learned are further developed and practised by working on the boats that are lofted out and built during the course. These boats are chosen to provide the optimum training value for students.

Build your own boat

The opportunity to build their own boat does not suit everyone, as some will prefer to concentrate on optimising their skills development across a broad range of construction types; tutors will discuss the pros and cons with individuals on arrival. Our recent experience is that about half the students take up the opportunity to build an own boat, which is ideal, as it requires around two students per boat to complete a construction during the course. The choice of design is agreed in the early days of the course and must be consistent with training objectives. All students will rotate around the boats under construction to gain breadth of experience in boatbuilding techniques.

Please note. Places on the 38-week Long Course are limited to maintain the optimum staff to student ratio: early booking is recommended.