I became a boatbuilder at 45!

When Emily Stokes visited HMS Victory as a schoolgirl, she never dreamt that one day she’d be working on the historic vessel, helping to preserve it for future generations. After completing a boatbuilding course at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis, Emily, 50 from Portsmouth, is now one of 16 shipwrights working on HMS Victory: The Big Repair conservation project.

“The scale of this project is huge,” says Emily, who is working alongside archaeologists and conservationists as part of a major 10-year conservation effort focused on preserving the nation’s most celebrated warship.

We're replacing the framing - the ribcage-like structure which forms the part of the ship that will be planked over with oak. After investigations, a lot more pieces were found to be rotten than initially imagined.

It's all being done so that future generations will be able to come and see this historic ship and experience it for themselves.

It's wonderful, as I can remember coming to visit with my primary school many years ago!"
 

But working with boats wasn’t something Emily had even considered until a few years ago.

After school she gained an environmental science degree at Plymouth University and worked in a range of jobs which took her all over the country, including secondary school science teacher and fundraiser for environmental charities.

She only signed up for a week-long introduction to boatbuilding in 2016 after encouragement from her sister Laura, and although she thoroughly enjoyed it, she didn’t think that 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 Emily seriously began to consider a new career that would incorporate her other passions and hobbies.

 

“I've always been hands on and practical," explains Emily. “I’d done some woodworking workshops before, where I learnt to make joints and small pieces like picture frames and boxes. I even refitted my kitchen and bathroom.

I also love the sea and swimming, rowing and stand-up paddleboarding. My sister encouraged me to do the introduction to boatbuilding course after we wandered into the boatbuilding academy during a visit to Lyme Regis. I signed up, just to see if it was something I could do. I really enjoyed it."

Emily decided to take the plunge, and with the support of husband Dean, she signed up for the 40-week course, which started in May 2021.

“We went for a walk on the coast path, and I told Dean I wanted to see boats that I'd built out on the water; I wanted to see something practical that I had created with my own hands,”.

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 small projects, including a toolbox. The second 20 weeks explored boatbuilding in more depth, with Emily and her peers building three new boats together, which were launched in Lyme Regis Harbour to mark the end of their studies.

Following the course she secured a job at Spirit Yachts, in Suffolk, and spent two-and-a-half years working on luxury yachts.

“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," 

recalls Emily.

Having been forced to cancel the trip of a lifetime due to the pandemic, Emily and Dean decided to travel the world in 2024 - which allowed Emily to see boatbuilding first hand in other countries. She 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 working on HMS Victory: The Big Repair project and is thriving on the challenge and the part she’s playing in preserving an important piece of the nation’s history.

She's also thrilled to be among the small but growing number of women joining the industry, which has traditionally been very male-dominated.

“If there’s something you really want to do, you’ll find a way to do it and grasp opportunities,” adds Emily, who has since discovered ancestral links to the navy and mariners through her
family tree.

“If I can change my career at 45, other people can do it as well!"

A LIVING LEGACY 

HMS Victory is over 260 years old and was built during the Seven Years' War, completed in 1765. The ship is most famous for its crucial rote as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British fleet defeated the French and Spanish fleets.

HMS Victory: The Big Repair project is led by the National Museum of the Royal Navy and involves extensive work to ensure the ship's structural integrity and preserve its historical significance. During the 10-year project, costing around £42m, members of the public can watch the shipwrights and conservationists to gain a unique insight into the work.