About Mashfords Boat Yard and Repairs...
Our History
Boat building was well established at Cremyll by 1774 when a lease of Frank’s quarry was advertised after the death of James Hennah, shipwright.
From 1779 – 1812 the yard was run by John Parkin, amongst the 28 vessels built by him were several revenue (customs) cutters, armed privateer boats and smuggling vessels. Parkin built new quays, a smithy, storehouses and workshops and an elegant three storey dwelling house, four labourers cottages and a count house all within the shelter of the quarry walls.
The Banks family took the yard in 1823 -1852. They built at least 49 vessels many of them schooners for the fruit trade to the Azores and the Mediterranean.
Robinson Ridley took over 1862 – 1875. He was a coal and general merchant and nothing is known of his boat building work at Cremyll.
Watermans worked the yard from 1875 – 1905. They built the first steamboats, the Armadillo and the Shuttlecock for the Cremyll Ferry in the 1880s. Their successors Rogers & Co built the replacement ferry boats Armadillo and Shuttlecock in 1929.
The Mashford family first leased it in 1930 and was soon a developing wooden boatbuilding yard of significant reputation for both quality and design. During the Second World War some of their work was building small boats for RAF Mount Batten. Mashfords Brothers was acquired by Appledore Shipbuilders in 1999. They intended to develop the potential of the large slipways for commercial boat maintenance, however went into liquidation in 2003 and unfortunately Mashfords Brothers went into administration. Mr Thornhill acquired the name, goodwill and assets of the company and set up as Coastal Marine 2004 trading as Mashfords.
Our Facilities
We are located on the Cornish side of the Tamar Estuary in a natural cove at the extreme north western tip of the Cremyll Peninsula . Mashfords lease two areas of land from the Mount Edgcumbe Estate – Cremyll Shipyard and the Gymnasium. The main premises are located at Cremyll Shipyard. The yard has 6 slipways that can accommodate 300 tonnes, some 6,200m2 of workshop, covered work area, storage and office space; 3 stone jetties; 7 deep water moorings; and a house and 2 cottages. The Gymnasium is a much smaller workshop located to the rear of the yard from which all Mashfords Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) activities are managed.
New acquisition of 12 tonne boat hoist has been an asset to Mashfords as it is easily manouvred and can be accurately positioned. It enables us to move vessels easily and safely around site.
Our Workforce
Mashfords key product or services is its ability to repair, refit and maintain vessels. This service is offered by the yards 32 staff all of whom have a complete range of skills necessary to supervise and carry out work requested by our customers. Our General Manager Richard Porter has over 30 years experience in engineering, ship repair and maintenance. Very few yards can offer these traditional shipwright skills on steel, GRP and wooden vessels. It is for this reason that Mashfords still run an apprenticeship scheme, we are also currently working alongside Cornwall Marine Network with a specially designed NVQ programme to produce a highly motivated multi skilled workforce of the future. The full range of skills offered are as follows:
- Electricians
- Engineers
- Welders
- Shipwrights (covering GRP, wood and steel)
- Riggers
- Specialist Painters
- Labourers
Our Customers
The majority of our business is commercial however we also have many private clients. Our commercial clients include the Ministry of Defence, Serco and a wide range of other commercial vessels including fishing boats, diving boats, dredgers etc. On a smaller scale we also deal with private work on both sailing boats, motor boats and cruisers.
