Timber on the Thames
Boat-builder Will Howard, who specialises in restoring and recreating traditional wooden Thames craft. Adam Porter reports.
The sweet chestnut skiff that Will built from scratch.
One of the joys of the River Thames is the sheer variety of boats you see. Here, narrowboats are in a minority. It’s a big waterway, so there are plenty of wide-beams and some beautiful Dutch barges – although it can be a bit disconcerting if you’re in one of the larger locks and one comes in behind you, especially if it has a huge anchor on the bow. There are cruisers in a vast variety of shapes and sizes too, some of them so tall they tower above you. But some of the prettiest and most historic boats are the small traditional ones: slipper launches, wooden rowing boats, canoes and skiffs.
Will Howard with a dinghy built by Arlett’s of Henley.
So when I saw a small sign on a fence in Goring advertising Will Howard, a builder and restorer of traditional wooden boats, I was intrigued. Intrigued enough to get in touch and arrange to meet him.
His workshop is in the neighbouring village of South Stoke, in a slightly ramshackle collection of former hen houses which have been converted into studio spaces and are home to a number of small businesses. Inside are two boats he’s working on, supported on trestles, with work benches and tools around the outside and stacks of timber leaning against the walls.
Messum’s canoe dating from around 1900.
Thames apprenticeship
Will Howard grew up in Streatley, the village on the Berkshire side of the Thames opposite Goring, so he’s been around the river and its boats all his life. At the age of 19 he went to Falmouth to complete a two-year City & Guilds course in boat-building. He refined his skills at two of the Thames’ most renowned boatyards, Peter Freebody & Co and Henwood & Dean. During his time at the latter yard, he built a Thames skiff from sustainable sweet chestnut timber under the guidance of respected craftsman John Cox. “That was a beautiful timber to work with,” he says. “It was a real honour to learn the trade, and I worked with some of the most respected builders on the Thames.”
