Country Living's The Balvenie Best Start-up of the Year

Boat builder Ryan Kearley wanted to produce hand-crafted work and found boats were the perfect challenge

After five years as a carpenter making scenery for the theatre, Ryan Kearley yearned to use his skills to create something that would last for decades rather than just one season. "I wanted to produce hand-crafted work in wood and realised that boats were the perfect challenge," he says. He began by repairing Thames river skiffs under the watchful eye of master craftsman Mark Edwards of Richmond Bridge Boathouses. "There's no better way to learn than by taking a boat apart and seeing how it was built," Ryan explains.

 

When he moved to Brighton, he was determined to set up his own workshop. In June 2008, he took the plunge. To keep overheads low, he works from an old vegetable packing shed on a farm on the Sussex Downs, with a modified polytunnel for extra space. He put a lot of his own money into buying equipment, but has been rewarded by a constant range of commissions.

 

Ryan also has a particular interest in regional Sussex craft and is amassing a collection of patterns from surviving examples, which he will use for his own builds: When he's not in the workshop, he can be found out at sea in his wooden dinghy or pootling up the River Ouse in his 12ft launch. Boats are constantly on his mind: "It's a completely absorbing craft. Even after a long day at work, I often find myself dreaming about it at night, too."

 

Ryan Kearley 07932 458867; ryankearley@yahoo.co.uk

 

The Artisan Best Start-up Business based on a Traditional Craft or Skill runner-up

DSPC Restorations

(01298 816980; www.dspcrestorations.co.uk) "These steam engine enthusiasts have turned a hobby into a unique repair service," Jonathan Botterell said. "They have also used their talents to repair a 13th-century water mill."

 

 

Meet all of the other winners

Read more about the competition and its awards

Country Living's The Balvenie Artisan of the Year: Robin Wood, woodworker

Artisan Apprentice of the Year: Samantha Peacock, stonemason

Artisan Mentor of the Year: Bob Oakes, blacksmith

 

 

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