Do you want to learn boat building? - Bursaries now available

Boat Building Academy Launch Lyme Regis photographer 2021

Want to be a boat builder? – Can’t afford a course?

The Boat Building Academy offers quite a bit more than just boat building skills. They can teach you basic joinery and woodwork, sail making, furniture making, how to install boat engines and systems ….and everything you need for a new career or hobby.

Course costs range from £295 for a 2 day short course up to their flagship professional training course – the 40 week Level 3 Diploma in Boatbuilding at £18 450

Don’t Delay your Dreams – Apply for a Bursary

What is new and exciting is that the Academy can now offer financial assistance for those unable to afford their courses. The money has to be achieved through fund raising. It is a finite resource, but there has never been a better time to apply, especially for women, as there is an industry drive to increase female entry into boat building.

You can apply for a bursary for all courses at the Boat Building Academy, from 1 day to 40-weeks. Awards will be dependent on being offered a place and a successful bursary interview.

The newly introduced bursary for Women is looking to financially assist female students in Boat Building and furniture making and also help extinguish the stigma around women in practical skills industries such as boat building or woodworking.
The BBA aims to financially assist those who would not otherwise be able to fund the training by awarding bursaries.

Why Classic Sailing Is Keen to Promote this Opportunity

Classic Sailing works in partnership with the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis, because without a healthy supply of women and men building new wooden boats, or having the skills to maintain and repair them, our whole traditional sailing sector will struggle. Also there will be nobody suitable to take on the custodianship of a great many historic sailing vessels, classic yachts or small boats.

What is the Eligibility Criteria?

This bursary scheme is supplied by the Boat Building Academy (BBA) Charity, through their own fund raising and only for their own courses. These are the land based courses on the Classic Sailing website that have BBA in their reference.

To be eligible for the BBA Bursary you must:

Be a British Citizen
have applied for a BBA course – and been offered a place

Jack from Isles of Scilly learning carvel planking

Bursary Application Process

You can apply for a BBA course on the Classic Sailing website AND ask for a bursary application form at the same time.

Find the course you want from those listed below. Click on the ‘Reserve Now’ orange button for short courses, or the ‘Student Application’ button for long courses and fill in the application form.

For the long course its a huge commitment, that will require moving to live at the college or in accommodation nearby. We recommend you apply for the earliest course dates you think you might be able to do. If you are offered a place, generally that offer can apply to any start date, if you need to change to a later start.

All BBA course details

On the application form you have an opportunity to book more than one short course and earn a 5% discount if you wish.

On the form you can also ask for a bursary application form for a short or long course, so the Academy will know from your course application that you are hoping for some financial assistance.

Once the Academy has confirmed there is availability on your course, you can apply for a bursary. If your application meets the eligible criteria, you will be interviewed by the Director and at least one other Trustee. This will take place via video conference.
The trustees will then decide whether to award a bursary and what amount will be awarded.

The BBA would normally offer bursary awards of up to a maximum of 50% of the course fee but in exceptional circumstances we will offer 100% of the course fee.

In 2020, the Boat Building Academy was granted charity status, fulfilling the long-held ambition to create the BBA Bursary scheme to be able to help the next generation of men and women builders, who would otherwise be unable to fund their training at the Academy. The number of awarded bursaries in each financial year, as well as levels of funding available, will impact whether applications are successful; or what amounts are awarded to each applicant.

BBA Bursary for Women

On February 2023, we implemented the BBA Bursary for Women. A bursary scheme exclusively for women, aiming to proactively affirm that women are not only welcomed but wanted in the industry. The aim is for the bursary to facilitate access to high-level training and for women to be recognised for career development opportunities.

You can listen to some of the former female students and women in the boat building industry @womeninboatbuilding – a supportive group on instagram

If you are not quite ready for a professional training course in boatbuilding or furniture making, why not sign up for a Woodwork Workshop with female boat builder Amy Stringfellow. This is a 5 day course aimed at total newcomers to woodwork . £695 excluding accommodation, and it is eligible for a bursary application.