Wooden Boat Stage 2026: Focus on inspiring the next generation of boatbuilders

The Wooden Boat Stage 2026 at the Southampton International Boat Show will be delivering a series of talks and demonstrations aimed at encouraging young people to consider a career in boatbuilding

The Wooden Boat Stage 2026 has a clear mission for this year: to inspire the next generation of boatbuilders and demonstrate that traditional wooden boatbuilding offers a rewarding and creative career.

This is the second year it has been held at the Southampton International Boat Show and it has expanded to include more daily demonstrations, practical sessions, talks and panel discussions, with a particular focus on introducing young people to the skills, people, and career opportunities within the industry.

“We want to make wooden boatbuilding accessible to young people. We want to make it a visible career, with clearly signposted pathways, and we want young people to know that they are wanted, welcome and needed in traditional wooden boatbuilding yards, colleges, and apprenticeships,” explained Belinda Joslin, the founder of Women in Boat Building.

“We have some amazing young role models on the stage throughout the show, talking about their training and their jobs – and showing that boatbuilding is a viable career choice.”

Many of the talks and events at the Wooden Boat Stage will focus on how to encourage more young people into the boatbuilding industry. Credit: Debbie Granville

A key feature of the Wooden Boat Stage 2026 programme is the Routes into the Industry panel at 3pm on Thursday 24 September, hosted by Katy Stickland, Editor of Practical Boat Owner.

Katy will be joined by four young people working in the industry, each representing a different route into boatbuilding and the wider marine sector: Bonny Brookes, a self-trained marine electrician; Brenden George, a Boat Building Academy-trained boatbuilder now working at Spirit Yachts; Ela Keegan, who is learning on the job at Hunter’s Yard and Jenisha Mistry, a second-year boatbuilding apprentice at Berthon.

Together, they will share their experiences, discuss the different pathways available and offer advice to young people considering a career in the marine industry.

Throughout the show, tutors and graduates from the Boat Building Academy (BBA) will be talking about their experiences and the career opportunities available after training. The career-focused talks will be held at 2pm on Saturday 19 September and 11am on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 September.

The chief executive officer of the Brightlingsea-based Pioneer Sailing Trust, Felicity Scully will be discussing the unique Level 3 Heritage Engineer Marine Technician Apprenticeship, which is being funded by the UK Government until 2029. Part of the trust’s remit is to develop the local marine industry through training, and the Heritage Engineer Marine Technician Apprenticeship has been specifically developed for specialist boat restoration, ensuring these vital skills are not lost. The talk will take place at 2pm on Thursday, 24 September.

Helping young people to learn about the boatbuilding industry is important to raise the profile of traditional skills and grassroots schools’ programmes can make a big difference.

Ela Keegan from Hunter’s Yard will be leading a discussion panel about how to introduce young people to boatbuilding, sailing and heritage craft

Ela Keegan is the Schools, Youth, and Community Manager at the Norfolk Heritage Fleet Trust based at Hunter’s Yard, running regular sessions for local schoolchildren to learn about sailing and boatbuilding.

On Tuesday 22 September at 3pm, she will be hosting a panel on: How UK yards are working with schools to inspire a new generation. It will bring together representatives from the Boat Building Academy, Woodbridge Riverside Trust and Spirit Yachts – organisations that have all established successful schools’ programmes with local schools – to explore how boatbuilding businesses and organisations can work with schools and the national curriculum to introduce students of different ages to practical skills, boatbuilding and the wider marine sector.

It is hoped this will encourage more boatyards and marine organisations to develop grassroots schools’ programmes in their own communities.

Will Reed, Director of the Boat Building Academy, said: “Educational partnerships and accessible expert training are key to the future preservation and success of the boatbuilding industry, enabling young people with creative talents to access a wealth of fulfilling careers, and organisations such as the BBA to continue to provide talented boatbuilders and associated craftspeople to our boatyards and businesses.

“The BBA has already welcomed 160 schoolchildren through its doors for courses and visits and is building rewarding partnerships with local schools.“This is especially pertinent now as the country struggles with a rising number of young people not in education or training, many of whom would undoubtedly excel in the highly practical and creative marine sector.

“With practical activities, accessible career advice and young people already working in the industry taking centre stage, the Wooden Boat Stage is aiming to make sure the next generation can see a place for themselves in the future of wooden boatbuilding.”

The Wooden Boat Stage 2026 – which is being organised by the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis (BBA), the Wooden Boatbuilders’ Trade Association (WBTA) and Women in Boat Building (WIBB) – will also celebrate the history, heritage and craftsmanship of the modern wooden boatbuilding industry

For younger visitors, there will be a model boat workshop at the weekends where children can make their first wooden boat – a gaff cutter complete with handmade sails supplied by East Coast Sailmakers.

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