CRAFTSMANSHIP
ABBEY MOLYNEUX
WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE She may be based on a farm in north Norfolk, but Abbey Molyneux is quickly building a name for herself in boat restoration WORDS AND PHOTOS CATHERINE LARNER
A
bbey Molyneux stepped into the boat restoration trade just 18 months ago, in March 2021. At just 30 years old, Abbey accepted a commission to renovate Queen of Light, a
dilapidated 90-year-old Broads luxury hire boat owned by Luke Paterson – a Norfolk farmer. She rebuilt the boat and launched it in time for Henley Traditional Boat Show. She then rented a barn from Luke and set up her own yard – Abbey Boat Builder. There have been 12 completed projects since Abbey’s
arrival, and the yard has never had fewer than two boats in at a time. Her only promotion has been through social media posts of her work but she’s now looking at taking on help and extending her premises. Working alone and being 5ft tall and slightly built, it is intriguing to see Abbey alongside some of the vast projects she undertakes. “The fun job for me is the big stuff,” she
Above: Abbey
says. “You take all the shapes out, all your reference points,
Molyneux
Powles motor cruiser. “A few people hounded me online
and you have to create shapes in the empty spaces. With
Below left:
and said I couldn’t have done it properly in the time. I got
restorations you’re building backwards and you have to
Queen of Light
really upset by that. With my next boat, Queen of Light, I
figure out a new way of doing it every time.”
was built by
decided with the owner to varnish everything so every
Abbey’s great
single bit of work was visible.”
She learned the skills by spending seven years at Dennetts in Chertsey, after an apprenticeship at Pioneer
uncle, who was a
Sailing Trust in Brightlingsea, Essex. She thrived at
member of the
Boatshow but she only had 102 days to complete the entire
Dennetts but ready for another challenge decided to move
team for Herbert
rebuild, so time was extremely tight. “I worked 13 hours a
to Norfolk. “I’m not a person who coasts,” she says. “I
Woods of Potter
day, seven days a week. But I won Young Boatbuilder of the
always want the next thing.”
Heigham in 1932.
Year. I got a trophy!”
To save accommodation costs, she lived on a Freeman
Facing page,
Abbey wanted to take the boat to Henley Traditional
There are smaller projects, of course. She’s just mended
26 and moved this to the Broads hoping to pick up jobs as
clockwise from
a hole in a wooden dinghy. And there’s a Broom dominating
she travelled. “I thought it would take a really long time to
top: The 1932
her yard, which needs a plank replacing on the keel. “It’s
get known,” she says. “But it took about a week.”
sailing boat
been really well maintained and it’s the first time in 10 years
Caress currently
that I’ve had a boat that needs only one plank doing.”
Though Abbey is dynamic and upbeat, full of stories of the serendipity that got her to this point, she is also
under restoration
determined and driven and has had to prove herself.
– photo David
everything to hand. “Sourcing the material was a massive
Edmund Jones;
outlay when I started but I’ve got everything I need. I don’t
preparation work
like that side of the business, so I cut it down and only do it
removing nails;
once every six months. It saves me loads of time and hassle.”
ABBEY MOLYNEUX
Olive, a Billy
74
Her first refurbishment was Noisy Goose, a 1962 Jack
These jobs will be fast turnarounds, she always has
Abbey prides herself on working quickly, and this
May-built launch
summer is no exception. She has taken on the 1932 sailing
rescued by Abbey
boat, Caress, one of two built by Percival Boats in
from a bonfire;
Horning. The boat had deteriorated then sunk on its
Rib repair on
mooring but the owner wanted to save it. Abbey set to
Caress; Navigator,
work on it, stripped it down, and will replace the hull in
the Broom with a
time for the owner to sail this season.
plank missing;
“When I steamed the ribs for their boat, the customer
Well-kept, tidy
was really interested so I walked them through the process.
boat yard store
I like them to understand the work that goes into a job so they can see what they’re paying for.”
CLASSIC BOAT SEPTEMBER 2022
