The History of DALE

DALE has grown from a family business founded in 1961 by Campbell Reynolds to the internationally renowned business of today.

THE HISTORY IS UNIQUE.

Eight generations of farming, fishing and work that a life by the sea provided... building boats, servicing the offshore lighthouses of the Smalls, Skokholm, and South Bishop. The village chandlery stocked the largest range of traditional marine wool wear and waterproof clothing in the country, regularly visited by Henri Lloyd himself and attracting loyal customers who drove miles and miles to come and purchase a Norwegian jumper!

In the adjoining boathouse, Campbell, Seymour his father and the family built and repaired wooden boats by hand - skills passed on from generation to generation.

SUPPORTING ADVENTURE

From the earliest days, the company embraced those on their quest for adventure and supported them in order to fulfil their dreams. Nicolette Milnes-Walker chose Dale to make her preparations and her chosen yacht was fitted out by Campbell and the team. In 1971, she left Dale in her 30ft sloop ‘Aziz’ and became the first woman to make a non-stop voyage single handed across the Atlantic.

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY

In the early days of GRP, the company mastered new skills, embracing the new materials and technology of the time and built its first fibre glass boat. The ‘Dale Princess’ was born and she remains in daily service today taking thousands out to visit the spectacular Pembrokeshire islands.

THE BIRTH OF DALE NELSON

Campbell and his sons, John and Mike expanded the business to Brunel Quay in 1983, a fitting location steeped in boatbuilding history. The next chapter unfolded with the beginning of an enduring dream involvement with TT Boat Designs, the originators of the Nelson design, one of the true greats with an unrivalled heritage of sea-keeping.

DALES’ PROGRESS

Nearly three decades later, advances in marine design and engineering have enabled us to continually move forward with a perfect balance of tradition and technology - a philosophy gloriously captured with the Classic 45 in 2004, taken in a new direction in 2010 with the introduction of the DALE 23 high performance launch, the ultimate expression of personalisation with the Classic 35 in 2014 and the beautifully packaged DALE 28 in 2017.

2019 has seen the launch to great acclaim of the new DALE 40, a brand new design from the keel up as well as the addition of exciting new features to the DALE 28.