ABOUT THE BUILDER

After a childhood messing around on boats in Cornwall and the south of France, Jeremy Butler decided he was going to be a fisherman. He worked on oyster boats on the Carrick Roads, longlining off Newlyn before fetching up at the Falmouth College to study Small Craft design. He eventually decided to study Psychology at Essex University, but spent most of his time building dinghies for Barrow Boats on a piecemeal basis, getting paid £300 per boat. After a formative year out in Australia, he retrained in IT and has been working in software ever since.

Jeremy explains his reasons for wanting to build a Western Skiff:

“Living so close to the river, so I want to get out there and enjoy it with the family. I love rowing, and I’ve already built a strip-plank canoe, but that’s a bit tippy for the family. I’d love to build a Whitehall skiff, but I think that might not be very practical for the kids either. I want something I can enjoy rowing on my own but that the family can all pile into and explore the river, so the skiff ticked lots of boxes.

“My idea is to build the boat light enough to stick on the roof of our car. I don’t want to have a trailer or a cover. I’m going fit a removable wheel on the front and a couple of handles on the back and see if the Barrow boat idea works!

“There’s not a single step between our house and the river, so I should be able to walk down and be on the water in about 5-6 minutes.

“My life is about low maintenance, low grief; I can’t cope with any hobbies that require too much kit.”