Canal Boat Maintenance, Repairs & Renovation

Providing flexible, affordable, and lasting solutions to help regular boaters look after, enhance and cherish their floating homes.

Services & Support

  • External Renovation

    From small jobs, to full bare-metal repaints, gunnels, hatches, non-slip decking, blacking, fine painting and more.

  • Internal Renovation

    Carpentry, bathroom and kitchen fitting, floor & tile laying, decorating and all manner of (floating) home improvements.

  • Engine Bay Restoration

    Cleaning, drying and preparing engine bay surfaces, rust treatment, top-to-bottom re-paint to enhance lifespan and safety.

  • Tenders & Dinghies

    Fixing, restoring & rebuilding small work and leisure boats, including custom-made decks, consoles and fitting remote outboard controls.

  • Routine Maintenance

    Roof to water-line cleaning, jet washing and general spring-cleaning to help your boat look and perform its best - no job too small!

How I work

Pricing

I typically work on an hourly rate, especially for smaller jobs. This help keep jobs affordable, manageable, and ensures clients only pay for the time it actually takes to complete the job - no more, no less. Materials are charged ‘at cost’ and often include trade discounts passed on from my suppliers.

I always endeavour to provide accurate up-front estimates and remain within these, and where jobs throw curveballs, keep clients informed and in the driving seat. Time, cost and quality expectations are always discussed up-front to avoid surprises and ensure the work takes on a collaborative nature.

I normally take payment for (or client purchase of) all materials and parts up-front, before the job commences. I charge for my time/ labour on a weekly basis (for jobs a week or more) or upon completion of the job (for jobs less than a week). Invoices are provided for all time and materials.

Some ballpark estimates for common jobs are provided to help give an indication for people contemplating future work. Due to the number of variables involved (not least size) and the uniqueness of every boat, these estimates are presented as average ranges. A 24ft Springer, or a 70ft Dutch barge, for example, would likely both fall outside these ranges!!

  • Engine bay renovation: £400-£600 labour + £150-£200 materials

  • Jet wash & machine polish: £120-£160 labour + £20-£30 materials

  • Gunnel sand & repaint: £300-£400 labour + £150-£200 materials

  • Roof painting (inc. non-slip): £200-£300 labour + £100-£150 materials

  • Engine bay hatch cover: £40-£60 labour + £120-£180 materials

I also offer project management support (liaising with contractors, arranging wet/dry docking, booking tug boat services etc.) and have the necessary paperwork required to undertake work in local boatyards for my clients.

Trademark waterside working

With the help of my little work boat, Terrapin, climbing harness, and dual-fuel inverter generator, few areas are off limits, even along the waterline.

Respecting nature as a core value

Protecting marine life and fragile aquatic ecosystems with eco-friendly products and sustainable processes is a core value that I am committed to on every project.

About me

In 2023, I left my career in international project management and bought a boat. Having grown up on a Scottish island and spent much of my youth in, on, and working around boats, I knew I wanted to return to a more physical, outdoorsy, water-based way of life. My years working on a farm as a teenager meant I was no stranger to heavy machinery and hard graft, and I’d developed a long-standing passion for woodwork and all things DIY from my father. Moving onto the boat allowed me to continue deepening and growing these passions, interests and existing skills, and contribute something practical to the boating community I now belonged to. Over the months, I’ve worked alongside and learned from several experts, enthusiasts, and tradespeople, as well as continual learning ‘on the job’ through the process of renovating my own boat. I now offer a growing range of affordable, reliable and high quality services to regular boaters, to help them maintain and get the most out of their floating homes.

Client Testimonials

“Will did a fantastic job of cleaning and painting my engine bay, gunnels, stern and bow decks, and window bars. His masking and painting were top-notch. Most of this was whilst I was abroad. He sourced materials, sent me copies of receipts, kept me updated with photos. He also gave the tired-looking paintwork a full buff, and the result was amazing. He also sourced some Buffalo board and cut a new engine bay cover and gas locker cover. Will was really easy to work with, excellent at keeping me up to date, and pleasant company when I was around. Unlike most contractors on the cut, Will turns up when he says he will, and does what he says he'll do, thoughtfully and with attention to detail. Highly recommended.” Chris

“With our busy pace of life, we were struggling to find the time and know-how to deal with our rapidly deteriorating widebeam. Will inspired and supported us to start tackling the problems and begin rennovating our boat. Will is a caring, honest and supportive person, and for a very reasonable price he helped us get to grips with the problems before winter. Will provides excellent service, great attention to detail, and is comitted to doing a fabulous job. He is also a really nice bloke. I would highly recommend him to any boater..” T&I

“Will is a talented and hard working guy who is trusted and relied on by many boaters in my area to fix all sorts of problems with their boats. I asked him to clean my rope fenders, they were particularly manky and quite awkward to clean but he did a really smashing job, far exceeding my expectations and at a very reasonable price. He worked through rain and shine. He’s a lovely guy and very easy to work with. He has a thoughtful approach and yet nothing seems to faze him. I would not hesitate to highly recommend him.” Suzi

“Will has been absolutely brilliant for us. He is knowledgeable (he knows a lot about boats … and what he doesn't know, he finds out), responsible (does what he says he will, no shortcuts), trustworthy (gives a good indication of timescales and cost, and communicates clearly if they need adjustment), and above all cheerful and a real pleasure to work with. When we needed our large steel hull repainting, Will did an incredibly thorough job, sanding down the old paintwork, applying rust treatment where required before priming, and finishing to a high standard - including detailed decorative paintwork and stencilling. It was a challenging job, with much of the work completed “on the water” from his small workboat, and Will completed it conscientiously and with great care. He has also helped with the woodwork to rebuild our wheelhouse, and fix issues with our water tank, among others.” Richard