Our Team
Stirling and Son are lucky to have a highly skilled, hardworking and dedicated team. Our shipwrights have a wealth of experience between them having worked on repairs, restorations, rebuilds and new builds of all types of classic yacht and wooden vessel from dinghies to ships. This valued experience means that there is not much that they haven’t seen and sorted out before.
Will StirlingDirector
Will Stirling began his training to be a boatbuilder at the age of 21. He completed an MA in Maritime History whilst building his first sailing vessel Alert, a 37′ smuggling lugger. His thesis covered the design and construction of revenue cutters between 1770-1850 (during the 1780s his very great grandfather, Admiral Sir Robert Barlow, was a revenue cutter captain). He then went on to design and build the elegant 43′ Gentleman’s Cutter, Integrity, based on the lines of the Victorian yachts of circa 1880. Will has also designed and built over 50 clinker dinghies. He is a qualified marine surveyor specialising in wooden yachts. Will spends much of his time sailing in Arctic waters on Integrity. |
Sara StirlingDirector
Sara grew up on an island off the coast of Donegal, Ireland where traditional boats were an essential part of daily life. She moved to Cornwall as a teenager where she attended Falmouth Marine School’s boatbuilding course. After a degree in Psychology she set up and ran Working Sail for 12 years building new pilot cutters. During this time she completed an MA in maritime history writing her thesis on the pilot cutters from the Isles of Scilly. She returned to work at Falmouth Marine School setting up a partnership between the college and Falmouth’s maritime museum where she designed and managed traditional boatbuilding courses building Cornish luggers. She moved to Devon with husband Will where they started Stirling and Son in 2007. In 2016 they bought Treluggan Boatyard on the Lynher river in Cornwall. |
Richard ShillingManager
Richard is a skilled shipwright and has worked for Stirling and Son since 2008. After completing a PhD at Cambridge University he decided to leave academia and attended a boatbuilding course at IBTC. He was part of the small team to build Integrity, a 43’ Gentleman’s Cutter, and is a talented clinker dinghy builder and designer. In 2016 Richard moved to our newly acquired Treluggan Boatyard in Cornwall and as Manager successfully ran it for five years before returning to manage Stirling and Son in Plymouth. |
ShipwrightsStirling and Son are lucky to have a good team of skilled shipwrights with a wealth of experience between them. They have worked on repairs, restorations, rebuilds and new builds of all types of wooden yachts and working boats from clinker dinghy to wooden ship both in the UK and abroad. This valued experience means that there is not much that they haven’t seen and sorted out before.
|
InternshipsStirling and Son offer a number of two year internships each year in both shipwrighting and yacht finishing.
Stirling and Son Apprentice: ‘I applied for the apprenticeship with Stirling and Son as it offered me the opportunity to learn a traditional craft in a very traditional environment, specifically the restoration of wooden vessels on an historical slipway. I am surrounded by shipwrights who have a wealth of knowledge and experience that I am eager to draw on and that will hopefully one day turn me into someone just as competent. Already I have been involved with a variety of projects from a clinker dinghy to a Brixham trawler. The most exciting thing is that every day is different which means constantly learning and facing new challenges. I think this is the perfect springboard for an adventurous career and I am very grateful to have such a unique opportunity.’ |
Past Projects
Take a look through some of our past projects from classic yacht restorations, steel motor yacht rebuilds, stylish interior fitouts, spectacular paint and varnish work, new builds, historic vessel repairs and many more.
Get in Touch
Whether you need a quick repair, a major restoration or a new build, get in touch to discuss your project. We look forward to hearing from you.
© Stirling & Son.
Website by Pure Cornish Design |
Find usStirling & Son, Number 1 Covered Slip, Plymouth, Devon, UK
|