OUR PROJECTS

Every commission taken, from concept to drawing, building to finishing, is designed to encapsulate a space, enrich character and improve with time and use. Each aspect is carefully studied to ensure respect for heritage, where traditional skills utilise repurposed materials to deliver not only artisanal quality but complete authenticity. In a traditional yard, the drawing is the end product, but in Calshot it acts only as a visual prompt. Each project is bespoke, we listen to what the materials are telling us - the patina and the feel of them.  There is exquisite attention to detail, a lack of fuss or affectation in the design – just beautiful execution with soul, that reflects the character of the project and heritage of the vessel. 

Each customer’s vision is different as is their desired level of involvement. At Calshot, all the talent is uniquely in house so there is an intimacy and immediacy to the relationship with the owner that ensures individual preferences are realised at every stage.

ALICIA

The M.Y. Alicia was the first of the major projects that Calshot Group worked on as it formed out of the original SMS company structure.  The project was steered by the vision of the owner who is now the sponsor of the Calshot group. He passionately believes in the quality of the output, not the value of the raw material. He understands that materials, often overlooked by others, can be repurposed into something wonderful and considered. 

 With Alicia, the project team took the original design of the ship and then considered how it could be enhanced to make her both beautiful and efficient whilst ensuring her integrity was protected. Over three years, the ship was historically researched, documented, deconstructed, lengthened midship by seven metres and completely rebuilt. Eighty percent of her steel plate and structure was replaced. One of the most visible changes was the replacement of the clipper bow by a classic plumb bow, which was popular at the time and the original profile when she was launched. It is exceptionally difficult to see where the changes were made, and this is just one part of what makes her restoration so successful.

Alicia’s interior was uniquely designed to reflect her heritage whilst ensuring ultimate comfort. She was designed like a house where the furniture could actually be removed which allowed much more choice in the look and purpose of pieces and a wholly different feel. A mixture of some genuine 1930s furniture was selected to sit side by side with modern hand-built pieces made from repurposed materials to create a ship that looked restored and not rebuilt.

 Her story is of a ship restored with extraordinary care and love, showcasing the exceptional work that Calshot Joinery are capable of in terms of both exteriors and interiors. Whilst most are used to working with mirror-matched timber, in this case the owner chose the complete opposite, it was all to be heritage wood - not a single piece of wood on Alicia’s finished surfaces is new. Timbers were repurposed from old warehouse buildings in Liverpool docks and sourced over the course of a year from ancient buildings in India. The wood was wavy and the grain uneven, so the woodwork team, by now numbering 60 craftsman, worked in excess of 3000-hours restoring the wood before even using it. Alicia’s stunning walnut staircases show what that dedication and care can produce, where joins follow the natural grain of the wood rather than the usual straight lines, allowing the wood to shine. Once installed in the ship, no protection was used on the wood so it would acquire a patina of age during the build, a bold move, but one that built great depth into the finishes.

Alicia is a remarkably beautiful ship, totally true to her original 1930’s lines, yet her spaces are totally reconfigured to suit the needs of today.

DAVENHAM

Originally a Dry Cargo Barge from 1944, built in the classical tried and tested Weaver Packet design, Davenham had latterly been adapted for use as a houseboat, but years of minimal maintenance meant that her hull was in extremely poor condition. To ensure structural integrity, our fabrication team carried out extensive initial work, alongside the stretching of her superstructure and restoring her chain driven steering gear. Human endeavour had built her, and the same levels of commitment and teamwork were carefully taking her through this extensive restoration, finding the beauty and heritage and restoring around it.

All aspects of her exterior were researched, methods adapted to restore details that had been lost over the length of her lifetime. A wheelhouse was constructed to her original design specification, with a new rolled steel funnel and finished with hand applied rivets and her original derrick restored to use. That commitment to detail and investment in time, research and resources ensured her restoration was authentic and honoured her heritage.

 She has been reimagined as a floating cinema and communal performance space. Stepping inside the once cavernous cargo hold, now opened up to take up the whole of the interior of the ship, is truly like stepping back in time into an incredibly unique space. A perfectly positioned stage, designed to follow the curves and lines of the ship now houses a screen to create one of the most unusual and visually stunning cinemas in existence. Handcrafted seating that was designed to follow the sheer of the ship, gives everyone the best seat in the house and is exquisitely yet simply furnished with base cushions made from army tentage and sheepskin rugs. Her engine has been restored and showcased at the bottom of a mighty staircase built by our fabrication team and nestled on a beautiful reclaimed timber decking.

This project was a triumph of the imagination. She was not originally envisaged in the form she now has but, as the restoration progressed, it was clear what she could become. She was designed by the fabrication team as she was being rebuilt, each element fashioned instinctively to create a truly unique space. 

Although created using rudimentary materials, as a finished project she defies description, creating unexpected and strong emotional reactions in those who step aboard her for the first time. 

She could only have been built by the Calshot yard. No other team could have imagined her, designed or fabricated her. This is the unique alchemy of the Calshot group

In March 2019 she was successfully placed on the list of Historical vessels showcasing the ability of the craftsman at The Calshot Group to repurpose ships for use in the twenty first century but with their heritage preserved and enriched.

RITA

Meticulous research is conducted on each project to ensure the team understand every aspect of the original design, technology, alignments and tolerances. In this case, the German company that had built this tug had gone out of business in the 1970’s and, with very limited surviving imagery, the only manual the teams had was, of course, in German.  She had been built with second-hand parts including the mighty 22-ton analogue engine originally built for a U-Boat during the war which had been stored by the yard in Germany until the ship was built some 20 years later.

 The bespoke, innovative approach all the teams took is a trademark of The Calshot Group. The decision was taken to restore her engine cylinder by cylinder in situ, stripping away years of corrosion and decay. They maintained functionality of the original valves and controls which were now unavailable to source anywhere else and restored intricate assemblies and mechanisms to protect her original character. Fuel pumps, usually hidden away on modern engines were restored and are themselves a thing of beauty. The team did a remarkable job to ensure the 1930’s technology was now capable of running reliably at full capacity for the next three quarters of a century.  The engines, arguably the beating heart of any ship, now run as smoothly as the day they were made allowing Rita to embark on her next chapter. The fact that, on testing at the end of the build process, her engine started first time is testament to their skill. 

  Our team of skilled electricians designed and built an entire switchboard out of repurposed materials from another project, adding digital sensors to ensure 21st century monitoring and control, but using analogue switches to respect the authenticity and original character of the build. As with all our projects, an alarm monitoring and automation system was tailored to her specific needs to digitally monitor and control the analogue functions of the engine as well as all other mechanical and electrical systems on board. The systems logic was programmed in house, allowing for machinery space to be unmanned for long periods of time. The vessel can be monitored remotely, and all engine data is logged to allow for ease of diagnostics and planned maintenance.

Her proud industrial exterior has been restored and recreated - her mizzen mast with lifting davit rebuilt to her original design by our metal fabricators, her deck and the anchor winch repaired. Her exterior has been adapted to offer the maximum comfort for her passengers and crew yet protect her heritage as a tug. 

The interior is exquisite and has been completely redesigned with space and practicality in mind.  It feels comfortable and welcoming, with walls wrapped in warm tongue and groove panelling and seats covered in rich red leather, all carefully finished by hand.

 Every aspect is fitted out to maximise the space intelligently, with spacious double skinned showers set into the bulkhead and by our fabrication team with the plumbing and pipefitting teams expertly ageing the shower fixtures.  There are classical touches throughout, like those of the polished steel foldaway sinks within her cabin bathrooms. Originally designed for use onboard submarines, they are now a subtle but tangible nod to the U-Boat engines that give Rita life. 

LAND BASED PROJECTS

 Whilst Calshot Group is built round a working ship fabrication yard, the company also undertakes numerous projects on land-based restorations. All finished work incorporates restored materials, and the company produces artisan pieces of tremendous scale and complexity which other organisations would never be able to consider or execute. 

 Calshot also works very closely with the Tanera Restoration project in the Inner Hebrides. Tanera is a project committed to using restored and repurposed materials in the execution of a major community regeneration project. What has been developed and created on the island is a legacy to the values of the Calshot team and the local artisans working on the project actually on the island.