Bates Boatyard and Dry Dock

All boat services. Wooden and steel.
Dry dock (Boats 72' x 14'), Side slip (72' x 7') Moorings.
Services include Joinery, fit outs, welding, new boat builds and award winning restoration work.

Wooden Narrowboat Restoration

Although the main wooden canal boat building era ended towards the middle of the last century, Bates Boatyard has continued to produce fine quality restorations and new wooden boats, that have an individuality and character unrivalled by the mass production of modern steel hulls.

Traditional Sideslip

With a traditional side launch to finish the job, what more could your wooden boat need? Boats restored at the yard have received the Ken Keay award from the Historic Narrowboat Owners Club on four separate occasions in the last seven years.

Dry Dock

With our additional Dry Dock facilities three miles away from the sideslip, there is also the opportunity for fine tuning the major work undertaken on the slipway. The dry dock is one of the few fully undercover docks for hire in the South. The dock offers blacking and welding facilities and carries out all other boat work. Price List (PDF)

Historic Narrowboats at Bates Boatyard

A number of projects are usually run side by side. On site at the moment you will see a 1912 Ice Boat, Star Class Butty Sirius, Star Class Motor Mira,Big Ricky Butty Hagley, Motor Boat Dart. On the water you will see Prototype Motor Boat Venus, BCN Joey Boat Blackthorn Rose, Motor Boat Arcturus, Motor Dove and Severn, the Tug Carp and the motor Dragonfly. There are few other collections of boats that represent such a cross section of the wooden boat building era on our inland waterways and certainly fewer still that are being restored with such pace and efficiency.

» Wooden Narrowboat Restoration

Contact J Bates; email:  info (at) batesboatyard.co.uk. Telephone:01296 632017 Mobile:07718 096557