More About Henwood & Dean Boat Builders
Henwood & Dean Team
Robert Dean Photography. At our rural workshop - a few hundred yards from the River Thames - Colin Henwood and his small team of dedicated craftsmen have been carrying out the building, restoration, rebuilding and maintenance of Thames boats large and small for nearly 25 years.
The 1908 Thames Double Skiff 'Gillian'
Kathy Mansfield Photography. The quality of our workmanship is exceptional and craft restored by Henwood and Dean have won many prestigious awards in recent years. The 1908 Thames double skiff Gillian and the new 25ft electric launch Lady Helen have both been awarded the Sheila Bourne Trophy for the Best Boat in the Show at the Thames Traditional Boat Rally - the Concours D'Elegance of the wooden boat world!
We have successfully exhibited our work at all of the major British specialist wooden boat shows and in Finland and France. In addition, many boats restored by Henwood & Dean have been featured in Thames-based events and on television.
Varnishing
Henwood & Dean. Colin and Lucie Henwood, who founded the business in 1982, are committed to ensuring that traditional boatbuilding of the highest standard is able to survive and thrive in the 21st Century. We run our business with a professional and competent approach and consider it paramount that young craftsmen and women are nurtured, encouraged and given the opportunities to grow within a business-like environment.
Henwood & Dean Boatbuilders were shortlisted for the Southern regional final of the Small Business Championship Awards and, in recognition of our commitment to training and encouragement of young people in the craft of traditional wooden boatbuilding, we were given an "Investors in Education" award from the Oxfordshire Education Business Partnership.