C&M Traditional Boat Repairs

C&M Traditional Boat Repairs Expert traditional boat repairs and award-winning wooden boat restoration. Skilled craftsmanship, honest advice, and quality work you can trust.

Services include fit-outs, painting & varnishing, custom projects, and general repair and restoration. Welcome to our page, it's nice to have you here! C&M Traditional Boat Repairs is made up of two Boatbuilders; Chris Murphy and Malcolm Jones. Based along the Thames, near Egham and they also offer mobile services. The pair have been working together since 2015 but between them have over 50 years

experience in boat restoration. The passion for boat building doesn't stop with work as both have restored their own boats; a Naval Pinnace and a Dunkirk Little Ship. Services we offer:
Restorations - Structural and strengthening, hull repairs, carvel, clinker, and double diagonal, re-decking, hatches, cockpits, and deck joinery. Narrow Boat fit outs - From planning the layout to lining the fit-out to help maximize the best layout for you and the space you have. Painting & Varnishing - Marine finishes, antifouling, blacking, stripping back cracked and worn varnish and paint and refresh paintwork and finishing coats. We would love to see what we can do for you. If you're in need of some repairs and restorations or just looking for some friendly advice. Give us a call to see how we can help!

18/06/2026

L'Orage is back in the water and heading home! Our yard handled her new planking, paint, and varnish on the exterior, but before she departs, we wanted to give you a quick glimpse inside this incredible 1938 Dunkirk Little Ship. ⚓

Most people only see these Dunkirk Little Ships from the riverbank, but stepping into the cabin is like walking into a genuine time capsule. It is absolutely packed with living history.

Take a look at the photos we’ve dropped in the comments to see the details:

✨A beautifully preserved brass "DUNKIRK 1940" plaque right at the companionway.

✨A spectacular watercolour painting showing L'Orage crossing the Channel for a commemorative return cruise.

✨Displays overflowing with decades of traditional boat rally plaques.

It's been an incredible privilege to work on her. Stay tuned, we'll be dropping the final video of her finished exterior look very soon.

Which of these historical details stands out to you the most? Let us know! 👇

Let's talk wood. 🪵If you’re looking for whispering or rain sounds, you’re on the wrong page. This is our version of ASMR...
18/06/2026

Let's talk wood. 🪵

If you’re looking for whispering or rain sounds, you’re on the wrong page. This is our version of ASMR- planes, saws, and a proper mountain of sawdust.

Every boat that comes into the yard tells us exactly what it needs. Whether it's Carvel, Clinker, or Diagonal, we match the original build method. Teak, Iroko, and Oak are just to name a few, but we use plenty of other traditional timbers depending on what the boat asks for.

The secret to keeping a wooden boat alive? It’s not avoiding water, it’s just making sure it doesn't sit in the wrong place for too long. Keep up with your annual varnishing and caulking checks, catch the small jobs early, and you'll save yourself a massive headache.

Everything here is done the traditional way, by hand, with plenty of elbow grease.

Turn your sound up and enjoy the racket. 🔊

Woodworking YardLife

11/06/2026

Nelly Bell is back on the Thames - and she looks exactly as she should.

Built in 1958, her first owners were George Formby, the legendary British entertainer, and his wife Beryl. She's been on the water ever since, and is a registered National Historic Ships UK.

She came to us as Carole Ann, with leaking deck seams that had worked their way into the structure. What followed was new bulkheads, new teak window frames, large fixed openings divided and converted to sliding windows with matching handles and locks, stanchions and deck hardware sent for chroming, and a full paint and varnish inside and out.

Now she's Nelly Bell. Back where she belongs, on the river just in time for the summer sun. ☀️

We've never seen a wooden boat problem that got smaller on its own. What starts as a cracked seam or a soft spot on the ...
10/06/2026

We've never seen a wooden boat problem that got smaller on its own. What starts as a cracked seam or a soft spot on the hull has a way of quietly becoming something more serious the longer a boat is in the water. Three things worth checking now, before they become something worth worrying about.

If anything gives you pause, or you'd simply rather have someone with experience cast an eye over her, give us a call. Between Chris and Malcolm there's 75 years of looking at wooden boats. We'd far rather find something small now than have you dealing with it mid-season.

📞 07977 127797

09/06/2026

L'Orage - Part 1: What lurked beneath the surface.

L'Orage came to us for what should have been a straightforward job: freshen up the paint and varnish after some seasonal cracking appeared on her hull. Simple enough.

Then we started looking more closely.

Beneath those cracks, the hull planks had taken on rot, and once you find it, there's only one right answer. The planks had to come out.

For those who haven't met her before, L'Orage is a 1938 mahogany on oak motor yacht, and a registered Dunkirk Little Ship. She crossed to France in 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, helping to evacuate Allied soldiers from the beaches. She's been cruising the Thames ever since, and with a bit of work from us, she'll carry on a good while longer.

In this video you'll see her as she came to us, the extent of the damage once the planking was removed, and the new planks going back in. Part 2: the paint and varnish will follow once she's ready.

These boats are irreplaceable. Getting the work right matters.

She came in looking tired. She leaves looking like this — ready to turn heads on the river this summer. ✨Meet Cygnet, a ...
15/05/2026

She came in looking tired. She leaves looking like this — ready to turn heads on the river this summer. ✨

Meet Cygnet, a Meakes Slipper Launch, 35ft, built in 1931. For decades, she was lovingly cared for and maintained by Richard Mash, enjoyed by his family on the Thames. Since Richard's passing, this is the first time another boatyard has ever completed any work on her.

We didn't take that lightly. The mahogany decks, the chrome fittings, the hand-painted name. Every detail seen to before she heads back out onto the Thames.

This is what we love about this work, boats like Cygnet aren't just boats. They're part of the river's history, and part of a family's story.

The family are thrilled with the outcome and the care taken with their beloved boat. That means everything to us.

Is your classic boat ready for summer? Drop us a message or give us a call, we'd love to help.

15/04/2026

Last night we attended the Classic Boat Awards 2026 at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, London.

The boat we restored, Quisisana, was nominated this year - she didn't take home a trophy this time, but being in the room among the best in the industry was an honour. Thank you to everyone who voted for her.

Congratulations to everyone who was nominated and to all those who took home an award. The standard of work in this industry never fails to impress.

It was also brilliant to see the celebrated, a reminder that this craft is being passed on to new generations, and long may that continue. Our own trained there, and we see what a fantastic foundation the academy gives its students.

10/04/2026

29ft of mahogany, oak, and British history in our yard this week.

L'Orage is out of the water at our yard for her seasonal maintenance.

🔹️Built 1938 - Boats & Cars Ltd. Kingston
🔹️29ft 6 in
🔹️Carvel mahogany on oak
,
One of the few serving Dunkirk Little Ships, still actively maintained and sailed. She ferried troops from the beaches before going on to become the beloved ship of Raymond Baxter OBE, decorated Spitfire pilot, BBC broadcaster, and the man who co-founded the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (official) in 1966.

The current owners are every bit dedicated to her legacy. Keeping a wooden boat of this age in good health takes commitment and is a testament to what regular, careful maintenance can achieve.

🌞It's the warmest day of 2026 so far, and if you're anything like us, your thoughts are already drifting to the river.Th...
08/04/2026

🌞It's the warmest day of 2026 so far, and if you're anything like us, your thoughts are already drifting to the river.

The anticipation of a long summer cruise. Early-morning starts and, for some, the countdown to The Thames Traditional Boat Festival - Friday 17th to Sunday 19th July 2025, is among the finest weekends on the river calendar.

Something we see every year at the yard: boats that aren't quite ready when summer arrives. Paintwork that's lifted over winter, varnish that's gone milky, or fittings that have worked loose. Things that seemed minor in October suddenly matter in June.

The good news? There's still time - but not much of it.

At C&M Traditional Boat Repairs, based at Harleyford Marina on the River Thames, we specialise in bringing classic and traditional boats back to their best. Whether you're planning a gentle summer cruise, preparing for The Trad, or want your boat looking the way she deserves, we will give her the care and attention she needs.

We offer bespoke fit-outs, repairs, restorations, and painting and varnishing work.

💬 Are you planning to make it to The Trad at Henley this year — or is it a summer cruise season for you?

Address

Harleyford Marina, Harleyford Estate
Marlow
SL72DX

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm

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