Simon Holman

Simon grew up sailing dinghies and traditional boats with his father, joining a sail training charity as bosun on a 70′ ketch on leaving school. Four years later, after several Atlantic crossings and a nine month trip to the Antarctic and back, Simon headed to university to follow his love of boats and design.

After graduating from Southampton Institute with an Honours degree in Yacht Manufacture and Surveying, Simon moved to Portscatho and spent four years working at Falmouth Marine School, teaching Boat Design and Production.

In 2009 Simon and his wife Cat headed to Greece and back on their 28′ gaff cutter Planet, leaving from their mooring just across the river from Polvarth and returning two years later, after a voyage taking in the French Canals, the Mediterranean, Biscay and Brittany.

On return, Simon and Cat built an engineless 18′ fishing lugger Kensa, designed by Simon. After fishing under sail and oar with Kensa for five years out of Portscatho and St Just, Simon found himself back in the world of CAD/CNC design and boatbuilding, while also regularly contributing to WaterCraft magazine.

Simon joined the 40 week boatbuilding course at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis in 2020, in order to focus on traditional wooden boatbuilding. There he was part of a small team building 16′ spritsail yawl Wild Boy; a replica of a 19th century Gorran Haven crabber, carvel planked in larch on steamed oak frames.

Working as a self-employed wooden boatbuilder, Simon couldn’t resist the opportunity to take on Polvarth Boatyard; combining his boatbuilding and boat design skills with his experience of repair, maintenance and rigging, as well as his love of traditional Cornish working boats and one-design classes, in one of the most beautiful spots on the river.