Abbey Molyneux owns and manages the boatyard and a team of eight staff. Her journey into boat building started as an apprentice on the East Coast of England where she gathered the basic knowledge needed to get her first job. From here she travelled to the River Thames and continued learning, working on over 80 classic boats a year as she honed her craft. After seven years living and working on the river she eventually moved to Norfolk, the home of her boat building ancestors, with the dream of setting up her own yard and workshop.

The now thriving boatyard in Reedham, Norfolk has just completed the first new build wooden boat to be built on site in over 50 years and is set to build another three new commissions before the end of 2026, making history and filling the old boatyard with the buzz of new industry and a real passion to breathe new life into the craft of boat building and all the important heritage that goes with it.

The dusty sheds are stacked from wall to wall with classic boats, some nearing their 100th birthday. Hidden away in the corner is Guide of Dunkirk. It has an extraordinary history, from being commissioned by the Girl Guides in 1930 as one of the first self-righting lifeboats, to surviving shellfire during Operation Dynamo and making two Channel crossings to rescue soldiers.

Abbey found this important vessel for sale and knew she had to buy it. The complexities of the hull lines are nothing short of a work of art, combined with the historical importance and the thousands of lives this boat has saved, Abbey knew she had to save her.

Abbey explains how restoring such an important vessel is not only about the build process but also about keeping the connection alive between the generations of people old and new that have a tale to tell or a memory of loved one saved or lost whilst the boat served on the Cornish Coastline for the RNLI. Telling the story through their social media is a great way to keep the community involved and the story of the boat alive for generations to come, making sure her history is never forgotten.

Falcon enamel mugs can be seen amongst the sawdust, propped on the edges of decks and steaming away under the bottoms of boats. Hard wearing and able to withstand the team's ever busy schedule. A day at work is never as productive without your falcon mug close by and full of hot tea, to power through the cold winter mornings and to aid in the head scratching moments when you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture before making that all important first cut.

You can support the amazing restoration work on the Guide of Dunkirk via their socials and Crowdfunder here.