View PDF Version: Berthholder & Customers Spring Newsletter 2026.
A warm Springtime welcome to all our berth holders and customers! It’s a busy season at the boatyard, with the new workshop now fully operational and plenty of boats being worked on there.
30th Anniversary Celebrations – In the autumn of 2025 Cox’s Boatyard celebrated 30 years of being under the management and ownership of our consortium. Three decades ago there were just three employees and only a few boats in the marina with most of the mooring unusable and very little quay heading. Now Cox’s Boatyard has 17 employees working on the boats or in the office, 180 boats afloat in the marina and around 100 dinghies and boats stored on the bank. We also have just one remaining phase to complete of an eight-phase plan that was initiated in 2011.
Over the last 30 years we have worked on several hundred boats from all over the UK. We have completed a wide range of boat-building projects from total hull re-planking, painting, varnishing and engineering to comprehensive electrical work and salvage of boats. In the marina we are now part way through our plan to replace all the wooden quay heading that was installed over 20 years ago with steel piles that will give it more longevity.
We feel all this successful work over the past 30 years should be celebrated so to mark this wonderful anniversary we have produced a special bone china mug for all our berth holders and customers. Please call into the office to collect yours any time after Easter as a thank you for your continuing support!
New EV Charging Point – We have installed an electric car-charging point which is located between the office and the new workshop. To use it you will need to download an app the QR code for which is on the front case of the charging point. You can then pay through the app. Full instructions are on the website under ‘Useful Links’ or are available in the office. If you are going to charge your car please remember to move it out of the space once it is charged to allow others to use it.
Current Projects – We have been busy in the workshops and marina over the winter, so here are just a few of the projects we have been working on.
Brave Molly – This lovely craft has had some of her seams on the bow and part of her hull splined as they were cracking badly. Her hull was faired in and coated up in two-part paint to produce a great finish. She has also had other varnish work and electrical work completed whilst she has been in the workshop.
Matilda – This lovely boat’s roof has been repaired as the corners were rotting. She has also had the roof covering replaced with epoxy resin sheathing, as well as being faired in and coated up with two-part paint.
Rushlight – I have known this fine old Norfolk Punt for about 40 years and the time had come to replace a plank as the old scarf joint had started to rot and leak. There were also some other areas on the deck and hull which needed to be worked on, so she will now be in perfect condition for the Norfolk Punt Club’s centenary this year. The Club will be holding several events in 2026 to mark this milestone, so do keep an eye out for these.
EriBee and Duchess – We carry out every kind of engineering work here at the boatyard. This winter our projects included servicing a leg drive outdrive and having a prop shaft remade due to a badly worn shaft. We also fitted a new bow thruster to another craft, which will help with manoeuvring. If you are interested in having similar work carried out, please contact the office.
Broom Saturn – Built in Norfolk back in the early 1970s this lovely Broom Saturn came in for some TLC and we used epoxy paint to bring her up to a shining example of her class.
New Quay Heading – The next phase of this is now under way, with new steel piling being installed and new GRP grating being fitted in parts of the marina. We will eventually be replacing all the old wooden quay heading in the marina in several phases over the coming years, as well as fitting new GRP decking to most of the new areas. We will retain some areas of grass, together with the wild areas in the middle. The two photos are of the new steel piling going in the other is when we completed the wooden piling first time round.
Outboard Servicing – We have been storing and servicing a wide range of models and sizes of outboard motors this winter and we still have several more to complete for the Spring. If you need your engine serviced, or other work completed on it, please contact the office.
Office Contacts – There have been some changes regarding how to contact the office. The new primary e-mail address is now info@coxsboatyard.co.uk and this is up and running and working well. Below are other relevant e-mail addresses for the business.
Vinnie – (Office Co-ordinator and Schedule Manager) – info@coxsboatyard.co.uk
Eric (Managing Director) – eric@coxsboatyard.co.uk
Robyn (Accounts) – accounts@coxsboatyard.co.uk or robyn@coxsboatyard.co.uk
We also have workshop@coxsboatyard.co.uk for any queries within the workshop and media@coxsboatyard.co.uk for our advertising and social media.
The old primary email address (ebishop@coxsboatyard.co.uk) is still currently active and any emails received on it will be forwarded onto info@coxsboatyard.co.uk for a little longer, but please try to use the new address going forward.
Launch Dates – We are working hard towards launching all the boats in time for each customer’s requested dates. If you are unsure when that is, or would like to check the work, please contact the office.
Boat Safety Tests – There have been a few changes to these tests due to the updating of the scheme at the end of last year. One of the main changes which I feel may affect some boat owners concerns the storage of gas on board. If your craft has a gas cylinder locker outside the craft and it is accessed from outside the coaming, all is good. However, if your gas cylinder locker is inside the coaming, there may have to be some alterations because part of the test asks whether there is a free path for unseen gas to flow from the top of the cylinder locker to the engine bay. Once I have completed the test on your craft, we can discuss whether there is any work that needs to be completed in order for it to pass.
The Boat Safety Scheme works on a risk-based analysis and it underwent a huge update two years ago. It is now being updated on a yearly basis, so if we receive any further details or updates affecting boat owners or their crafts, I will let you know before I complete the tests. The photo on the left is a good cylinder locker outside the coaming. The photo on the right the gas locker is inside the coaming and will need some work although it is still inside a steel locker with a lid.
Training – Our employee Ashlee is on a four-year marine engineer apprenticeship to train to be a marine engineer and electrician and he has only a few months left of his course before completion. Ashlee has been traveling to Poole for a week every month to complete his course as there is no training centre in East Anglia for marine engineers. As a company we have been funding his accommodation and travel costs in order to help support young people in the marine industry. In the autumn, we also told you about Hector, who has now started his Level 3 Heritage Marine Technician apprenticeship course, which is all going very well in the first months. He is learning about and completing various traditional boat-building skills and has already made some items using these skills. He has even had a private tour around the Sutton Hoo replica ship, which is getting close to launch, to see how boats used to be built without any power tools many hundreds of years ago. Click on the link below for more details about this exciting project.
Pennywort – Areas of this plant were discovered between Barton and Wayford last year and were cleared away as it is extremely invasive and can spread very quickly. If you see this plant, please report it to Cox’s Boatyard or to the Broads Authority on 01603 756056. Do not attempt to pilot through it as this will break it up and form two plants that will grow twice as quickly. There is another plant which looks quite similar, but is not as invasive, so the photos below should help identify Pennywort and its key features.
There’s a lot of information in this Newsletter for everyone to digest, so if you need any further details, please don’t hesitate to contact me! I hope that you all have a great summer out on the water and fingers crossed for good British weather!