by Sam Whitworth

The Larkman family hand over to Sam and Kayleigh Whitworth.

Since arriving in Suffolk, we’ve been overwhelmed by the warm welcome we’ve received. The support, encouragement and kindness shown by customers, neighbours and the wider River Deben community have made us feel at home from the very beginning. We’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to introduce themselves, share their knowledge of the river, and place their trust in us. It has reaffirmed that we made the right decision, and we’re excited to become part of this community.

When we first walked through the gates of what is now Deben Boatyard, we weren’t looking to buy a business.

Like many big life decisions, this one started with a conversation about what really mattered. After our family experienced a significant health challenge, we found ourselves questioning how we wanted to spend our lives, what sort of example we wanted to set for our children, and what we wanted our future to look like.

The next generation?

We both realised we wanted to build something of our own—something that combined our experience, reflected our values and gave us the opportunity to make a positive difference.

During a break on the North Norfolk coast, we called into the boatyard almost on a whim. Within minutes we found ourselves imagining what it could become. Eight months later, after selling our home in Hampshire and relocating back to Suffolk, that vision became a reality.

Although buying a boatyard might seem like an unusual career move, for us it felt like everything we had done beforehand had been leading to this point.

I began my career at Spirit Yachts, training as both a boatbuilder and marine engineer before studying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Since then I have worked across a range of engineering industries, developing complex systems and managing large technical projects. Throughout that time, however, I always found myself drawn back to boats and the satisfaction that comes from creating and repairing something with your hands.

Plenty of opportunity for hands-on work!

Kayleigh’s background is in education, business administration and customer service. Her organisational skills, attention to detail and genuine enjoyment of working with people complement my technical background. Together we believe we bring the right balance of skills to take the business forward.

We also feel incredibly fortunate to be the next custodians of a boatyard with such a long history. The Larkman family built a business that has served the River Deben community for generations, and we’re very conscious of the responsibility that comes with taking that on. Our aim isn’t to change what people value about the yard, but to build on those foundations and ensure it continues to thrive for many years to come.

Our ambition isn’t to reinvent the boatyard. Quite the opposite.

Places like this are becoming increasingly rare. They are places where knowledge is passed from one generation to the next, where traditional skills continue to thrive alongside modern engineering, and where owners know they can rely on people who genuinely care about their boats.

Our role is to protect that character while investing carefully for the future.

Ben, Sam and Allden successfully complete their slinger signaller and mobile crane training courses in April.

Over the coming years we hope to expand the range of services we offer, improve the facilities, invest in our team and create opportunities for young people to learn traditional marine skills alongside modern engineering techniques. We want Deben Boatyard to be known not only for the quality of its workmanship, but also for the quality of its customer service and the welcome people receive whenever they visit.

One project we’re particularly excited about is the restoration of a Dragonfly dinghy, kindly donated to us by Waldringfield Sailing Club. This one feels a little different because it will be a true family project. We’re looking forward to getting our children involved, teaching them new skills, making plenty of memories and, no doubt, learning a few things together along the way.

A Waldringfield Dragonfly arrives at Deben Boatyard for renovation.

We’ll be sharing the restoration on our website and social media, and we hope people will enjoy following the journey with us. When she’s finished, the greatest reward won’t be the restoration itself, but getting the family out on the water and sailing her together on the River Deben.

Looking ten years ahead, success won’t simply be measured by the number of boats in the yard or the size of the business.

We hope people will see Deben Boatyard as an important part of the River Deben community—a thriving working boatyard that supports local boat owners, preserves traditional craftsmanship, embraces new technology where it adds value, and encourages more people, particularly younger generations, to enjoy boating and become involved with life on the river.

Deben Boatyard continues to handle classic yachts.

If, in ten years’ time, people say that we’ve cared for the boatyard as well as the river, looked after our customers, created opportunities for our staff and built a business that continues to thrive under our family’s stewardship, then we’ll feel we’ve achieved what we set out to do.

We hope to get to know many more people over the coming years, both at the boatyard and along the banks of the River Deben. If there’s a project you’d like to discuss, a boat that needs a little care, or if you’d simply like to find out more about what we do, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Most of all, we look forward to meeting people around the river, seeing familiar faces as the seasons change, and playing our part in this wonderful community for many years to come.

Sam Whitworth

Sam is a boatbuilder and engineer who, with his wife Kayleigh, owns and runs Deben Boatyard. The son of a fisherman, Sam grew up on the water, sailing, fishing and fixing boats. Sam trained as a boatbuilder and Marine engineer, before studying for a Mechanical Engineering degree.