French designer François Vivier has announced Fyne Boat Kits as his new UK agent. Fyne Boat Kits will offer the Vivier Boat range of kits and plans in the UK, as well as ready-built boats.
The announcement comes following Alec Jordan’s retirement, whose business Jordan Boats was previously UK agent for François Vivier designs.
Founded in 1998 in the Lake District, UK, Fyne Boat Kits manufactures boat kits and boats from leading designers, including Paul Fisher, Michael Storer, Nick Schade and Ted Moores. They are also European manufacturers for Chesapeake Light Craft. Designs in the Fyne Boat Kits range include canoes, kayaks, rowing, sailing and motor boats and surf and paddle boards. Short courses in boat building also run from Fyne Boat Kits purpose-built workshop classroom in Cumbria, which can also be hired separately for boatbuilding.
Phil Smith, Fyne Boat Kits owner. Photograph: Cat Holman
Kits from Fyne Boat Kits include pre-cut wooden parts, epoxy resin, a construction manual and a set of plans. To make the process easier, all the wooden parts in the kits are precisely cut, drilled and machined using a CNC machine.
We featured Fyne Boat Kits back in W153 (May/June 2022), when Cat and Simon Holman visited and spoke to owner Phil Smith. A regular contributor to our ‘Grand Designs’ column, François Vivier also introduced his Seil design in the same issue: www.watercraft-magazine.com/product/w153-may-june-2022/