Berthon Boat Company in Lymington bids bon voyage to retiring boatbuilder Martin Young

MASTER boatbuilder Martin Young is casting off for a well-earned retirement after 50 years of highly skilled work.

Martin (67) began learning his craft at Berthon Boat Company in Lymington as an apprentice joiner in 1973.

One of his first jobs was helping experienced joiners at the boat yard fit a teak interior into a 70ft vessel.

A year into his apprenticeship, Martin won the Shipbuilding Industry Training Board’s Agar Trophy for best trainee, beating 75 other apprentices from around the country.

Martin continued to work on fitting ship interiors in sycamore, rosewood and teak.

He also met his future wife at the company’s Christmas party. He and Anita, who worked in Berthon’s accounts department, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last year.

Martin was promoted to joinery foreman aged 31. He said: “Having taken over from Don Slocombe as the joinery foreman, he passed so much knowledge on to me it was a privilege to take over his position.”

From 1993 to 2003, the work of Martin and his team was dominated by the construction of 20 Severn class RNLI lifeboats, plus finishing work on another three.

Berthon then took on a three-year rebuild of the 1936 80ft gentleman’s motor yacht Bounty. The work included fitting an all-new but traditional Edwardian mahogany interior.

Over the years, Martin has diversified his skills to include work with glass reinforced plastics and composite laminating, laying teak decks, and “invisible” repairs to woodwork.

He has also carried out the regular maintenance of the sawmill and workshop machine tools and has passed on his expertise to two generations of apprentices.

Reflecting on his legacy and handing down skills to others, Martin said he is proud of everyone he has mentored.

He added: “Over my 50 years at Berthon I’ve taken on the role of apprentice machine training and trained up many apprentices over the 50 years.

“I have many stories from my 50 years at Berthon – I need to be careful what I say. There’s been lots of fun Christmas parties.”

Berthon’s joinery foreman Curly, who was trained by Martin, said: “His impact on my career is huge. Having trained me up as an apprentice 38 years ago, and then handing me the foreman role, he’s been there throughout my entire career.

“He’s passed down a wealth of knowledge and skills that I’m grateful for, and I wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Berthon shipwright Gabriel added: “It’s not only that Martin’s brilliant at what he does, it’s his personality that stands out the most. His positivity is infectious.”

Martin marked his 50th anniversary with Berthon last September. He and Anita retired on Wednesday.

He said: “My plan for retirement is, I have a daughter in Perth and grandchildren, and I plan to spend as much time with them as possible.

“I have a granddaughter out there who I couldn’t meet until she was 18 months old because of Covid, so I now just want to spend as much time as I can with them.”

Martin added: “I want to thank all the guys I’ve worked with over the years – hundreds of people have passed through here and worked with me.

“I can’t believe how many good friends I’ve made working with this company.”

Martin said he also plans to spend his retirement years woodworking and taking leisurely walks in the New Forest.

Berthon director Dominic May said: “Berthon is its people. Martin Young is a huge part of the last half century of Berthon. He learnt his skills from the previous 50 years of craftsmen, and he has passed those skills on to the young apprentices who will be the next 50 years.

“We wish him a very happy, long and well-deserved retirement.”