Do you want to do some of the repair and restoration work on your own boat? If you have a big backyard and suitable shed and access you might consider doing it there but a lot of people don’t have that luxury.

These are the kinds of features that we would recommend you look for in a location if you are planning on DIY boat repairs, building or restoration.

• Over 500sqm of boat building and workshop space
• An undercover area big enough to fit your boat
• Indoor and outdoor work areas
• Tool shed or secure storage for equipment
• Heavy duty, overhead cranes in shed if lifting motors
• Close to Lake Macquarie or your home for launching
• Easy access for semi trailers, cranes and jibs

A custom-built boat, that meets your requirements is what you get when you build a yacht yourself. Building a boat yourself can save you up to 50% or more off the cost of a comparable manufactured boat and you learn a lot about the boat. You get to know it intimately.

Removal of boat building waste

When you have lots of old timber and other boat building rubbish you are going to need to hire a skip bin. Load up the skip bin with the building waste and save yourself the trouble of making a trip to the resource recovery centre. There is a local Lake Macquarie skip hire company (www.lakemacquarieskips.com.au).

Example of a boat building workshop

The traditional boat building material that was and is still used for hull and spar construction. It is buoyant, cheap, widely available and easily worked. Rot resistant woods such as cedar and oak are generally selected for wooden boat construction.