Good reports from owners of their boats led us to Louis and Joshua at Thorne.  Our requirements were slightly unusual: 32 foot long, dog friendly, cruiser stern, proper kitchen and two separate sleeping areas.  

Mike Lewis at Louis and Joshua took lots of notes and then rang Jonathan Wilson to check whether he would build something this small.  He would but only on condition that the bow and stern were not too short, otherwise the end result would look unbalanced.  This was the first of many key pieces of advice we received, all of which we were glad we heeded.

While we were clear about our basic requirements, we were entirely flexible about how they were achieved.  Our initial plan  - the product of graph paper, scale cut-outs for key fittings and hours of fun with canes and string in the garden – was not bad but the ideas contributed by Louis and Joshua improved it hugely.

It seems than many people who commission boats do not accept ideas from others.  This struck us as odd.  Louis and Joshua have built around 100 new boats and worked on many others.  We had owned just two boats and never built one.  Failing to tap into the knowledge and experience of your builder seemed madness to us.

As it turned out, the whole Louis and Joshua team contributed to the design of Sally.  In addition to Mike and Maureen, the owners, we owe a lot in particular to Tex and to Geoff, whose craftsmanship, thoughtfulness and patience made the whole experience of commissioning a new a boat a delight for us. 

Tex even added warm air heating to the sleeping area, for our dog, Pippa: she loves her little centrally-heated cubby hole, cosy and safe from being trodden upon.

No one would describe Tex or Geoff as diminutive. Yet they clambered around the smallest boat that they had ever built with real enthusiasm and care.  They - like everyone we dealt with at Louis and Joshua - are skilled people with clever ideas