Mark STOCKL

Mark STOCKL

Restoration, repair and new build of traditional timber boats. Recent rebuilds include 'Jubilee' - 27', Ness Sgoth and Vine-24' Fifie. Currently building a new 23' Fifie for a customer from the Isle of Wight.

artisans,people

1950s

iain

English

Artisan

479

current,57.8644615848094,-5.12192899763092;

Scotland

Mark STOCKL

https://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/ship-shape/company/mark-stockl-boatbuilder

TEXT

Restoration, repair and new build of traditional timber boats. Recent rebuilds include 'Jubilee' - 27', Ness Sgoth and Vine-24' Fifie. Currently building a new 23' Fifie for a customer from the Isle of Wight.

AAS_PR_002

facebook,https://www.facebook.com/markstocklboatbuilder/?locale=en_GB;instagram,stockl.mark;

MOBILE 07903 816 508 LANDLINE 01854 655336

woodwork,metalwork

Mark "messed around in boats" throughout his childhood but his first career was as musican (classical guitarist). After becoming disillusioned with the music industry he chose to study traditional boat building at a boat building school Lowestoft in Suffolk. This was a year-long, intensive course where students spent at least 6 - 8 weeks leanring high-level joinery skills before being shown boat building techniques. after this course, Mark applied for and got a job advertised at The Ullapool Boat Builders in Scotland. In 20026 he established his own business after the Ullapool Boatbuilders closed.

Boat Building course at Plockton High School form 2007 to 2023

Netty Sopata

male

native

Extensive. An understanding of the traditional wooden boat building techniques and ability to apply them through thousands of hours of practice. The sequence in which the techniques need to applied and how to accommodate solo working to accomplish the highest quality. There is an aesthetic quality to wooden boats but fundamnetally thay are a functional item used to carry people in water. The traditonal wooden 'Sgoths'. that Mark can build from start to finish, or repair, are used for sailing in some of the most challenging sea areas in Scotland.

Larch (wood) for planking and fittings and Oak (wood) for ribs. Copper for fixtures and fittings but also stainless steel (occassionaly). All sourced from Scotland. The furthest he has travelled to collect Larch is Perthsire. Larch is getting harder to source due to it becoming a popular choice of architects in building designs.

full-time paid job

WOOD:Scotland. He does not want to import any from abroad.

Due to traditional techniques being used there are are very little leftovers, with the long thinner pieces of the planks being used in the final fittings of the boat. When the edges of the planks are trimmed, these are burnt and not used in the build becasue they are weaker.

Mains electricity for power tools and a wood burning stove for heat. The studio has LED lighting.

Very little waste is generated due to traditional build techniques being used. The thinner pieces of the planks are used in the finishing of the boat. Any left over sections which are mostly the edge of the planks (which is weaker and less stable for boat building) is used as fuel in Mark's stove - this provides heat for the workshop.

The workshop is in a barn situated on Mark's Croftland in Loggie. It is situated just off the driveway which leads down to the house and holiday home. There is a spacious external yard area around the shed where boats and wood supplies can be stored. In June 2025 an addtional shed area was under construction to provide more workshop space.

Traditional wooden boats for example: 'Clinkers' and 'Sgoths.' The business model is a bespoke 1:1 client focused model. Individual items are not produced and sold unless someone has commissioned them.

For sailing, rowing and fishing

The business model is a bespoke 1:1 client focused model. Individual items are not produced and sold unless someone has commissioned them.

New build; Renovation and repair. Surveying old boats to assess work required.

Yes

Cultural Heritage organizations. Private Collectors. Educational institutions. Private Estates.

No.

Yes but not directly linked to boat building at the moment. There is a holiday home the practitioner rents out through the tourist season. This is situated between the domestic house and the boatshed. The residents staying in the house often call in to see the practtioner and watch him work in an unformal way. This is welcomed, and he is trying to work through the paperwork required to run residential boatbuilding courses.

"To be honest I'm quite insular and I don't really see many tourists at all. We do have a holiday house and we do often get people staying in the house who are very interested in what I'm doing..and I'm very happy to talk to them and show them about." (-11.45) "Our thinking is about possibly doing week long boat building courses in the winter…it's going to take alot of organisation…but we can offer people accomodation and tuition in one bundle, and I enjoy teaching." (-11:15) (AAS_PR_02a(INTVW))

There are no on-going work collaborations. In the past he has worked with Plockton High School, Isle of Skye (Highland Council 2022) teaching year long courses to high-school pupils as part of the school curriculum. He has also worked with Falmadair (North Lewis Maritime Trust) (Falamdair 2020) and Commun Echdraidh Nis (Ness Historical Society) https://www.nesshistorical.co.uk/galleries/previous-exhibitions/urachadh-the-renewal-of-an-sulaire/ in the restoration of traditional wooden 'Sgoths.' (CEN 2021). These partnerships have been paid commissions. The practitioner took part in the Applied Arts Scotland Rural Spot No.1 in October 2024.

Physical challenges of a cold workign environment in the winter. The hand tools absorb the heat from the body until they warmed up and power tools criculate cold air (making it colder). The sourcing of materials that are becoming rarer. But , when asked if he would change anything he expressed that the workshop is his 'haven' and that: "I'm very content doing what I'm doing."

"It can be physically quite challenging, escpecially in winter. Sourcing materials can be a challenge, and being self employed sometimes the challenge is when you get out of bed and thinking: 'What the heck am I doing today.' And what I've realised over the years is that if I don't have an end goal for the end of the day it can be futile. So, I always know when I walk through the door where I want to be at the end of the day, and that works really well for me...but not for everybody."

CEN, 2021. Comunn Eachdraidh Nis / Ness Historical Society. [Online] Available at: https://www.nesshistorical.co.uk [Accessed 19 July 2025]. Falmadair, 2020. Falmadair. [Online] Available at: https://www.falmadair.org [Accessed 19 July 2025]. Highland Council, 2022. Am Bàta: Preserving Centuries-Old Tradition at Plockton High School, Inverness: You Tube https://youtu.be/2-Ch7rlwB9Q?si=BkLwUFKExpqxxFS0.