The Slipway: A historic way to bring your boat to land for repairs
The patent slipway can lift out vessels up to 32m (105 ft) long and 8m (25ft) wide, and up to 180 tonnes dead weight.
Boats can be taken out for a quick inspection or anti-fouling or for longer periods for major repair or alteration. Multihulls can be lifted out fully rigged. Narrow Boats can be accommodated either singly or in pairs.
Alongside the slipway, the workshops of the Underfall Yard house experienced shipwrights, riggers, blacksmith and welders, fibre composite specialists and carpenters.
Water, single and 3 phase electricity, power washers and other facilities are available.
Bookings can be discussed and arranged with Underfall Yard Trust by phoning 07866 105181 or emailing win@underfallyard.co.uk.
Please read the Underfall Yard Terms of Business (PDF) before making an enquiry.
Boats on the Slip
A quick insight into what is currently on the Patent Slipway.
La Duenna
The name La Duenna is Spanish for “the owner or mistress of the house”. She’s a purpose built live-aboard house boat built by Eastwood Engineering in 1997 and bought by her current owners in Leeds in 2015. They moved her to Bristol on a challenging two day trip. This began with piloting the heavy 32 ton boat along the Aire and Calder navigation to Goole harbour and from there onto the tidal waters of the River Ouse, the Humber and then into Hull Harbour. There she was lifted onto a truck, driven to Bristol Marina and put into the Bristol harbour. Subsequently , extensive work was carried out to modernise and enhance the interior and restore the rare 10 sided collapsible wooden wheelhouse.
La Duenna’s on the Underfall slip now for removal of the hull’s bitumen coating and its replacement with a preferred epoxy solution planned and supplied by SML paints. The work will be carried out by the owner and 3 experienced boat workers under the supervision of surveyor and marine engineer Iolo Lavender of Tigerboats Marine.
La Duenna’s usual home is on a residential mooring on the river Avon at Keynsham Waterfront.
Boat Facts
Hull : 12-13 mm steel – this makes La Duenna relatively heavy for a boat of her size
Weight: 32 tons
Length: 57 ft
Width: 12’ 5”
Engine: Diesel 6ltr Ford Dorset
Written by one of our great volunteers, Dave Duggan
