Step aside home renos, the next megatrend in DIY has arrived courtesy of The Balmain Boat Company with their range of flat-packed rowboats and sailboats. Easy to build and perfect for the whole family, it’s the epitome of affordable luxury and a great weekend project to get stuck into.
For just over a year, The Balmain Boat Company has launched two types of DIY boats for Aussies to create including the classic Rowboat which has become their bestseller and the stylish Sailboat. The latest addition to the collection which is still currently in production is a long and elegant rowboat named Wherry, which was inspired by a British Wineglass Wherry.
Each DIY boat kit has an easy to follow instruction manual with completion estimated to take around 16 hours, with two weekends recommended for construction and time to allow glue and paint to dry. The Balmain Boat Company also offers ready built boats at a premium price. Oars and rowlocks add the finishing touches and are available to purchase from Whitlocks Marine & Leisure.
Co-founders Nicole Still and Andrew Simpson have turned a personal design project into a budding Australian-based business with sales extending into the UK. With Simpson learning to sail at the age of 5, his career as an industrial designer has turned his affinity with the water into a fulfilled passion of making boating accessible to the masses.
Growing up in a tight-knit DIY American home, Nicole Still loved the idea of the boats making grandparents and parents look like legends and the joy it would bring people to make something with their hands.
