Amy Stringfellow
Boatbuilder
Keeping alive a tradition that dates back centuries, Amy Stringfellow is one of a kind. Her talent for old shipwrighting techniques is unique for a number of reasons. Nine years into her career, in a boatyard in Falmouth, Amy reflects upon her journey into the world of boatbuilding and discusses some of the challenges she has had to overcome.
COULD YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT WHAT IT IS YOU DO?
So we take on all kinds of boats. In my workshop, which I run on the outskirts of Falmouth, I really don’t mind what I do. It’s not always the traditional stuff. I find it really fun mixing up chemicals and doing the fiberglass, even though it’s not my forte.
Then downstairs here (at the Falmouth Marine School’s boatyard where Amy teaches) we’re doing some traditional builds. We use modern techniques of construction when necessary, in some cases it’ll be a restoration using old and new, both equally valuable.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THIS, WAS SAILING AN ENVIRONMENT YOU GREW UP IN?
Boats were always something I considered other people to have, we weren’t a very wealthy family or anything so they weren’t on my radar. I grew up in Lincolnshire, where we’ve got the River Humber. It has a really strong tide and is very brown and mucky, it’s gross, you really can’t swim in it. I guess it was a love for the sea. Maybe just a love for Falmouth too. I studied here at uni and it just has a really nice vibe, it draws you in. So I stayed!
It’s not like I’m even an avid sailor or anything, I just really like making stuff with unusual shapes – which is why I like boats I guess. They’re really weird to build, with all their tangent curves, so it’s a lot of fun. I wouldn’t say it comes naturally to me all, but I swear I think in pictures most of the time anyway so I can visualise what it’s supposed to look like. That’s really where the restoration side is and kind of where I fit into boat building.
IT SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY GENTLE PROGRESSION DOWN THIS CAREER PATH, WAS THERE EVER A LIGHTBULB MOMENT? WHERE YOU REALISED ACTUALLY, THIS IS FOR YOU?
Well after Uni I lived on a boat with my partner at the time, just over by the Creek, which was really nice but hectic. We didn’t have electric or gas or anything, so it’s a bit of an adjustment but we got used to it. That was really how it started; we were very much self-taught. Then I went travelling, but when I came back I carried on with a few boaty-bits. I decided I wanted to work on a boat in Gweek and then came to the Falmouth Marine School. I figured if I’m going to do this, especially being a woman, it gave me some peace of mind knowing that I was qualified. The boatyards may be less likely to make presumptions or look at me unfavourably. I also wanted to do the course anyway to build some confidence. Women can be surrounded by guys, who are so confident and appear to have this wealth of ego; it’s just amazing. I don’t have that, it’s incredible, so I have to back myself up with qualifications and stuff.
YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY TIMES I'VE HEARD THAT ABOUT QUALIFICATIONS.
It helps but it's really sad. It’s just a confidence thing, because I think even with the qualifications and very little experience that I do have, nine years isn’t really that long a time period. In a traditional shipwright apprenticeship, you would study for seven years. So really, I’m only two years out of an apprenticeship. It feels weird to be teaching, because I don’t really feel like I know enough. But that’s probably because I’m mostly self-taught.
So I travelled, then came to the school and had a great time. I met loads of people who were at the same level as me, which again really helps when you’re going back into education. It feels as though you’ve got people you can relate to. There are always the cocky ones, but there’s also the people who are quite humble and are just there to learn. That was why I was there; I just wanted to learn and make things. On that course I was the only one to actually build a boat, which was quite nice. I had a commission from a guy in Gweek who wanted a tender for his Falmouth Quay Punt so I built it whilst I was here. The tutors at the time were amazing; they were really helpful and supportive, it was just so much fun.
Before I finished at the school, I had a job offer from a boat yard in Devon. I started working four days a week, living in my car on Dartmoor, then coming into the school. That was my life for about six months, then I got offered the job in the boat yard full time. I moved up to Devon for a couple of years, I felt very lucky. My experience in that boat yard, in particular, was wonderful. I was an assistant ship wright to my immediate boss, Sole, who was head ship wright. He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, truly lovely. He allowed me to be me and had this really gentle way of teaching, but never judging or mocking you if you got it wrong. If you make mistakes, it’s all part of the learning process. He taught me to do things the right way and to have a really genial attitude towards projects. I think that’s quite rare in this industry, I got lucky.
I GUESS IT IS A PRETTY MALE DOMINATED INDUSTRY?
When I first started it was just me; that was nine years ago. It’s really nice now because there’s more women who are interested in doing these traditional jobs. We’ve got three or four women on the boat building course this year (out of fifty-five) which I know it doesn’t sound a lot, but it’s so much better than what it used to be.
It’s still pretty male dominated, but at least it’s getting better. I think it’s really important for women to just know that everyone has the ability to do it, everyone is capable. If I can do it, anyone can. I’ve never been particularly academic, but I’ve always been good with my hands. I always wondered why I struggled so much in school. But then when I found this, I realised I have some skills and attributes that can get a job done and that’s worth something. I would never profess to be the best boat builder in the world, there’s loads of guys who are so much better than me, but I think if you compare yourself to everyone, you’re never going to get anywhere. So, you might as well try.
HAVING BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS INDUSTRY FOR ALMOST A DECADE, HAVE YOU COME ACROSS MANY WITH THAT OLD-FASHIONED ATTITUDE?
With sexism? Yeah. I won’t name any names, but some of the worst bits I’ve experienced have been working in Falmouth. I was with this company for a couple of years, but on my first day the foreman just instantly hated me. It was this constant loggerheads and I’m always on the back foot anyway, I am far more confident now than I used to be! Whenever I enter a new place I’m nervous as it is, then when you’re the only female too… It was clear he didn’t like me. He was always giving me the jobs that set me up to fail. I think that’s rule 101 with any new learner, there’s literally no benefit to the company if you’re setting someone up to fail; it’s a waste of time, money and resources, apart from proving your ego is worth something. But that’s what happened to start with. Then within about six months he just kept getting closer and closer to me. I wouldn’t describe it as sexual harassment, but he would touch me in ways that he wouldn’t touch other guys.
I think that is where the boundary is. It never felt inappropriate or like I needed to do something about it, but it was subtle enough for me to feel uncomfortable. Then you start blaming yourself for doing something, which was just infuriating. You’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, because you don’t want to make a fuss or be ‘that girl’. But there were countless times when I went home crying, I just didn’t know what to do. There was no alternative job and I was still learning heaps, but there was this dickhead boss.
I’m very conscious that, like I said, I’m really not the best boat builder ever – far from it; but I do have some skills. In this industry, everyone’s competing to be the best. Perhaps because I never tried to do, that I’ve been penalised along the way. As a woman you’re being judged twice as hard. I’m having to prove to myself as well as everyone else, which is emotionally draining as well as physically. You’re trying really hard to move these huge bits of timber around in ways that your body allows, while the majority of guys I’m working with don’t have to think about that. They manage on strength alone.
JUST RELIANT ON DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE, RIGHT?
Yeah pretty much, still works for me. I never said it initially but in the past year or two I’ve got a bit more confident and stopped blaming myself for mistakes. A) Everyone has off days and B) With boats especially, you never know what you’re going to find. So even if you fix one bit, there will probably be another weird bit elsewhere.
WHAT KIND OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE INTERESTED GETTING INTO AN INDUSTRY SUCH AS YOURS?
I say it to my students all the time, but if I can do it then anyone can do it. I’m not trying to be self-deprecating or anything but anyone can do it, there are a few things up against me. I didn’t grow up with it and I’m not a sailor, for a start. Being a woman and having a disability, as I have epilepsy. It is complicated but I work how I work and it’s okay to be challenged. I definitely think it’s important to keep having these open conversations about mental health and to continue talking about uncomfortable things, like sexism, discrimination and disability – particularly where they all fit into one category. If we don’t keep talking about it then how can we expect it to change?
COULD YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT BEING A BOAT BUILDER WITH EPILEPSY?
I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 24. I was working at a boatyard in Devon at the time and unfortunately my boss terminated my contract because of it. I later found out that that was illegal. The boat yard employed me again after 3 months of my medication settling and work carried on as normal - but with some adjustments (like clipping into a harness when I was working at height, which was most of the time, and not being allowed on the water alone).
Epilepsy is a complex neurological disability and whilst my brain is misfiring messages to other parts of my brain - it’s also trying really hard to be normal. Which is exhausting for anyone, let alone for someone like me. I’ve no doubt in my mind that epilepsy changed my life. Not necessarily all in a negative light, it was clear my body was telling me something. However, with my job being what it is, I was gutted when my neurologist told me I should find a new career. I’ve never been very good with authority though... so I guess I tried to channel my energy into work, when really I should have been resting and learning about my diagnosis. I dismissed it for a long time as it felt like imposter syndrome, like I was fabricating my epilepsy to be more than what it was. Some people have 100 seizures a day, I would have 3 – 4. I felt like a fraud, like it was a misdiagnosis or a phase. So in saying all this, I had an internal battle with myself everyday and it resulted in me developing a very real fear of doing things out of my comfort zone. In this case, sailing, travel, working, surfing, sea swimming, anything that really over stimulated me.
I think it took me a bit longer than it may have for others to get my stride back. Trying to battle with the everyday sexism in my job, as well as my disability, while not really understanding either of them has led me to some pretty dark spots throughout my career. It’s only really since I started teaching that I feel safer than I ever have. I’m really lucky to be as supported as I am in my job, and the people I work with show me respect and understanding when I’m unable to do it from time to time. I know it’s complicated to explain, and I think for me I’ve come a long way, but the more these conversations happen the more we can normalise them.
WOULD YOU SAY THAT THOSE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS ARE HAD IN THE BOAT BUILDING CIRCLE?
I think, from my experience, the boat building industry is very old-school so there is probably just a generational gap that will change in a decade or so. Interestingly, since I’ve started working at the school and dealing with students from the age of sixteen to, well the oldest guy currently is seventy-seven, the conversations have become more open. I’m becoming more surprised and impressed every week with students feeling open enough to tell me that they couldn’t get out of bed, or were feeling too low to come in. I don’t know if it helps because I am female, but there’s an element of trust there.
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