Ovington Boats is one of the worlds most successful small boat building businesses specialising in the high performance dinghy market. We have an enviable reputation for quality and service across a wide range of products including the manufacture of the Olympic Class 49er, the ISAF and RYA Youth Asymmetric 29er Class, the new 29erXX, Musto Performance Skiff, B14, Flying Fifteen and International 14. The business distributes its boats and spares throughout Europe. Ovington Boats are also able to build and design & develop boats to specific requirements.
Ovington Boats was founded by Dave Ovington in 1975. Dave started off building traditional wooden boats and in particular race winning Enterprises. With the search for lighter boats Dave progressed to using glass fibre and developed the application of vacuum bagged foam sandwich construction. Sadly, in March 2005 Dave died suddenly - but his legacy lives on in the business and the people who have worked at Ovington Boats for many years.
In 2005 the business was taken over by the current management team of Chris Turner and Veronica Brown and the company continues to prosper and grow.
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Chris Turner – Managing Director
Chris joined Ovi Boats in 2005, this enabled the company to continue after the sad loss of Dave Ovington. Chris deals with boat building and any technical issues. He has wealth of knowledge of composites and boat manufacture. He’s well known in the International 14 and Scorpion fleets both as a sailor and a builder. Chris designs and manufactures all new tooling requirements and deals largely with the internal politics of the 9er builders.
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Veronica Brown – Finance Director
Veronica first became involved with Ovington Boats in 1993. Her background is financial but she has always worked in industry, and in particular in manufacturing companies. She deals with all the administration, finance, accounts and logistics.
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Ray Outterside - Production Manager
Ray joined Ovington Boats in 1996. He manages the production scheduling, and ensures boats are built at correct weight, on time and meet quality standard. Ray comes from an industrial background of works management and originally became involved with Ovi’s through the mast side of the business.
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Peter Hobson - Internal Sales Co-ordinator/Technical Advisor
Peter joined Ovington Boats at the end of November 2009. His main role is to ensure the correct parts are despatched (to the right people!) and offer technical advice when required. Peter is a sailor and is a qualified Naval Architect, with a first class honours degree in Small Craft Technology. He has worked with the renowned Owen-Clarke design office and also has experience building offshore sailing boats, including Oman Sail’s Arabian 100 Trimaran.
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Mark Lashley - Foreman
Mark came to Ovington Boats in March 1997. He is a key member of the Team and switches with ease from laminating in either epoxy or polyester. He also ‘trims’ the boats and helps out with the mouldmaking. Mark is number 1 ‘morale officer’, encouraging and motivating his fellow workers.
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Katy Dodd ………
…….. has worked part-time in the Ovi office since October 1996. She helps Veronica with the accounts, controls the purchase ledger & supplier payments and most important of all runs the payroll. If the phone’s answered by a cheerful voice – it’s Katy!
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Lawrie Young (Lorry) ……..
…….. has been at Ovi’s forever. He started in January 1986 and is our main man when it comes to fitting out the boats. Whether it’s a one-off International 14 or a production run of 29ers Lorry’s the man to sort it. He’s well known in the area as a sailor and a Race Officer.
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Joe Stephenson ………….
……….. came to help Dave Ovi out for six weeks in September 1986!! He’s been involved with fibreglass composites since he left school and the rest he learned from Dave Ovington. He’s one of the most experienced members of the team and has been invaluable to the company, particularly over the recent few years.
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Davey Carr (‘Carzee’) ………..
……….has been here since April 1995. Carzee’s our ‘foil man’, he makes the foils for 49er’s, 29er’s, International 14’s and MPS’s. He’s useful to have around as he’s also a dab hand at laminating and trimming.
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Alex Brenner ………
……… arrived at Ovington Boats in February 1997, initially to build Mumm 30’s. He now works mainly with Joe concentrating on epoxy laminating of 49er’s and MPS’s.
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Bryan Ward ………
……… joined Ovi’s in March ’97 as a ‘wee nipper’. He mainly builds the 29er’s with John but can also fit out our 49ers and Musto Skiffs – which is an added bonus.
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Steve Kirby ………
………came to Ovington Boats in January 2001. He’s one of our main laminators and over the years has been involved in laminating all types of boats, in particular Flying 15’s and 505’s.
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Drew Wakenshaw ……..
………. joined Ovi Boats in December 2004. Our man with the spray gun. Drew concentrates on repairs and finishing. From minute defects to a complete boat, he derives great satisfaction from producing a high standard of finish. If you want a good finish on your bottom Drew’s the man who can achieve it.
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John Conroy ……..
……………. started in May 2006 and is the loudest member of staff! He comes from a background of industrial composites, he fits in well with the Team and gets the 29ers out at the pace and quality required.
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Wayne Craven …………
………… originally came to Ovington’s in 1997. He left several years later, only to find out ‘the grass isn’t always greener on the other side’, so Wayne rejoined Ovi’s in October 2006 an ‘older and wiser’ man. Wayne does most of the 29er fitting out and is useful to have around as he can also laminate!
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Tom McCarthy .......
.... (another southerner) arrived at Ovington Boats in November 2008 – to be a mast builder. Tom builds the masts and also does the rigging and some fitting out. He’s slotted very well into the ‘northern’ way of life – working, drinking, smoking, womanising ....... – we’re thinking of getting him a flat cap and some pigeons.
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‘Little’ Joe Hamilton ......
..... came to Ovi’s in September 2009, straight after leaving school. He’s a trainee laminator, and has very quickly slotted in to become an integral part of our laminating teams. Joe may still be a ‘boy’ (well, he’s only 16) but he does the work of a ‘man’!
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Trevor Brown ………
……… is the youngest member of staff. He started work in August 2007 at the tender age of 8 weeks! He’s now big and bold and acts as the office guard dog to keep away those unwanted sales reps. By the way – he’s a Manchester Terrier.
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