After finishing the Gymnasium, in 2017, I gained experience as a boatbuilder working on classic sailing yachts, such as Aschanti IV and Kairos II. Subsequently, I was accepted at the internationally renowned Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis, UK. With a scholarship from the IKEA Foundation Switzerland, I started my boatbuilding training in the winter of 2019.
The academy’s boatbuilding course places a strong emphasis on practical skills, complemented by theoretical knowledge and graduating with Level-III City and Guilds Diplomas.
I learned how to build seven different types of wood construction and reinforced fibre builds: carvel traditional, carvel glued, clinker traditional, clinker glued, cold-moulded, stitch and glue, stripped-planking, polyester, epoxy-carbon. We build in traditional and in modern techniques and did the whole process including lofting (full size drawing), producing templates, structure set up, building, steam-bending, laminated building, outfitting, yacht joinery, spar and oar construction, engine beds and stern tubes, finishing coatings and compounds, rigging, splicing, sailmaking, and marine systems and engineering.
I completed the following City and Guilds Level 3 Diplomas with distinction:
-Principles of boat construction
-Construction and repair of hull and boat structures
-Fiber-reinforced plastics technology for marine construction
-Safe and effective working in the marine industry
In September 2019, I was recognized by British Marine with the ‘British Marine Boatbuilding Student of the Year Award’ at the Boat Show in Southampton.
In 2023, I had the opportunity to work as part of the boatbuilding shore team for the Suisse International SailGP Team.
