BOAT MASTER OURBOATS90 JANUARY 2016There’s more to owning a Duchy than simply having a beautiful craft
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There are many joys associated with
owning Alchemy, our Duchy 27, and
these have been apparent ever since we
ordered her on the spot from Cockwells
at the London boat show several years
ago (MBY November 2012). From the
moment we first met Dave Cockwell we
had the feeling that we were buying into
a private members club.
He takes pride in saying that he isn’t
looking to build large numbers of boats;
his goal is to make a smaller quantity of
very high quality craft for people to love
and cherish. In his view, the people who
buy his boats aren’t just customers,
they are members of the extended
Cockwells family.
We also like the fact that there are no
obvious compromises with the Duchy
range of classically styled boats. They
offer all the benefits of a modern GRP
hull but with the flexibility to customise
key elements of the interior to fit each
customer’s needs. Traditional
shipwrights then apply their skills to
ensure a beautifully crafted product.
We were delighted to discover thatDUCHY 27
wonderful opportunity to have a peek at
how people have customised their
boats. Each boat has its own unique
twist, ranging from one with a bold
tomato red hull colour choice to
another with custom-made creative
seating over the engine cover. It was a
brilliant opportunity to chat over a glass
of wine with like-minded boat owners
who all feel honoured to own one of
these beautiful boats.
It was a brilliant day with Dave
Cockwell kicking the event off with a
champagne toast on the pontoon at
Gins Farm after the participants leant
a helping hand to each boat as they
came in to moor. The Royal
Southampton Yacht Club looked after
us really well by providing berths.
Following the toast we were treated
to a three-course lunch overlooking the
picturesque Beaulieu River. The event
concluded back on the pontoon with a
gift presentation from Dave and a bit
more champagne – it was an extremely
enjoyable day. We have been told that
Cockwells is keen to provide more
opportunities for its owners to be
brought together following the success
of the rally, and Peter and I would
certainly welcome that. Phyllis RockVirtually every time we take Alchemy for a cruise
we catch admiring looks and receive effusive
comments from bystanders, including many sailorsAlchemy comes into
dock at Gins FarmGreat to be able
to check out other
Duchys at the rallyPeter shares a toast
with Dave CockwellFellow Duchy ownersPeter at the
helm of Alchemythis personalised attention to detail
in the boats it builds also extends to
the relationships with its clients during
the entire purchase, build and after
sales process.
In addition to every boat being
customised to ensure each client has
exactly what they are looking for, the
services on offer are also tailored to
meet individual needs. Training for
those who are new to boating can be
organised and Cockwells can look after
the service and maintenance of your
boat, which we took advantage of at the
end of our first season.ABOVE AND BEYOND
Although the Duchy is technically a
production boat and ours was the
second it had built, the process felt like
a completely bespoke project for us.
Every one of our individual requests
were met, from custom-made Cornish
crockery to the design of a canopy with
full standing headroom.
We quickly learned that Cockwells
provides each customer with a personal
service, readily available by phone and
responsive to emails. The attention to
detail and amount of time that Dave
Cockwell personally dedicates to each
client is extraordinary given the starting
price point for one of these gems is£144,000 including VAT. This high level
of customer service was amply
demonstrated when Dave
accompanied my husband Peter on the
delivery trip from Cockwells’ boatyard
in Mylor Creek, Falmouth to our
mooring in Yarmouth.
The follow-on service is also
second to none. After we experienced
difficulty manoeuvring our boat into
and out of our berth in the notoriously
difficult Yarmouth Harbour, Cockwells
retrofitted a stern thruster for us
(MBY November 2013). And we never
need worry about replacement parts or
items we need for servicing – they’re
simply posted to us as required.
We genuinely feel part of a privileged
elite group of 11 people who now own a
Duchy 27. Virtually every time we take
Alchemy for a cruise we catch admiring
looks and receive effusive comments
from bystanders, including many sailors
who don’t ordinarily like powerboats!
The icing on the cake is, as Duchy
owners, we have access to special
events organised by Cockwells, such as
a recent rally and lunch held at the
Royal Southampton Yacht Club at Gins
Farm on the Beaulieu River. Four Duchy
boats and 17 people participated in the
event. It was great fun meeting some of
the other Duchy boat owners and a