We are a family business that has the passion, expertise and desire to build beautiful boats. The sheer number of yachts we have built and restored is testament to both our reputation and our love of what we do. More than 65 custom yachts have been built by the yard since the 1960’s, and we have restored countless others.
The yard is situated on the site where HMS Elephant was built in 1786, Nelson’s flagship during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. It has been a working boatyard ever since, and has been owned and run by the Richardson family since 1952. We have always had a great passion for sailing. This, combined with our boatbuilding expertise, has created a unique boatyard where we are able to truly understand the needs of sailors and their yachts.
We have a dedicated team of shipwrights, engineers and yard operatives here at the yard who have the knowledge and experience to work across all types of boats.
As a family run business, we treasure the special atmosphere of the Elephant Boatyard which is unlike any other yard on the River Hamble.
A high level of service and expertise is combined with a warm and friendly welcome.
The character of the yard is truly unique, a combination of old school charm and excellence in execution.
Tom Richardson has been sailing all his life. He started offshore racing with Adlard Coles in the ’60s and sailed in five British Admiral Cup Teams between 1965-1980 (in the winning team on two occasions).
In the 1980’s, Tom raced and built International 6 Metres in the UK and abroad. He has also raced Swans in the Swan Europeans and Fastnet races. He is a regular competitor in Cowes week where he has been racing a Cork 1720 since 1998, more often than not sailing around our yard-sponsored racing mark.
Tom has overseen a large number of new builds and major refits capitalising on his knowledge of yachts at sea.
Matt has a vast amount of experience in boatbuilding, including being part of the shore crew for Team GBR Challenge in the Americas Cup 2001-3 campaign.
He also shares Tom’s love of racing – he has done many international offshore races including the Fastnet, Caribbean 600s, and Commodores Cup along with several 6M World and European Championships.
Sharing her family’s passion for sailing and being on the water, Beth has come to the yard after a brilliant career in London working directly for superchef Jamie Oliver.
