WOMEN IN BOATBUILDING
Every day Belinda Joslin was sanding, painting and varnishing boats – her time off working as a finisher at Spirit Yachts was dedicated to stripping down her father’s 23ft (7.1m) Ajax after the racing season and fixing her children’s boats for family sailing. She’d owned and looked after boats all her life, but she didn’t know any other women who were as obsessed as she was in fixing them.
“You live in your own little bubble and you don’t know who’s out there, doing their thing,” Belinda says. “So I set up an Instagram account. My driving force was making contact with other women and finding out about their stories, then I really enjoyed sharing them. I’ve also discovered some incredible, inspiring women.”
Calling the account Women in Boatbuilding, Belinda has collected mini profiles of women from around the country in all aspects of the industry, highlighting the significant contribution women are making in what has always been considered a niche and male preserve.
“There are definitely more young women coming into the industry than there were even five years ago,” says Karen Underwood, managing director of Spirit Yachts. “Female boatbuilders have been a part
