CWO Operations Manager Builds Steam Boat

CWO Operations Manager, Richard Mitchell has built a 30-foot full-size copy of an Edwardian gentleman’s steam launch. Not only did he design the boat, he also built it himself, including the engine and boiler. It took two years to finish. The boat is coal-fired and made out of mahogany and other hardwoods, a lot of it recycled. It has a half saloon, which is all glazed and soft furnished, and a small head and galley (toilet and kitchen) for weekends away – when the saloon table folds down and slots in to make a full-size bed.

Richard has worked at CWO for the last 43 years, joining the company as an apprentice in 1965 at the tender age of 17 and working his way up through the ranks to Operations Manager, a title he holds today.

Since working for CWO Ltd, Richard has been involved in a number of high-profile local projects, including Chichester Cathedral, the Henry 8th sea defences at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, and the carvings and restoration work for The Market Cross in Chichester, as well as many local houses and churches. Richard has also been involved in many other projects across the South East and London, including the Houses of Parliament, Windsor Castle and numerous new-build mansion houses.

This isn’t the first steam boat Richard has built, although it is the largest. The first major project he completed in 1976 was a third full-size rail locomotive capable of pulling along 20 people, which to this day is kept in his brother’s back garden. Projects since then have included a steam lorry modelling the 1903 Thornycroft, a full-size steam car modelling the 1903 Stanley steam car, a third full-size traction engine modelling a 1900 agricultural engine, as well as two other steam boats, one measuring 12 foot 6 and the other 20 foot.

Richard said “I’ve always liked steam, historical engineering and traditional buildings, and find a beauty and simplicity in functional structures. You can learn a lot from these old designs and this can be applied to new projects.”

Richard, who is a member of the MBO team and recently celebrated his 60th Birthday, is also a Freeman of the City of London, and a member of the Worshipful Company of Masons, where he sits on their Training Committee.

Richard’s career has recently come full circle as (as a member of the Training Committee) he was asked to act as guest judge for the Annual Carving Competition at Weymouth College, where he himself attended as a student over 40 years ago.