Amy, a small motor launch, was used for day trips on the River Bure in Wroxham in 1923.

In 1924 Ted built Duchess, a ‘water bus’ and the first of its kind on the Broads, for Billy Littleboy, who was later to found Broads Tours.

Nikko, Landamores first motor cruiser was built in 1925, and the hire fleet began

Further motor cruisers, Myori, Kaori, Ikari, Omori, Tama, Delta, Melba and Wanda were built in the late 20s and 30s to expand the hire fleet, which had become known as ‘Elanco Craft’. The fleet moved in the early 30s to its new home, and our current boatyard, in Hoveton.

 

Empress, a 2nd water bus, was built for Billy Littleboy in the early 30s

 

Vesta 1 and 2 were built in 1938 to join the Elanco fleet. The Vesta was a 32’, 4 berth motor cruiser and it went on to form the core of our hire fleet. Vesta 3 and 4  followed in 1939.

Landamores first wartime commissions were for Nissen hut ends but they also went on to make ammunition boxes, wooden mine-sweeping floats and household goods (clothes horses, stepladders and ironing boards) throughout the war years.

In 1941 the yard was able to return to boat building with an order for clinker-built ship's lifeboats.

In 1942 the main building shop was extended to make room for the construction of two 65’ RAF Air-sea rescue launches. These high-speed craft had three engines and were constructed with double diagonal mahogany planking.

Between 1943 and the end of the war eleven 45’ Admiralty Harbour Launches were built. These were round bilged vessels with double diagonal larch planking.

12 further Vestas were built between 1946 and 1949 to join the fleet and to replace some of the earlier boats that were sold off.

In 1949 Ted designed and built a new model for the hire fleet, the Vestella, bigger than the Vesta at 35’ it could accommodate 5 people. 7 were built between 1949 and 1955

Ted also designed and built a smaller model, the Vestina. She was a 2-3 berth aft cockpit cruiser, 6 Vestinas were built between 1953 and 1958.

Velanda, a 30’ 4 berth motor cruiser with a more modern styling, was designed and built in 1963 to be added to the hire fleet.  4 were built from 1963 to 1965

In 1967 the hire fleet, at this point numbering 23 in total, were sold to Jenners of Thorpe so that Landamores, now under the helm of Ted’s son Leslie, could focus on building private craft.

3 slipper stern launches were built in the 50s for the Three Horseshoes pub in Hoveton

A Norfolk Punt, Snark (number 49),was built by Landamores in 1956 and is still raced today at the Norfolk Punt Club. She was one of the first to be built from plywood.

9’6 and 11’6 lugsail dinghies, the ‘Landamores Lapstrake’ design were built between 1956 and 1966 and around 60 were made. Later, moulds were taken off of both dinghies and GRP versions were made.

In 1956 Mischievous Miss (11’6) was built, closely followed by the more popular Miss Mischief (12’9). These were small speedboats that were capable of 35mph!

The popular Bittern Dinghy was designed by Leslie in 1960 and around 60 were built by Landamores

Sparklet, a National 12 dinghy, was designed in 1961 and proved very popular. Around 60 were built between 1961 and 1967, one of which (N2153 'Reflection', sailed by Robin Steavenson) won the Burton Cup in 1966. http://www.national12.org/boats

Eclan, an elegant motor cruiser based on the Vestella, but bigger at 37’, was built in 1962. She is now known as Snowgoose and can still be seen on the Broads.

Carenda, is a pre-was Vesta that was re-built for estuary use (by modifications to the wheel house and the addition of 2nd engine). Although she left the Broads in the 60s she has recently been seen back in Norfolk.

Rujac,a 26’ hard chine ply motor cruiser, designed by Leslie, was built in 1964. She was the first of 4 such boats.

Landamores designed and built 11 19’ day launches from 1965

GRP hulls made their first appearance at Landamores around 1965, one of the first to be fitted out was a small day lunch called Blue Nymph

Waverly and Maudelayne were 27’ versions of Rujac, modified to have a round bilge and conventional planking. They were built in 1966.

Amazon, built in 1969, is a small dinghy that was built from a 6” illustration in a book and shipped all the way to Lake Michigan in the USA! The photo show Patricia Landamore sailing her..

The Yeoman was originally designed, by Leslie, for Eric Yeoman who wanted a boat of similar performance to a White Boat (Y&BOD) but with simpler rigging. The first was launched in 1969 and was stripped planked, it is now on display in the Museum of the Broads. The design proved popular, so a mould was made, and a fibreglass version built. The Yeoman has been popular ever since and is raced on the Norfolk Broads and further afield. For more information click here.

The Kinsman, a drop keel version of the Yeoman, was developed for easy trailing and launching.

In 1966 the TL90, or Tucker-Landamore 9m, was the first large plug to be constructed by Landamores for GRP moulding. 12 of these were built and fitted out at the yard.

The Otter class (36’ and 40’) were sea-going twin engine motor yachts, the first was built in 1967. Designed by J Francis Jones, Julia Gee was followed by Son of Zeus and then Kailmora.

The Hustler 30, designed by Holman and Pye, was first built in 1969; 4 were fitted out by Landamores during that year. The Hustler range were marketed by Island Boat Sales.

The Hustler 35 was the next in the Hustler range and the first was built in 1970. In total, around 130 Hustlers (of various models) were built by Landamores.

Trocar, a strip planked 30’ racing yacht was designed by Holman and Pye and has been raced successfully ever since she was launched in 1972.

In 1972 a Hustler 25.5 named UFO was built for Richard Matthews, who would go on to found Oyster Marine and work in partnership with Landamores for many years.

 The UFO class (27’, 31’ and 34’) were launched in 1973. Following the success of Richard Matthew’s first UFO, others were developed. Richard’s UFO 34 was so successful that all his friends wanted one too and Oyster Marine was founded!

 In 1974 a 31'8 Sloop, George Poole was the last carvel hull to be built at the yard.

 Xaviera is a half-tonner, designed by Stephan Jones and built by Landamores, with a cold-moulded wooden hull. Built in 1976, she signalled the start of the ‘SJ’ range of boats and a number of similar boats were built and marketed as the Hustler SJ32.

In 1977 the first Oyster 37, Botkill was built, she was shown at the 1978 London Boatshow. The 2nd and 3rd Oyster 37s, Pala and Oystercatcher (pictured below) were build in 1977.

Ostrea, Richard Matthew’s Oyster 39, was built in 1978 and was the first to be designed as a ‘cruising’ Oyster. This cruising yacht found the niche for a combination of luxury and performance that Oyster have made their own ever since.

The first SJ41, a Stephan Jones designed one tonner, was built in 1980. These yachts were very successful racers and the design, focusing on speed and performance, was quite radical at the time.

The SJ43, a two tonner, was a stripped out racer and successful as it’s smaller sister. The fist SJ43 was built in 1981.

In 1981 the Oyster 46, designed by Holman and Pye, was a cruising Oyster with a centre cockpit and the first deck saloon yacht; a concept that revolutionised cruising yacht design.

In 1982 the hull for Cirrus, an Andrew Wolstenholme designed Broads river cruiser, was the last wooden hull to be built by Landamores (to date!).

Melinda, built in 1983 was the first Elanco 28. Designed for racing in the River Cruiser Class and cruising on the Broads she was originally owned by Anthony Landamore and still races very successfully. A number of other Elanco 28 hulls were supplied to be fitted out by other builders and they can be seen regularly on the Broads.

TheOyster 435, Oyster 435 was one of the most popular Oyster designs. Production started in 1983 and the boats were so sought after that our workshops had to be extended to allow two 435s to fit in the centre bay and thereby increase our capacity! The 435 was available with either a coachroof or deck saloon, an aft or centre cockpit, and as either a ketch or a sloop.

Production of the Oyster 53 and 55 began in 1986. These models proved to be very popular as they were large yachts that were designed to be sailed by 2 people. Anything larger is likely to need a professional crew on board!

in 1990 an Elanco 30, Matilda, was built for Anthony, whose family had outgrown Melinda. Matilda is a 5 berth river cruiser that races well and is comfortable for cruising the Broads. Matilda was the first of the River Cruiser Class to be rigged with a fixed topsail, an innovation of Anthony’s that has now become standard on most gaff rigged Broads cruisers.  Anthony is still regularly racing Matilda on the Broads.

The first Oyster 80, Free Spirit, was built in 1993. Configured with a deck saloon, the 80 was the pinnacle of luxury cruising; an ocean-going yacht with world wide capability she (like all of her smaller sisters) had all the facilities and mod-cons of a home on-board.

In the late 90s the Oyster 72 was in production. She had a sleek design and was a higher performance yacht that the typical cruising Oysters had been.

Tiky came to the yard in 2009 for a full refurbishment. She was the first steel hulled boat fitted out by Landamores and had her interior upgraded to a hand-built Oyster-style fit-out. Read more here.

Landamores took over Bridge Broad Marina in Wroxham in 2017. This beautiful spot was better known as the boatyard of Porter and Haylett and is just upstream of Wroxham Bridge. We have year-round moorings available and have already begun a programme of improvements to a marina that had previously been rather neglected.

Our new Mayfly 16, Nymph, was launched in May 2018. She's a beautiful boat with a torqeedo electric pod motor that sits below the hull, leaving the cockpit completely open and free of the usual engine box. She's fitted out as a 'standard' model, with mahogany deck inlays, coving and seats all varnished to a high-gloss finish.

 

 

Our first Jersey 36 Elanco 'Kimaru' was launched in September 2018 and shown at the Sounthampton Boatshow. Kimaru has a bespoke oak joinery interior fit out that has been beautifully finished to form a spacious and sociable wheelhouse. She has twin diesel engines as well as an electric saildrive, enabling her to run silently on inland or calm coastal waters.

 

Following on from the success of the beautiful Mayfly 16 launch, Landamores developed a big sister for her; the Mayfly 21.

The first one, Naiad, was launched in Summer 2019 in time for the Thames Traditional Festival. Built with the same varnished mahogany decks and coamings as the Mayfly 16, Naiad's classic looks made her an instant hit. She has a 4kW Torqeedo pod motor for peacefully quiet cruising with a surprising turn of speed!