Camper & Nicholsons are known as the original yachting company. Their story began when Francis Amos opened a shipyard in Gosport, Hampshire in 1782. In 1809 William Camper, Francis’ great-nephew, began his apprenticeship at the yard. In 1824 when Francis retired, William Camper took over the lease and yard operations. Strong connections were made with The Royal Yacht Squadron and over the next few decades, Campers’ shipyard reputation with building fast and luxurious yachts was forged.

Ben Nicholsons’ career in yacht building began in 1842 when he started his apprenticeship with Camper. He soon rose through the ranks to become the yards’ chief designer and in 1863 when William Camper retired. Ben Nicholson took over running of the business and it was at this time that the Camper & Nicholson company was formed, later to be re-named Camper & Nicholsons Yachting Ltd.

Camper & Nicholsons Yachting Ltd closed its Southampton yard in 1979 and its historic Gosport shipyard was bought by the Finnish company, Nautor’s Swan in 2001, but later closed in 2005. Camper & Nicholsons International is a separate business from the shipyard and is still going strong with international brokerage sales and yacht management services offices across the world in the UK, USA, Canada, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Mallorca, Palma, Hong Kong, China and the Grand Harbour Marina Yacht Club in Malta.

One of Scott Taylors’ favourite projects he and his fairing and painting team worked on was the Camper & Nicholsons 42 Endeavour motor yachts. The classic design is timeless and the high-quality sprint lamination methods used to build the hull made it possible to achieve a superyacht standard of finish with minimal fairing work.

Read Ian Crowdon’s testimonial (Managing Director Camper & Nicholsons Yachting Ltd) here.