Cockwells has shown the Duchy 21 at Beale Park Boat and Outdoor Show in Berkshire, weeks after delivering its third example of the open day boat to the Norfolk Broads.
Beale Park is a river show, held beside the Thames in Berkshire for an audience that is largely made up of river boaters. That makes it a telling place for Cockwells to put the Duchy 21, a launch the yard describes as a capable sea boat that happens to suit Thames use just as well. Cockwells was represented on the stand at this month’s Beale Park Boat and Outdoor Show by Gillian Nahum from Henley Sales and Charter, who looked after visitors on the builder’s behalf.
Three boats delivered since Southampton
The 21 is the second model in the Duchy Motor Launch range, arriving after the Duchy 27 had made the brand’s name. Cockwells unveiled it at Southampton last September and left the show with several orders. The third of those boats has recently gone to an owner on the Norfolk Broads, and in between the 21 made the finals of this year’s Classic Boat Awards. For a design that is less than a year old in public, that is a solid record. It also tells you something about who is buying: the Broads and the Thames are inland waters, yet the boat they are choosing is one Cockwells built with the sea in mind.
Cockwells supplies the hull; the owner decides the rest
Dave Cockwell, the company’s founder, has a neat way of explaining what a semi-production Duchy is.
We provide the elegantly designed, low maintenance composite hull and you customise it your way.
Dave Cockwell, Founder and Managing Director, Cockwells
In practice that means the stainless steel fittings are made to order, the timber for the joinery is the owner’s choice, and so is the upholstery colour. Cockwells sits down with each buyer and works through the specification line by line, which is the reason no two Duchy launches look quite alike. The approach is explained in more depth on our Duchy difference page.
- Hull: low-maintenance composite, built by Cockwells in Cornwall
- Propulsion: a diesel engine, or an electric motor
- Fittings: stainless steel, made to the owner’s order
- Joinery: the owner’s choice of timber
- Upholstery: colour chosen by the owner
- Transport: road trailer, so no permanent berth is required
What the Duchy 21 does well
The boat is built around its cockpit, which seats ten and is laid out for a long day afloat with friends, a picnic, a swim and a slow run home. Add the waterproof cushions and the forward section becomes a double sunbed. Raise the spray hoods and the cockpit is fully enclosed, at which point the sunbed becomes a double berth for a night aboard. The hoods are the clever part: when they are stowed they disappear from view, so the boat keeps its lines.
Underneath, the hull is composite for low upkeep, and the owner picks a diesel engine or an electric motor. The whole boat travels on a road trailer, so it can go in the water from a ramp on a lake, a river or the coast without a permanent berth. That is the combination that makes a Beale Park showing make sense: a launch with sea manners that a Thames owner can keep on a trailer and use on the river.
From the Thames to Australian rivers and harbours
A good deal of boating in Australia and New Zealand looks more like the Thames than the open sea: estuaries, harbours, rivers and lakes, with the occasional coastal run in settled weather. A launch that Cockwells rates as both sea-capable and suited to inland water, and that can be towed to whichever of those is on the weekend’s agenda, is a sensible fit for that pattern. The electric option deserves thought from anyone on quiet water.
Davis Marine Brokerage is the exclusive Australian and New Zealand dealer for Duchy Motor Launches. We can arrange a Duchy 21 build with Cockwells, with the fittings, timber and upholstery chosen for Australian conditions, and we handle the import, delivery and commissioning in Sydney. Because the boat is trailerable, commissioning can be done here and the launch can then go home on its trailer rather than to a marina. To discuss a specification, get in touch; we can also talk through finance for a new boat, and if there is a boat to move on first, our brokerage service can handle that side.
Frequently asked questions
Has the Duchy 21 won any awards?
The Duchy 21 was a finalist in this year’s Classic Boat Awards, less than a year after Cockwells unveiled it at the Southampton Boat Show. The Duchy 21 is the second model in the Duchy Motor Launch range, following the Duchy 27, and Cockwells has already delivered three of them to owners.
How many people can the Duchy 21 carry?
The Duchy 21 seats ten guests in its open cockpit. It is designed for day trips, picnics and relaxed cruising with family and friends, and the forward section converts to a double sunbed with waterproof cushions, or to a double berth for a night aboard when the spray hoods are raised.
Is the Duchy 21 a river boat or a sea boat?
Both. Cockwells describes the Duchy 21 as a sea-capable boat that also suits inland water such as the Thames. It is built in low-maintenance composite, powered by a diesel engine or an electric motor, and it travels on a road trailer, so a lake, a river or the coast are all within reach of the same boat.
Who sells the Duchy 21 in Australia and New Zealand?
Davis Marine Brokerage, based at Mosman on Sydney Harbour, is the exclusive Australian and New Zealand dealer for Duchy Motor Launches. DMB arranges each Duchy 21 build with Cockwells in Cornwall and manages the import, delivery and commissioning in Sydney. Call Sam Davis on 0408 864 111 to discuss a build.
Davis Marine Brokerage is the exclusive Australian and New Zealand dealer for Duchy Motor Launches, Hardy Motor Yachts and Cockwells SuperYacht Tenders. To talk about a new build, a demonstration on Sydney Harbour or a pre-owned Duchy, call Sam Davis on 0408 864 111 or send an enquiry.
About the author
Sam Davis is the Director and Lead Broker at Davis Marine Brokerage, Fergusons Marina, Mosman. Brokering on Sydney Harbour for over a decade, he is a NSW State Councillor of the Boating Industry Association and the Australian and New Zealand dealer for Duchy, Hardy and Cockwells SuperYacht Tenders.
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