Classic Boat

About Classic Boat

Overview

Classic Boat is a British monthly magazine celebrating traditional boats, wooden boatbuilding and maritime heritage. Published by the Chelsea Magazine Company from London, it was the first magazine in the UK dedicated to traditional boats and boating when it launched in 1987. The magazine defines classic boats as "boats which endure", and it covers vessels of all sizes and types, from any era, made from any material. Its official online home is classicboat.co.uk.

The title is aimed at everyone who loves wood and varnish, or the look and feel of well-drawn and well-built boats. It features the world's most beautiful classic yachts and traditional working boats, alongside news, opinion, reviews, reports and features from around the world, and practical articles showing how restorations are done and how to look after older boats. Its tagline under the masthead reads "the world's most beautiful boats".

Founding in 1987

Classic Boat was first published in 1987, entering a publishing landscape in which no British magazine was devoted specifically to traditional boats. The 1980s were a formative decade for the classic boat movement: rising interest in wooden yachts, the restoration of historic vessels and the growth of traditional boat events created an audience that the mainstream yachting press, focused on new production boats, did not serve. Classic Boat filled that gap, establishing itself as the chronicle and cheerleader of the wooden boat world.

The magazine's founding philosophy was inclusive. Rather than restricting itself to a single definition of what counts as classic — a perennial debate among enthusiasts — it declared that classic boats are simply "boats which endure". That formulation allowed it to cover everything from Victorian yachts and Edwardian launches to mid-century motor boats and traditional working craft, provided they had lasting beauty and significance.

Early years and growth

Through the 1990s and 2000s the magazine grew in step with the classic boat movement itself. Regattas and festivals for traditional boats multiplied, and Classic Boat provided coverage of the growing calendar of events, from British classics weeks to Mediterranean gatherings of vintage yachts. It also served the practical side of the movement, publishing articles that demonstrate how restorations are done and how to maintain older boats.

One of the magazine's recurring editorial missions has been to dispel the myth that maintaining an old wooden boat consumes huge amounts of time and money. Through practical features, owner stories and expert advice, it has consistently argued that classic boat ownership is accessible to ordinary enthusiasts, not only to wealthy collectors, and this pragmatic streak has been part of its appeal.

Acquisition by the Chelsea Magazine Company

In 2010 the Chelsea Magazine Company acquired Classic Boat from IPC Media, the title's former owner. The purchase was announced within days of the Chelsea company's acquisition of Yachts & Yachting from GNM Media and its purchase of Racecar Engineering from IPC, a trio of acquisitions that transformed the Chelsea Magazine Company into a significant player in specialist sports and hobby publishing. Managing director Paul Dobson said at the time that the three titles would sit perfectly alongside each other and that the company expected to retain the experienced editorial teams on all three.

The Chelsea Magazine Company, founded in 2007, was already known for high-quality specialist titles including Artists & Illustrators, Cruise International and The English Garden, and it published Britain magazine on behalf of VisitBritain. Its reputation for production quality and attention to detail made it a natural home for a visually rich title like Classic Boat, and the acquisition was followed by a lavish redesign of the magazine and a complete relaunch of its website.

Website relaunch and digital presence

Following the 2010 acquisition, the Chelsea Magazine Company announced a completely relaunched website at classicboat.co.uk, timed to coincide with the magazine's redesign. Publisher Luke Bilton said the new-look site finally did justice to the magazine's subject matter — "beautiful boats, lovingly restored" — with large image galleries to showcase the title's celebrated photography. The relaunched site created dedicated areas for readers to browse classic boats for sale or for charter, extensive practical advice on restoration, and information about iconic vessels, and it encouraged readers to send in photographs of their own boats.

The new website also incorporated the Classic Boat forum, giving the magazine's community an online home. Classicboat.co.uk has since become, in the publisher's words, "the home of beautiful boats online", complementing the print edition with galleries, buying-and-selling resources and practical guides.

Editorial leadership

Classic Boat was edited from 2000 by Dan Houston, himself a lifelong wooden boat sailor and restorer, whose tenure of more than two decades gave the magazine a consistent editorial character rooted in genuine hands-on experience of the subject. Houston was succeeded by Steffan Meyric Hughes, who led the title into the 2020s.

In March 2025 the Chelsea Magazine Company, by then part of Telegraph Media Group following its 2023 acquisition by the group, announced the appointment of Carl Richardson as editor. Richardson took the helm on 25 March, with Meyric Hughes remaining with the magazine in a part-time editorial role as he developed his practice as a yacht surveyor. Richardson brought a wealth of marine publishing experience, including the editorship of Motor Boats Monthly, a role as features editor of Motor Boat & Yachting, a part in the launch team for the digital yachting platform YachtBuyer, and experience as chief marketing officer of the superyacht brokerage Edmiston.

Content and editorial focus

The magazine's content blends the beautiful with the practical. Its features showcase the world's most beautiful classic yachts and traditional working boats, often across lavish double-page spreads, while its news, opinion, review and reportage sections cover the classic boating world from an international perspective. Long-form features have included poignant stories such as an extended "obituary" for a boat destroyed by fire after its owner had spent nine years restoring it, alongside investigations into craftsmanship and the lives of the people who build, restore and sail traditional craft.

Practical content is a second pillar. Articles explain how restorations are carried out step by step, how to look after older boats, and how to get afloat in a classic without breaking the bank. The magazine's regular dip-in sections have included "Craftsmanship" and "Getting Afloat", and its classified advertisements at the back of each issue have long been a hunting ground for buyers seeking their next project.

Regattas, awards and events

Coverage of regattas and festivals for traditional boats is a distinctive part of the magazine's identity. As the calendar of classic boat events has grown around the world, Classic Boat has reported from the key gatherings, from British and European classics weeks to events in the Mediterranean, North America and beyond. These reports combine racing coverage with the social and cultural life of the classic boat community.

The magazine also runs the Classic Boat Awards, which celebrate the finest restorations, new traditional builds and outstanding contributions to the classic boat world, with sponsors' logos appearing on the magazine's covers around the awards season. The awards have become one of the fixtures of the wooden boat calendar.

Readership and production values

Classic Boat is a premium production: a 2016 issue ran to 100 pages at 300mm by 230mm, on gloss paper with a heavyweight perfect-bound cover, reflecting the publisher's reputation for high production standards. The magazine's 2015 rate card claimed 50,000 readers every month, a measure of the worldwide reach of the classic boat movement and of a title that, while British in origin, serves vintage boat enthusiasts across the globe.

The magazine's visual style is one of its selling points. Sepia-toned covers, carefully art-directed photography and generous use of images across double-page spreads give it a distinctive look that sets it apart from the more utilitarian appearance of general boating magazines. A review of the title in the publishing trade press judged that "boating meets history in a delightful mix of stories and pictures old and new plus rattling good reads given the time and space they deserve."

Place in boating publishing

Classic Boat occupies a unique position in British boating media. As the first UK magazine dedicated to traditional boats, launched in 1987 and now published by the Chelsea Magazine Company from Chelsea in London, it is both the record of record for the classic boat movement and one of its driving forces. Its definition of the classic boat as one that "endures" has proved capacious enough to embrace the full diversity of traditional craft, and its mix of celebration and practicality has kept it essential reading for thousands of vintage boat enthusiasts worldwide. For anyone who believes that the most beautiful boats are those with a history, it remains the magazine of choice.