A LUXURY 35ft motor boat, hand crafted in Neyland, wowed international crowds when it had its world debut at the Southampton Boat Show recently.

The Dale Classic 35 – the latest from Dale Sailing’s Neyland boatyard - took nine months to design and another nine to build.

Having won critics over with its quality construction and attention to detail, the Pembrokeshire business - run by brothers Mike and John Reynolds – has already attracted several potential buyers for the £400,000 vessel.

Details include helm seats imported from Savannah, a restored US fire truck siren, elk skin on the grab handles, and American cherry wood on the interior.

The Welsh Government provided funding towards Dale Sailing’s marketing materials and the berth at the show, which Mike said was excellent.

“The market is much more upbeat this year and we are delighted the Classic 35 made such an impression – we have had a number of strong leads while one person is considering ordering a 35’ version of the £800,000 Dale Classic 45.”

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said she was delighted to hear of the firm’s recent success.

“Wales has a number of small but excellent boatyards that have gained an international reputation for excellence,” she said.

“The publicity generated by the Dale Classic 35 will no doubt help raise the profile of the capability of boatbuilding in Wales and I congratulate Dale Sailing on their achievement.”

“Our success is down to attention to detail, high quality craftsmanship and customer service – we can design and build in any feature the owners want. Every stage of the build is monitored to the most exacting standards,” said Mike.

“We start off with a blank sheet, discuss the design and styles with the owners and refine it to meet their exact requirements including the materials, colours, internal layout and facilities.”

The business employs 40 highly skilled craftsmen and also has a commercial boat building arm specialising in catamarans for use as passenger boats, support vessels for off shore wind farms and for fishing fleets.