MARK STOCKL – Am Bàta Boatbuilder - studied boatbuilding at the International Boatbuilding Training College in Lowestoft, Suffolk. In 1998 he joined boatbuilder Nat Wilson in Ullapool at which point the well known partnership of Ullapool Boatbuilders was formed. He has built in excess of 35 boats and restored many others. Now working on his own, current projects include a new 23’ Fifie for a customer from the Isle of Wight.  He has recently completed the restoration of a 27’ Fifie from Scalpay. Mark is also a qualified yacht and smallcraft surveyor.  His website can be found at http://www.markstocklboatbuilder.co.uk/

ALISON MACLEOD – Am Bàta Administrator – also works part time as Project Officer for Raasay House Community Company and is working towards an MSc in Managing Sustainable Rural Development. She shares with other family members a keen interest in boats and has practical experience of working on boats: driving ribs and working on the Toscaig Shellfish prawn boat – run in partnership with her husband.

JAMES KEAN is Head of the Technology Faculty at Plockton High School. He is an enthusiastic sailor and has sailed dinghies since he was a teenager. He is also a canoeist, with an instructor’s qualification which he uses to train school pupils during activities weeks. He is the lead teacher for the Young Engineers Club, which successfully built a plywood Canadian Canoe from plans several years ago. James is also an active member of Kintail Mountain Rescue team and has designed several items of mountain rescue equipment including the new Scottish Mountain Rescue stretcher called the Katie.

JAMES PHIMISTER, is the Plockton High School Technician. He comes from a family of fishermen, boat owners , boat builders and repairers, He became involved with boats while still at school and has repaired a number of wooden boats from 10ft up to 21 ft.  He is now the Keeper of the Skye Skiff and keeps it on a mooring in Broadford Bay.

SUSAN WALKER was the Cultural Coordinator in Schools for Skye & Lochalsh who was instrumental in getting the applications in place for the Am Bata project. She worked with the school and sailing club to develop the project and find partners and got the funding. With family members who are keen on traditional boats, she became involved in the rebuild of the family’s Orkney skiff in summer 2007, spending many (happy?) hours planing, sawing, hammering, painting and even some last minute night-shift tarring!

DOUGLAS HAMILTON was introduced to sailing and the Plockton ‘Local Boats’ on arriving in the village in 1978 and was hooked immediately. He has been a member of PSBSC for 28 years and a committee member for much of that time. Now treasurer he has also served as commodore and secretary. Douglas’s boat is the Ajax which was built by John MacKenzie in Portree about 1969 (many of the Plockton ‘local boats’ in use from the 1930’s onwards were McKenzie boats built either by John or his father Alistair).