Race to save man's dream boat after 46 years

Les Holmes had been building the boat on and off from 1978 until his death

The family of a man who spent decades building a boat in his back garden is appealing for someone else to take on the project, 11 years after his death.

Les Holmes started work on the Hirondelle in 1978, but died in 2013 before finishing it.

The 22ft (6.7m) cruiser is stored in a barn in Worcestershire.

Relatives said they were willing to let it go for a nominal fee and hoped someone else could help deliver his dream.

Les and Gill Holmes were besotted with each other, according to relatives

Mr Holmes began work on it in 1978, in his back garden in a quiet cul-de-sac in Headless Cross, Redditch.

"I think his neighbours would have thought he was absolutely mad," said his brother-in-law Nigel Haslock.

The amateur boat builder's wife, Gillian, met him when he'd already built the frame of the boat.

"He loved my sister, and he loved his boat," said Mr Haslock.

Mrs Holmes died in 2022.

The ferro-cement cruiser in the back garden of Les Holmes' home in Redditch in the 1980s

By the mid-1980s the boat was painted and sported a four-berth cabin.

When the couple moved to the Worcestershire countryside in the 1980s, they had to lift the boat over the house.

"The claim to fame was that it was on the front page of the local newspaper, the boat being craned over the house," said Mr Haslock.

The project was then put on hold for two decades while Mr Holmes converted old farm buildings into a house and workshop.

Phil Boocock helped Les to build the boat from 2009

After the house was finished in 2009, he joined a sailing club where Phil Boocock offered to help him finish the boat.

Mr Boocock, 76, from Pershore, said Mr Holmes was the most optimistic person he knew: "He was always confident he would finish the boat. He did navigation classes and even got a mooring on the Severn".

When he became ill he continued to oversee the work from the kitchen table with the help of baby monitors and walkie talkies.

After he died, Mrs Holmes wanted the boat to be finished, so Mr Boocock continued to a point where he felt out of his depth.

She then fell ill with cancer, and passed away in 2022.

Work on the frame started in the 1970s

The couple's family and friends are now determined to find someone to complete it.

Mr Haslock, 61, from Cheshire, said the boat had been "45 years in the making", with large gaps in between.

He added: "We've now got the responsibility of making their dreams come true".

It is predicted it could take two years to complete on an amateur level, with the bunks, cockpit, electrics and rigging all to be done.

Nigel Haslock next to the boat in its current location in a large shed near Pershore

The fear is that if no-one takes on the ferro-cement cruiser, it will have to be broken up.

Mr Boocock said some people were put off owning concrete boats because they were "very heavy", but there was "nothing wrong" with them.

He said it would be a tragedy if no one came forward to take on the project:

"It would bring me to tears. The whole reason for building it was to sail".