About us

We are specialists in repairing, restoring and building
traditional ships and rigging

Established in 1988 by Tommi Nielsen and Sarah White, two experienced sailors, T. Nielsen & Company is a well established specialist in traditional shipbuilding, rigging and restoration with a worldwide reputation for working with historic timber ships.

Tommi Nielsen is a trained shipwright who has been building, restoring and rigging traditional ships since the early 1970s. A qualified ocean-going Yacht Master, Tommi regularly sails customer vessels to and from our Gloucester facility.

Sarah White worked for many years with a company operating five tall ships and brings the necessary administration and project management skills required to control and complete projects on time and to budget.

The management team collectively has well over 100 years of traditional shipbuilding, restoration, engineering and rigging expertise, and to back this up we employ an experienced team of well trained, qualified craftsmen including shipwrights, riggers, marine engineers and blacksmiths. The company has a strong track record of recruiting apprentices and encourages staff development at all levels.

As well as traditional shipbuilding and restoration, we've also developed a worldwide reputation for providing film and TV studios with specialist skills when marine structures, rigging and boats are required on set.

Quality control and customer satisfaction are paramount to us, and word of mouth and repeat business have led to T. Nielsen & Company’s steady development and sound footing over the past 25 years.

We have extensive wet and dry dock facilities in Gloucester, which is the hub for our operations, although our skilled craftsmen work all over the world on specialist restoration projects.

To satisfy the individual characteristics of each ship, be it a punt or tall ship, we combine our up-to-date processes and equipment with the trusted techniques of the past. So, if you are looking for a specialist shipbuilder that offers unrivalled results whatever your project, there's never been a better time to contact us.