Deben Bar is a private members club located in the engine room of HMS Vale for customers of Melton Boatyard and those in the working boatyard community.
History: Deben Bar Member’s Club opened its doors in January 2020, sadly closing just 3 months later due to Covid 19 restrictions. But despite all of the turbulent and uncertain times that followed, our member’s club has survived and a dedicated committee established and new membership applications are invited from January 2023.
Deben Bar Members Club aims to: preserve the unique relaxed, welcoming, community feel of Melton Boatyard, to serve club members and the boatyard and help to create a club house/meeting room that can be used by other groups in the community, to support the maintenance and preservation of HMS Vale and her uniqueness and promote the ship as an icon of this part of the river, to create a relaxed environment where knowledge of local tidal waters and further afield, local and visiting vessels can be shared and traditional skills and experiences passed on, to take a close interest in the preservation and maintenance of the small stretch of the Deben from the Tide Mill to Wilford Bridge.
Cold Buffet 
Licensed bar 
Hot Buffet
Applications are invited from:
- Melton Boatyard Customers past and present
- Working boatmen, particularly on the local rivers or who have spent a lifetime at sea on working vessels.
- Serving or retired Royal or Merchant Navy personal.
- Persons whose livelihood is derived from a connection with working at sea, rivers, broads or canals.
Membership applications are also invited from those persons who are longstanding supporters or friends of HMS Vale, residents of Dock Lane and River View and those who keep the River Deben special.