Beautiful timber boat emerges from the ashes at Franklin’s Wooden Boat Centre in Huon Valley
A team of American boat builders in Tasmania crafting a vessel especially for the Wooden Boat Festival had their efforts hampered by ash from the massive Huon Valley bushfire.
Tasmania
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A TEAM of American boat builders in Tasmania crafting a vessel especially for the Wooden Boat Festival had their efforts hampered by ash from the massive Huon Valley bushfire.
The ash was so bad at the Wooden Boat Centre in Franklin the crew had to finishing painting the Haven 12 ½ in Hobart.
The team of eight Americans, from the North West School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Townsend, and two Australians, arrived in the Huon Valley in early December to finish the American keelboat design using a meld of Australian and US timber, including reclaimed Tasmanian celery-top pine.
Boat builder Ryan Chadwick said they were halfway through planking it when the fires stopped work.
“We lost quite a bit of time,” he said.
“The shop was just covered in smoke and inside the building it looked like there were campfires.
“There were little layers of ash on the bench tops, the boat, everything you were working one.
“You’d dust it off with ash and two to three hours later there’d be another light dusting of ash over everything.”
He said they ended up constructing a tent over the boat to apply the last coat of varnish and the painting was completed in Hobart.
“It was definitely difficult conditions with the smoke and the ash to be able to get a good finish, but it turned out beautiful, it’s gorgeous, so everybody’s pretty happy,” Mr Chadwick said.
School executive director Betsy Davis said it was “incredible” to be at the Wooden Boat Festival for the first time and see an international community that cares about the same things.
“I’m hoping that a lot of people see our boats, meet our graduates and decide to come to school for a year,” she said.
The Haven will be auctioned to support the free, public festival on Hobart’s waterfront from February 8-11.
More details at australianwoodenboatfestival.com.au
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