Classic Wooden Boat Building

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tasmanian boat builder Ned Trewartha at the Shipwright’s Village at the 2015 MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival.

In a large shed on the banks of the D’Entrecasteaux Channel in southern Tasmania, a traditional boat builder uses the old methods and rare materials to craft  small boats of exquisite finish.  Some argue that these boats are as much art as functionality and Ned Trewartha does tend to blur the line between the two.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”879″ img_size=”medium” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”878″ img_size=”300×280″ add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”sandy_brown” border_width=”5″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

‘Ned Trewartha is one of the rare true artists. His boats have soul. All good boats seem somehow to be more than the sum of their parts and Ned’s especially have a real quality which sets them apart.’ – Iain Oughtred, designer

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”sandy_brown” border_width=”5″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Christian Willing is the proud conservator of the 10-foot wooden boat ‘Talisman’. He was good enough to share some photos of what he describes as a ‘museum quality’ New Trewartha boat.

‘Talisman was built in 2014 by Ned Trewartha at Gordon, Tasmania. The brief was to construct (as much as reasonably possible) a boat of museum quality. The dinghy is for display only – it will not go into the water. Talisman is built to a design by Battery Point shipwright and boat builder Bill Foster.

MATERIALS

• Huon pine – planking, knees, keel and keelson, stem, floorboards, transom, rowlock blocks, oars
• Celery Top pine – ribs, thwart risers, keel, gunwales
• King Billy pine – thwarts, stern and forward benches
• Fastenings – silicon bronze screws, copper nails and roves
• Cradle – Tasmanian Oak and Oregon Pine
• The specialty Tasmanian timbers were sourced from sawmills on the West Coast of Tasmania

‘The transom is made out of a single Huon pine plank of exceptional quality. The floorboards and planking are all book-matched feature grade Huon Pine. The thwart and quarter knees are book matched from one piece of grown (curved) Huon pine. The benches are cut from a single length of King Billy pine to achieve a consistent grain and colour. The outer stem, or bow, is a single piece of grown Huon pine chosen for its compression, strength and beauty.’[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”892″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”891″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ned makes more than gorgeous boats, he’s also an artist and luthier (a craftsman who makes stringed instruments).  His favourite form is the ukulele, traditional instrument of the Hawaiian Islands.  Ned prefers to call his ‘euculeles’ as a nod to their Australian provenance.

‘They all have beautiful quarter sawn King Billy Pine tops, which gives them a lovely mellow tone. The back and sides are a choice of  Tasmanian timbers: Myrtle, Fiddleback Tas Oak or Blackwood.  The necks are Tas Oak; fretboards and bridges are either Tallowwood (recycled from a 60 year old piece of farm machinery) or Victorian Red gum. Internal bracing and tone bars are a combination of King Billy Pine and Sitka Spruce.’[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”896″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”895″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”897″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Photos by Kim Rodahl.  Read more at nedtrewarthawoodenboats.com.au and don’t miss Ned’s video interview with film maker Joe Shemesh on the AWBF News Blog here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]