I was in Tasmania last weekend for a wedding and whilst there I visited a boat building school at Franklin on the Huon river (About an hour out of Hobart). This place was a bit like the Sturt School for Wood - 18 month Diploma in wooden boat building. They were using beautiful Tassie timbers like Huon/Celery Top/King Billy Pine. Well worth a visit if you're ever down that way (only $6 to get in)

How much does it cost for the schooling?

Hello Sailing American,
Here is a link to their Website, follow the link then to fees. http://www.woodenboatcentre.com/

regards

Kev M

Any school like this in Brisbane

School in tasmania only one of its type that uses traditional methods .
TAFE in SA has one that does it and there is a boat building school in Sydney but they both teach you how to build boats with ply larpstrake method like a couple of David Payne designs etc. Cost of one in Tas is about $3000.00 per annum last time I heard.

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Constant Sinking Feeling

Last I heard there was one in Fremantle that does a diploma in woodenboat building... never got a response to my email enquiries though... but hey! This is West Aussie Im talkin about here ... theres many a person, business, company, government dept etc etc with an email address over here yet some have no bloody idea how to work it!! :mad:

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Hi all, I am a current student at the wooden boat centre in Tasmania. Any queries, send me a pm.

regards,

Andrew

Nah, bugger the PMs. Give us the griff straight please. I had a great time with the TAFE here in South Oz but I couldn't help our mate in Tassie coz I didn't know what was available. So spill the beans man. Besides, it's all good gossip and, as every boat builder knows, the best part is talking about it.

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO YA MATE. :confused:
What did you build? :confused:
Did you get to buy it afterwards? :confused:
Did it float? :eek:

Cheers
Richard

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Striding fearlessly where those with more sense fear to tread

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO YA MATE.
What did you build?
Did you get to buy it afterwards?
Did it float?

Cheers
Richard

Okay Richard,

I am a bit over halfway through the 18 month Diploma course in wooden boatbuilding. So far, our course has built quite a few smaller hard chine and traditional clinker boats and we have just finished putting the ribs into our major project boat, which is a 30' motor sailer ( blue gum backbone and planked in celery and huon).

No we don't get to buy it afterwards and yes, so far everything floats.

Cost is expensive for what you get - $18K for 18 months.

I have attached a picture of one of the latest launchings that myself and two other students built ( huon pine of course!)

cheers,

Andrew

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reckon there'll be a few people dribbling in their keyboards soon.

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Bob Thomas

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Drooling in a major way here!! Well done Andrew... sorta puts me wee efforts to shame... ah well a 30ft motor sailer eh? so hows that work does someone give the commision to the school and they then set the students to building and the finished boat is then launched amid much fanfare and drinkeepoos and the new owner takes over? Good deel for one and all Id say

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Believe me there IS life beyond marriage!!! Relax breathe and smile learn to laugh again from the heart so it reaches the eyes!!

Shane, you have it pretty much in one. Some philanthropic individual sponsors the building of the boat and pays all material costs plus an admin fee of (currently) around $60K. Us poorer students are then the slave labour and we learn along the way in a real time workshop.

At the completion of the boat and during many mini-completion phases, drinks abound ( hey, its Friday and the day ends in "Y" - lets have a beer!) and at the end of it all, the boat is launched and the happy owner sails away. All work is either constructed to survey or if the owner doesn't want to build to survey, a marine surveyor passes all the work.

The course also covers some aspects of smaller boatbuilding as well however, I believe that next year it is going to be a carvel only course which will be a bit shorter.

At the end of it you get churned out with a diploma in wooden boatbuilding which is meant to qualify you as a wooden boat builder and repairer in your own right, recognised by industry. Lots of the subjects are a straight cross over from the cert 3 in marine craft construction that shipwrights do at TAFE - it is just a bit more concentrated.

I reckon the best thing at the end of it will to be finally able to claim boating related expenses on tax! ( wonder if Mr Costello would let me claim a nice 50 footer as a product research vessel in the whitsundays?????)

Anyway, it is an interesting change and you get to meet many interesting people and get access to the best boatbuilding timbers in the world. I tell you, there is nothing like huon to work with, it is bloody lovely.

cheers,

Andrew

Oh WOW. That's lovely Andrew. And to think I was pleased with our scruffy, ply lapstrake boats. What a wonderful opportunity. Are you planning to turn this into a career? Not doing courses, building the things?

Cheers
Richard
dammit, there's no 'envy' smiley

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Striding fearlessly where those with more sense fear to tread

Yes Richard, a career change is the purpose of the training. It won't be all traditional though. I think lapstrake ply is a great way to build as well with some nice timber for trim. Building boats traditionally is very wasteful of a precious resource.

As a matter of fact, one of my first post course projects is a 12' lapstrake "Ellen" designed by John Brooks ( see www.brooksboats.net ).

If anyone is down this way let me know and I will give the royal tour of the place.

regards,

Andrew

G'day Andrew,

glad to hear that it's still going well. I guess I could tell these guys the other side of the story ;-)

I was the "philanthropic owner" along with my wife for the last boat built at the school - that's the course before this one. We were in the queue for 5.5 years by the time the boat was launched, but it was worth it.

The guys made a fabulous job - we won the Concours d'Elegance at the Geelong Wooden Boat Show in March this year with "their boat".

Something like this is not all roses though. It's a big job in a tight timeframe, there is always (necessary?) tension at times between owner and boatbuilder. I suspect in fact that that is what results in a great product.

She sails beautifully and I'm now learning how to be an amateur woodworker. My carpenter dad always said "never consider being a carpenter, you're too &**%$ clumsy!". Age makes you more careful I think.

Regards

Mike

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