Extract from The Australian newspaper today:

New generation of enthusiasts carries on boating tradition

A TIMBER revival is gathering pace as baby boomers and a new generation of boat lovers pick up tools to craft sleek wooden boats in backyard sheds or specialised schools around the country.


Wooden-boat clubs are reporting increased inquiries and growing membership, with a new boat building school in Sydney - the first in more than a decade - opening for people seeking a professional eye to supervise their DIY efforts.


For many people, the polished curves of a wooden vessel evoke fond childhood memories of fictional maritime adventurers. Wooden Boat Association of Victoria president Chris Kelly said an evolution in building techniques, allowing for more lightweight construction, had made backyard endeavours a simpler prospect.


"There's nothing quite as pretty as a beautifully finished timber boat on the water," he said. "Timber is a living material.


"If you have a bent for timber, if you'll pardon the pun, it's a lot easier to work with than fibreglass and gives a much better finish."


Memories of summer days fishing with his father, a carpenter, in a wooden boat helped inspire Bruce Main to build his own boat so he can recreate the experience with his grandchildren. His backyard shed has waited expectantly while he searched for a boat-building school near his NSW central coast home so he could learn the skills, finally enrolling at the Pittwater Wooden Boat School, which opened in October.


"I've been reading books and watching videos on the internet, but unless you get your hands on it and bang nails in, you don't learn all the little tricks, shortcuts and pitfalls," he said.


"Fibreglass and aluminium make fast and quick boats, but there's just something about a wooden boat to me that is special."


Mr Main has previously visited the Wooden Boat Centre at Franklin in Tasmania, Australia's best-known boat school.


Pittwater Wooden Boat School owner Larry Eastwood said Australia lacked some of the love for wooden boats found in places such as the US New England states. "In America, the boats have extraordinary history and are held in families for generations. I'm a romantic at heart, I'm trying to instil that same thing here."


NSW Wooden Boat Association acting president Ross McLean said his club was seeing growing numbers of young people joining, and a firm trend in wooden steam boats being built. "It might just be harking back to the good old days," he said.