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A Celebration of
Wooden Boats
By Carol Russell
Carba-Tec ® ‘s Carol Russell and photographer, Donovan
Knowles, visited the MyState Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart
and discovered a vibrant community committed to keeping a
long tradition of wooden boatbuilding and sailing alive. Carol
and Donovan received some exceptional hospitality on land
and at sea and over the following few months we will post a
series of stories on our website about boatbuilding, restoration
and the characters they met.
The festival, held every second February, is
a lively gathering of people and boats from
Australia and around the world. Over 600
wooden boats and thousands of people
converged on Hobart for four perfect
sunny days to revel in the beauty of these
fine craft. Dozens of exhibits featuring
demonstrations of traditional woodcraft by
shipwrights and artisans as well as displays
of tools and materials. There was an
extensive program of lectures by historians,
boat builders, adventurers and eccentric
dreamers that tantalised the imagination.
The imagery of wooden boats is highly
evocative and romantic. They symbolise
a freedom that seems to be elusive in
modern life. I must confess to feeling sheer
unabandoned joy, standing on the deck of
the 100 year old wooden steamship - the
MV Cartela, as we motored alongside ‘the
parade of sail’, an event where participating
boats sail together up the Derwent River into
Hobart to mark the opening of the festival.
The Rusich, a replica Slavic Viking ship
built in Russia, sailed all the way from
Vladivostock as a tribute to Russian
scientist and explorer Nicholas Miklouho-
Maclay, who came to Australia in 1878. At
15 metres long and in no way luxurious,
the only concession to modern life on the
Rusich is the gas cooker and compulsory
satellite navigation. The journey took two
years and there was serious concern that
the ship would not make it to the festival.
After an emergency stop off in Brisbane to
undergo some essential repairs. The crew
received a hero’s welcome and celebrated
their success with great enthusiasm.
With a long established maritime culture,
Hobart is ideally suited to hosting the
festival. In addition, the region boasts
many skilled craftspeople and is known
a a centre for excellence in boatbuilding.
The presence of the Franklin Wooden Boat
Centre, which runs a wide range of classes,
has drawn in many would-be shipwrights
as well as highly skilled craftspeople.
Tasmania’s unique native timbers stand up
well to the marine environment, Huon Pine,
King Billy Pine, Celery Top and Tasmanian
Blue Gum are some of the world’s most
prized boatbuilding timbers and have a
legendary status that is only increased by
their diminishing availability.
Bruce Miller with a
Fazackerley Dinghy
Huon Pine Natural Elbows
The Windeward Bound
“Built with volunteer labour,
using salvaged and recycled
material.”