Volume 17 Number 03 - The Wooden Boat Association

S H A V I N G S
NEWSLETTER OF THE WOODEN BOAT ASSOCIATION INC. VICTORIA
Reg. Inc. No. A0022538U Website: www.woodenboat.org.au
Volume 17 Number 3 October 2006
Last club meeting we had a speaker from
Marine Safety Victoria, to talk to us about
the Builders plate, which put some concerns
to rest. By the way this is not law in
Victoria yet. You will read more about this
later in this issue.
Next meeting Rob Ripley will give us a talk
about the trip to Europe he and Pat have
recently returned from. This promises to be
From the President
a movie style production using the
technology in the upper room at APYC.
After you have read this, Jenny and I will
have been to Echuca again for the Heritage
festival on 7 th & 8 th October. We are
making a change this year by not taking a
boat, and are going to be land based taking
the vintage car instead.
David Stott.
Club Night 20 th September
Have you been worried about the
implications of the Australian Builder’s Plate
on your boat building activities. I know a
lot of our members have been and their
concerns have not been helped by the
tremendous amount of confusion
surrounding the issue.
Well, those members who were able to
attend the September club night are now
sleeping a little easier, as we were treated
to a very informative talk on the subject by
Adrian Mnew, the Senior Surveyor from
Marine Safety Victoria. It seems that
working out the information required to be
listed on a builder’s plate is no big deal and
is well within the capabilities of an amateur
builder, certainly our members should not
have any major problems. Adrian’s address
was quite detailed so I will not be able to
pass along everything he covered but I will
endeavor to mention the main points.
Adrian has kindly provided me with an
electronic copy of his PowerPoint
presentation and asked me pass it along to
members who would like more information.
Please feel free to email me at
sjclutterbuck@hotmail.com if you would like
a copy.
The first point to make is that although the
builder’s plate is meant to be a national
requirement it is up to each state to enact
the relevant legislation. So far only two
states have done so, and Victoria is not one
of them. Adrian estimates that it will be at
least twelve months before this happens.
The legislation will not be retrospective so
anyone who has already started building or
starts before the legislation is promulgated
will not be required to fit a builder’s plate.
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So which boats will require a builder’s
plate? The simple answer is outboard or
inboard powered recreational craft. This
includes rowing boats that can be fitted
with an outboard. Other boats that are
likely to be of interest to our members such
as sail boats (even if fitted with an aux
engine), canoes, kayaks and rowing shells
that cannot be fitted with an outboard will
not need a builder’s plate.
If your boat does require a builder’s plate
there are certain pieces of information that
you will need to obtain in order to satisfy
the powers that be. These vary depending
of the size of the boat and whether it is an
inboard or outboard. Rather than trying to
cover everything here and risk missing
something important it is probably better to
refer you to the relevant standards that
cover the building plate itself and the
information required to be listed on it.
Although there are a number of American
and ISO standards that will be acceptable if
will be easier and cheaper to obtain the
relevant Australian standards. In fact our

association has decided to obtain copies of
the Australian standards and make them
available to members through the library
so, unless you wish to purchase your own
copy, there will be no cost at all.
So what are the relevant standards and
where can you get them?
For the Plate itself you need the “National
Standard for the Australian Builders Plate
for Recreational Boats” which can be
downloaded free from the National Marine
Safety Council web site: www.nmsc.gov.au.
To determine the information required to be
affixed to the builders plate you need
Australian Standard “AS1799 – Small
Pleasure Boats code” which can be obtained
from the Standards Australia web site
(www.standards.com.au) for a small fee or
shortly on loan from our library.
All the information needed to complete and
fit a builder’s plate can be obtained from
just these two standards however there
may be some calculations needed. Although
the calculations are not particularly difficult
Adrian suggested contacting the designer of
your boat as he/she should already have
the necessary information. If using
information provided by the designer Adrian
stressed the need to build strictly according
2
to the plans. If you are one of those
builders that just has to change things you
are on your own.
Since Adrian is building his own wooden
fishing boat he was presented with a year’s
membership of our association instead of
the bottle of wine normally given to our
guest speakers. He advised me that he
enjoyed his evening with us and looks
forward to becoming more involved in our
future activities. Adrian has kindly agreed
to answer any enquiries from members
concerning the Builder’s Plate. He can be
contacted at Marine Safety Victoria Ph 03
9655 6260.
Steve Clutterbuck
Alan Chinn has recently completed a boat
to be used in a film adaptation of Maurice
Sendak's classic children's story, Where the
Wild Things Are. The film is scheduled for
release in 2008. The exact design of the
boat is being kept secret – Alan says that
he has had to sign a confidentiality
agreement – but WBA members will
probably be able to recognise the design if
they see the film…
WBA (Vic.) Calendar July 2006 – July 2007
Date Event Venue
18 th Oct Club Night APYC
22 nd Oct Sailing Day APYC
5 th Nov Werribee South Sailing Day (Ratty Day) Werribee South
22 nd Nov Club Night Wooden Boat Centre, Victoria Harbour
26 th Nov Sailing day Williamstown?
10 th Dec Sailing day and Christmas lunch APYC
28 th Jan Sailing Day ?
21 st Feb Club Night APYC
25 th Feb Sailing Day Rye
21 st Mar Club Night APYC
25 th Mar Sailing Day ?
18 th Apr Club Night APYC
22 nd Apr Sailing Day APYC
23 rd May Club Night APYC
27 th May Sailing Day River trip?
20 th Jun Club Night APYC
24 th Jun Sailing Day APYC
18 th Jul Club Night APYC
22 nd Jul Sailing Day and Annual General Meeting APYC
Wednesday Club nights (from 7:30 pm) and Sailing Days (from 10:00 am) are held at Albert
Park Yacht Club unless otherwise specified.
Committee meets first Wednesday of the month
Members with larger boats who are interested in attending the Werribee
South Sailing Day may wish to take advantage of Alan Bernardi’s generous
offer of assistance with sounding the mouth of the river, using his boat, on
the previous weekend. Phone Alan on 9734 2808.

Sailing Day. October 22 nd
Coming events
In October we will once again be sailing at Albert Park. The Lindsay Symons is in need of some
minor maintenance, so please come along to assist. BYO sandpaper and elbow grease.
Club Night. October 18 th
The speaker for our next club night is Club Secretary, Rob Ripley. Rob has recently returned
from a trip to Europe, where he saw and or traveled on Bumboats in Dubai, Cruise ships and
Hydroplanes in Russia, Cobles on the Yorkshire coast, with the odd boat, launch etc from the
Orkney Islands, South along the Scottish West coast to Seil Island. This is sure to be an
interesting talk!
Club Night. November 22 nd
The November club night will take place at the Wooden Boat Centre, Victoria Harbour.
Members will be able to inspect the workshop and then listen to a talk on the history of the
WBA. This evening will start at 7pm, slightly earlier than our usual time, with a BBQ. There is
plenty of parking available. More details in the next Shavings.
Outside events
Members may be interested in a number of outside events taking place in the next year.
2006
Saturday 21 October Warneet Motor Yacht Club model boat display
29 October Davistown (Gosford NSW) putt putt regatta
2007
3 February Chelsea Yacht Club classic boat race and static display
9-12 February Australian Wooden Boat Festival, Hobart
10-12 March South Australian Wooden Boat Festival, Goolwa
Sunday 11 March
Geelong Wooden Boat festival
7-8 April Heritage Afloat, Lake Macquarie, NSW
Sunday April 1
Warneet Classic Boat Festival
5-8 July 2007 Junction Rally- Wentworth. Incorporating a river run with the
Paddle Steamers Ruby and Cannally.
Chelsea Yacht Club is holding a classic boat race and static display on Saturday 3 rd February
2007, as part of the celebrations commemorating the Chelsea Railway Station. Anyone with
boats from the older racing classes, such as Vee Jays, Vee Esses, Sharpies, Skates, Gwen 12s,
or Payne Mortlock Canoes, is being encouraged to participate. For more information, contact
the Commodore of CYC, Mr Neil Fountain, on 0419 529 162.
As part of the Geelong Wooden Boat Festival, two new races have been announced. The
first event is a race from Williamstown to Geelong for wooden displacement yachts designed
before 1985, while the second race is for Couta Boats, from Portarlington to Geelong.
Information is available at www.rgyc.com.au
The forecast for this day was terrible, with
the strongest cold front of the year
approaching Melbourne.
Hail, snow down to 1200 metres, rain and
gale force winds with gusts up to 90 km/h
were forecast. ABC Radio was saying “if
you are on the water get to shore now”,
and we had a boating day planned?
Whilst the forecast was bad the day looked
OK. At Greensborough the rain had stopped
and the sun was out with clear skies. At
Patterson Lakes and Altona it was similar,
and the front was not expected until
midday, so given that we were going to be
Sailing Day – Sunday 24 th September
in sheltered waters, the consensus was we
would go anyway.
At Patterson Lakes we had the car park to
ourselves and joined Tony and Linda
Remmington in their Seagull powered
Heron, Steve Clutterbuck and Chris
Trewerne in the Weekender, Andrew and
Marilyn Cohen in the putt putt, and a
neighbour of the Cohen’s in a Laco launch.
Frank Raisin joined and Jenny and me in
Penguin.
Although it was windy the canals were
sheltered and we had an enjoyable putter
around the main area for about an hour.
For those that have not been here before,
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this area is very similar to Paynesville but
more extensive. Plenty of boats moored in
front of houses, many with those
submersible pontoons that lift the boat out
of the water to save on anti fouling.
At 11.30 the change arrived, just at the
time when Steve had to refuel. The
Weekender was heading for a jetty at great
speed, and luckily Steve had crew to fend
off.
We had all rugged up in wet weather gear
ready for the rain which began to fall.
Heading out through the floodgates into the
river we had the wind and rain right on the
nose in the run back to the ramp.
Tony had to cover the air intake and spark
plug on the seagull for fear of rain bringing
everything to a halt. However the seagull
kept on and strongly pushed the heron into
the wind and chop.
Looking out to the bay there was surf
across the entrance and we were glad we
were not heading out there. The weather
was pushing water into the river from the
bay.
At the ramp we all helped to pull out one
boat at a time, as the water level rose
quickly, covering the lower part of the jetty.
Once ashore we were met by Geoff and
Louise Divko and their puppies, and all
headed for the picnic area where we
enjoyed lunch together in relative shelter,
Andrew and Marilyn supplied the port to
warm us all up.
Despite the weather we had a good trip,
and will have to include this location in our
calendar again at some time.
David Stott.
Member Profile: Tom Whitfield
When I went to talk to Tom Whitfield about
putting together a profile for Shavings, he
was very keen to talk about the latest
project he is involved with – a 42m sail
training vessel, to be named Pacific
Adventure. Still in the planning stages, this
boat would travel from port to port around
Australia, with a complement of 46 cadets,
8 trainee seamen, 8 fulltime crew and 3
scientists/mentors. Tom’s workshop was
filled with a prototype of one of the ship’s
boats, currently under construction. This
boat will be lug rigged, with a mizzen for
balance, and will use twin dagger
leeboards. Pacific Adventure will carry 4 of
this design. If you are ever anywhere near
Mordialloc, drop in and have a look, but we
aware that you might just leave with an
urgent desire to build another boat
yourself!
At the age of seven, Tom was asked what
he wanted to do when he grew up. Without
hesitation he replied “build boats”. Tom
lived in Budleigh Salterton, on the South
coast of Devon. He could walk out his back
door and look at the sea, and in his early
teens he was already working as part time
crew on fishing boats. At fifteen the
headmaster of his school suggested that as
a place was available, an apprenticeship
with Dixon’s, a local boat builder, might
suit him better than school. Tom agreed
wholeheartedly, and started his
apprenticeship a fortnight later!
Dixon’s built traditional timber boats up to
38’ in length, mainly fishing and pleasure
boats, either clinker or sawn framed carvel.
After completing a 5½ year apprenticeship,
Tom worked as a carpenter in the building
trade for nine months before going back
and working for Dixon’s for another 6 years.
In January of 1973, Tom, Carole, and their
two children came to Australia, sponsored
by Jack Pompei, who was looking for
another boat builder.
Australia must have been quite a change
for them. Having left England in the middle
of winter, they flew for 27 hours and
arrived in Melbourne in the middle of
Summer, at the end of seven years of
drought! Boatbuilding was different here as
well! Differnent timbers were used, and
Tom says that there were many differences
in building styles and philosophy between
4

Dixon’s and Pompei’s. At Dixon’s the timber
was steamed to shape, using a gas fired
steamer. At Pompei’s it was boiled, using
leftover offcuts of the timber to fire the
boiler! Speed was of the essence, and
boiling was certainly faster! Boats were
built more solidly at Dixon’s, to suit the sea
conditions around Devon, using live-edged
timber, while at Pompei’s much more precut
timber was used, and boats could be
built more lightly. Larger boats were built
at Pompei’s as well – up to 65’ in length.
After almost six years with Pompei’s, Tom
spent some time with Darlingberg Marine,
subcontracting on the fitout of steel boats.
Supposed to be working on the carpentry
aspect of the fitout, Tom learnt a lot about
cutting and welding steel. Tom also started
working for himself, completing fitouts for
people building their own steel boats –
mainly Gazelles. Still preferring to work on
wooden boats, in 1978 Tom started
volunteering on the refurbishment of the
Alma Doepel. Eventually employed as a
shipwright, Tom worked on her until she
was taken to Adelaide for her final fitout.
During this time Tom designed and built a
dinghy for himself, and one for Noel
Doepel, grandson of Frederik Doepel, the
original owner of the Alma Doepel. On one
trip, Noel rowed his dinghy along the
Murray, from above the weir to the mouth.
Tom also built a ship’s boat for the Polly
Woodside, and started building boats with
their owners, in the grounds of the Polly
Woodside museum.
In 1987, Tom attended a wooden boat
gathering in Ballarat organised by Richard
Munt, which evolved into the Wooden Boat
Association. For some time the association
held its meetings at the Polly Woodside,
either on the boat, or in the cottage.
Wooden boats really seemed to be facing a
rosy future at this time. Tom helped out
with the building of Enterprize, and worked
as boatman at Scotch College, and over the
next five years designed and then built
several boats with groups of students,
starting with a 9’ pram dinghy the first
year, a 16’ sprit rigged boat the second
year, a 22’ gaff rigged boat the next year,
and culminating in a 35’. Cutter.
During 1991 and 1992, Tom and other
members of the WBA built a boat for the
WBA, a slightly scaled down version of one
of Tom’s many designs. The timber was
donated by another club member, and Tom
had been asked to manage the building
process. Built at the Polly Woodside, she
was originally sprit rigged, and only later
converted to the gaff rig she now uses.
Launched at Albert Park Lake, and named
Begonia, she draws admiring comments
where ever she is seen. Tom was also
instrumental in arranging for the WBA to
make use of the Albert Park Yacht Club
facilities at a time when the Polly Woodside
site was reduced in area.
When Tom started, in 1960, he was told
that wooden boat building was a dying
trade, but in all of his time in the trade he
has spent only a few days out of work. A
prolific designer and builder, Tom still has a
keen interest in wooden boats, and believes
that the WBA can play a key role in
promoting the building of wooden boats
and in the preservation of the skills
associated with the craft.
If you have any ideas on who you would
like to see featured in future editions,
please let me know. Peter Batchelor.
Welcome to our new members: Ray Trevor and Adrian Mnew
W.B.A. (Vic.) Committee 2006-2007
President David Stott 9435 6623 - H
Vice President Tim Gay 9327 8095 - H
Secretary Rob Ripley 5941 6834 - H
Treasurer Richard Jackson 9479 2980 - W
Shavings Editor Peter Batchelor 9012 3381 - H
Librarian Andrew Cohen 9773 8624 - H
Merchandise Geoff Walters 9744 2332 - H
Models Co-ordinator Frank Raisin 9754 4217 - H
Boat Manager Graham Signorini 9391 5621 - H
Committee members Geoff Divko 9354 5349 - H
Hilton Vermaas 9574 7309 - H
Steve Clutterbuck 9327 7715 – H
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Paddle Steamer Curlip
The Horn timber was stressed into the
curve over a number of weeks and it was a
very exciting day when it went into
position. You can now see Curlip taking
shape.
Shipwright Bill Jones has been joined by
Murray Davidson who helps out when
needed. The Paynesville Boatyard cut the
aluminium bronze bolts for the Keel.
An open day was held on the 5 th August to
celebrate the start of construction on
Paddle Steamer Curlip.
The day was a huge success for everyone
involved with over 500 people taking the
opportunity to visit The Paddle Boat Shed.
The Rotary Club of Orbost provided a
sausage sizzle and Graham Fall put on a
supporting display of old axes and adze.
Graham has used some of these to help
shape various parts of the vessel.
Since then it has been a hive of activity at
the Shed and progress has been rapid. We
now have 8 complete frames in place and
20 floor timbers placed along the Hog. The
Deadwood has been attached and the Horn
timber secured into place.
The Steam engine has arrived from England
and will be on display at the Shed until it
goes to the Orbost Secondary College for
refurbishment. The Project is still looking
for a boiler for Curlip. We require a Scotch
marine wood fired boiler with 500 square
feet of heating tubes. If any one can help,
please contact one of the committee.
The Paddle Boat Shed is open 4 days a
week, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and
Saturday and visitors are always welcome
between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm.
Entry is by gold coin donation. We have had
members of the Wooden Boat Association
from Sydney and Tasmania call at the shed
while on holiday. It is always terrific to talk
about the project to like minded people.
Group tours of the project can be arranged
at any time by calling Gil Richardson – Ph:
51541853 or Jan Read – Ph: 51542922.
From the Editor
This month I’ve been working on an online
version of our library catalogue. Paper
copies of the catalogue, created by Geoff
Divko and maintained by Andrew Cohen,
have been made available on our library
shelves, but it was felt that an online
version would also be useful.
The catalogue is available now, on my
webserver, at www.batchelors.net/wba/
and should eventually become a link in the
Victorian section of the national WBA
website. Please let me know of any ideas
for improvements to it.
Please send items for Shavings to
Peter Batchelor
Phone: 9012 3381
Mobile: 0425 733 532
Email: peter@batchelors.net
Articles for Watercraft should be sent to
Jenny Stott.
Phone: 9435 6623
Email: djstott@alphalink.com.au
6

WBA - East Gippsland New
2006-2007 East Gippsland Branch Committee - PO Box 272, Bairnsdale 3875
Helmsman: Bernard O’Kelly 5152 6423
Coxswain (Vice-Helmsman) Laurence Marshall 5156 3071
No.1 (Secretary) John Nicholson 5156 7183
Purser (treasurer): Maureen Marshall 5156 3071
Bosun (Equipment) Colin Hunt 5156 6149
Signals (Publicity) Jacqui Nicholson 5156 7183
Archivist: (Library) Bill Jones 5157 5425
Events Coordinator: (new) Maureen O’Kelly 5152 6423
Committee Member Graham Holmes 5156 6813
Committee Member Janis Jones 5156 6813
The last Winter meeting for this year for the
WBAEG group was held at the Ferry Café in
Paynesville on Thursday, 14 th September.
Congregating at 6pm allowed everyone to
enjoy a delicious meal before the talk and
slide presentation began at 7.30, with a few
people arriving in time for the talk only.
As guest speakers we had Bairnsdale
identities, Jill & Clive Gaskill, who had
visited their son and daughter-in-law early
this year who are living in Bangladesh. To
set the scene both Clive and Jill wore
Bangladishi everyday national costume.
Due to the extremely low land level Jill and
Clive traveled a majority of their time in
boats. These varied in size, some
wooden, some steel. With camera at the
ready Clive photographed many of the
boats they traveled on and others that were
seen along the way.
Bangladesh is approximately twice the size
of Tasmania with a population of 150
million people. Most of the land lies in the
Ganges delta, subject to monsoons and
disastrous flooding. Every year a quarter of
a million people are made homeless when
low lying land becomes flooded.
Boats seen or traveled on ranged from the
primitive canoe-style to sophisticated,
modern ferries. One five-night trip they
enjoyed was to a National Park on board a
double decked steel ferry with cabins on the
top deck and galley below.
The skill of sculling has not been lost in that
country for they sometimes traveled in
small wooden boats with the boatman
standing at the back and, in time honoured
fashion, he would scull the boat along. This
was particularly useful when travelling
through national park areas where all eyes
were peeled to observe the wildlife on the
shore line and quietness was of the
essence.
Roughly made wooden fishing canoes
equipped with nets abound in this area.
Work boats, the “trucks” of the delta. were
mostly wooden, of varying size, fitted with
a woven, semi-circular covering to shelter
the family, for these boats were usually
also the family home. Particularly evident
in Chittagong, formerly a well-known pirate
area, were wooden boats of a distinctive
junk-style construction with high, curved
palm roofing to keep off the sun and some
of the monsoonal rain. A fire bowl for
cooking is usually in the boat’s bow.
Large, crudely made steel boats were used
as ferries which nudge into the river bank.
A narrow gangplank, without hand rail,
would be placed from the boat to land,
often at a precipitous angle, depending on
the height of water and the steepness of
the bank, allowing passengers to embark
7

and disembark. Workmen also transport all
goods on their backs along this same gang
plank.
Helmsman, Bernard O’Kelly, thanked Clive
and Jill for their interesting talk.
Bernard, himself, had created a flurry of
interest by motoring Nellie across from her
swing mooring in Newlands Arm to tie up at
the jetty just across from the ferry. Many
members took the opportunity to inspect
the boat in the fading daylight and some
had a cuppa on board after the evening
meeting had concluded.
Nellie had been gently and carefully
introduced to her proper environment on
1st September. This was an exciting
moment for Bernard and Maureen, after the
15 years that Bernard has spent building
this 34’ motor-sailer. Bernard is now busy
with fit-out and sea trials. He is a happy
The identity of this person will remain
secret – you can do your own detective
work if you wish.
Picture a member of the WBA lying on his
back under the keel of his nearly completed
renovated, wooden motor sailer, This
person is holding an activated angle
grinder; grinder slips, and, still working,
lands between his legs; at the top end of
his legs. In this position the angle grinder
busily masticates his heavy jeans,
underpants (see accompanying picture) and
attempts to do him personal, serious
damage (sorry, no photo submitted for
this).
No-one at home, (partner selfishly out at a
meeting). A rush to the linen cupboard to
get a towel to stop the blood flow – thinks
“I’d better get to hospital” (more than a
half hour drive away). However, further
thought causes him to remember that he
promised to mow a friend’s lawn. We all
know the price of petrol. Can’t spend
money on petrol just to get to hospital!
A Cautionary Tale
8
man, as evidenced by the constant smile on
his face.
The Secretary did a hurried ring-around
after receiving a late invitation for members
to take part in a round-Raymond Island
parade by boat held on Saturday, 23 rd
September. This parade was part of the
celebrations for the 150 th anniversary of the
first lease of Raymond Island. Bob Emsell
at the helm of Lady Bet, Graham Holmes in
Sharian III and Bernard O’Kelly in Nellie
were able to take part. This was one of the
days of extreme wind experienced recently
so these members are to be admired for
their intrepid spirits.
Many thanks to Maureen O’Kelly (for writeup)
and Graham Holmes (photographs)
whilst John and I were away for three
months. I am very grateful to you both.
Following is a description of the summer
programme activities that are being offered
this season. We are hoping to offer a
boating experience to anyone, not a
member, who would like to take part.
Members are reminded that this can only
be offered if your boat carries insurance.
Stop Press: On Tuesday, 26 th September
Maureen and Lawrence were married at the
Uniting Church, Bairnsdale in a private
ceremony. Everyone who has heard about
it is thrilled and wish the happy couple
everything that they would wish for
themselves.
Jacqui Nicholson, Signals
Load lawnmower onto trailer, attach trailer
to car and with blood soaked towel between
his legs drives himself to hospital. We
don’t really know what was said to him but
careful inspection and ministration by three
nurses (female) revealed that he was a
lucky man. Some butterfly clips saw him
walk out of the hospital the same day.
Many a slip “twixt the………………..!

Programme 2006/7
Sunday 12 November - Boating Day. Lake Tyers
Meet at Lake Tyers Fisherman’s launching ramp about 11am. Bring own food & drink. [turn
left off Lake Tyers Rd (in Lake Tyers) on to Gulley Rd and then Lakeside Drive to the end]
Sunday 10 December - Christmas Boating Day. Eagle Point
Arrive at Eagle Point pavilion (near Eagle Point Caravan Park) from 11.00am for a day of fun &
laughter and boating. Bring own food & drink. BBQ available for those who wish to use it.
Saturday 13 January - Boating Day. Nicholson River
Meet at Nicholson Jetty at any time during the day. -BBQ or Nicholson Pub or??for lunch & tea
Boat on River and stay overnight. Possibly see model boat activities
Sunday 11 February - Boating Day. Paynesville
Note the Hobart Wooden Boat Festival is on from 9 to12 February and some members
will be there
Arrive at Progress Jetty Paynesville from 11.00am. Bring own food & drink.
Sunday 11 March - Boating Day. Paynesville
Note the Goolwa Wooden Boat Festival is on from 10 to 13 March and some members
will be there
Arrive at Progress Jetty Paynesville from 11.00am. Bring own food & drink.
Easter 6 to 9 April
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 April - Boating at Paynesville (Kings Rd Boat Ramp)
Arrive at boat ramp from 11.00am. Bring own food & drink.
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 May - Proposed boating weekend at Mallacoota
This will include boating on the lake and hopefully some visits. Inspect the progress on the
Curlip , in Orbost, on the way up.
Sweet Success?
What weighs nearly 12 tonnes, is 15 metres
long, has a beam of 4 metres, and is made
of 15 million ice cream sticks?
In August 2005, Sea Heart Viking, a replica
Viking longboat was launched in
Amsterdam. Built over a two-year period by
Robert McDonald, two friends and several
volunteers, the planks were made of
laminated ice cream sticks. The birch-wood
sticks were provided by Unilever’s ice
cream maker, OLA, a main sponsor of the
effort, and by children who collected and
donated discarded sticks from around the
world.
The boat carried 20 people on her first
voyage, and there were plans for extended
sailing in Europe, and possibly even to
America. I came across an article on this
boat in an American magazine called Make,
which prompted me to do a search online
for more information about this unusual
vessel, but there seems to be very little
information about the fate of this boat.
There was a vague reference to her being
on display in Amsterdam. If anyone knows
more about what happened to her, please
let me know…
http://www.thegreenhead.com/watercooler
/2005/08/sea-heart-viking-ship-madefrom-15.php
has a short article and some
good photos from the launch.
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Revised Wooden Boat Association flyer
Over the last month the committee has been
working on a new version of our
membership flyer. This is now ready for
printing, so keep an eye out for it at future
WBA events.
Speak to any of the committee members if
you would like copies of the new brochure.
The flyer will also be available as a
downloadable document, for members to
print out, if they want to give flyers to
potential members, but haven’t got any of
the brochures to give out.
The First Annual Great Southern Sail.
In March of 2007 there are plans to organize a group sail from Geelong to
Melbourne with overnight stops in Portarlington and Werribee River.
This is a social sailing event and is open to all club members and their boats.
We hope to use this event to foster experience with cruising in small boats and a
spirit of camaraderie. We wish to promote opportunities for members to achieve a
nautical milestone in good sailing company that they may not have the opportunity
to do otherwise.
We also plan to have a really good time.
Though the whole event will cover three days, members may choose to sail on any
or all of the days
The proposed dates are 17 th 18 th and 19 th of March 2007.
The following weekend is also proposed as a second if the first is affected by
weather.
There is still much to plan and updates will be featured in each copy of Shavings.
Members who express their interest in the trip will be updated by post or email as
the event is planned.
This is a club event so members are encouraged to share their ideas in the
planning of the event.
Even if you have no boat but would like to be involved please let me know as some
members will be in need of crew.
I invite members to contact me to express their interest in participating.
Geoff Divko.
A/H: 9354 5349
Mobile: 0416 365 127
Email: geoffdivko@safe-mail.net
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The BOATYARD
Please notify Shavings Editor when items have been sold or withdrawn from sale.
For Sale: Jim Marvell. A Green Island 15
A superbly built example of the Green
Island 15 cruising dinghy –
epoxy/marine ply construction with an
epoxy-sheathed hull. Equipped with a
gunter rig, water ballast tanks and
provision for an outboard, she is both a
pleasing performer and capable in a
seaway. Easy to rig and launch from a
commercially built, registered trailer.
Sail it confidently one-up or with the
family. Included with the boat are
anchor and line, oars, a set of lightly
used tan sails (slab reefing).
For design specifications, visit Mike Robert’s website: www.headlandboats.com.
Asking $5400. Inspections at Dromana by appointment. Phone Geoff on 0419 382 739
For sale: Couta Boat “EMU” Jones
Built Approx 1902.
20’ LOD, 8’6”” beam, 3’ draft.
NZ Kauri, lead ballast
Lister 2 cyl Diesel
Cabin with 2 bunks and locker
Gaff Rigged, Hooper sails
Includes Steel lifting and transport cradle
and boat covers.
Price $19,500 Negotiable
Ph Max Wilson 0411 021 049.
Twin cylinder Blaxland motor
in top order $1000.
For more information, contact Kaye
Lynn at Marlo on 5154 8228
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Membership Application or Renewal – The Wooden Boat Association, Victoria
Subscription for the year 2006-2007: $45.00
Mail to: The Treasurer, WBA, PO Box 77, Glenhuntly, Vic. 3162
or PO Box 272, Bairnsdale, Vic. 3875
New Membership Renewal of Membership East Gippsland Member
Name: …………………………………………………………………………………………
Address: .………………..…………………………………………… Postcode: …………
Email: ………………………………………………………………………………………….
Phone: (H) …………………….. (W) ………………….. (Mob.) ……..………………….
Interests: (please circle) R/C, Model, Trailer, Rowing, Power, Sail, Canoe, Building.
“In order for you to use your boat at Association events, please complete the details on
the current Boat Insurance you hold.”
Boat type ………………….. Reg. No. ………………… Name ……………………….
Insurance Co. …………………….. Policy No. ………………… Expiry date ………..
SHAVINGS
If undelivered please return to:
The Wooden Boat Association
PO Box 77, Glenhuntly, Vic. 3163
Marine Timbers
For a full range of plywoods: Hoop Pine, Gaboon, Mahogony, Pacific Maple
Boatbuilding timbers include: Cedar, Teak, Hoop Pine, etc.
Bronze screws, nails and fittings, copper nails and roves.
Bote-Cote epoxy system, glues, Paints & Varnishes.
Books, plan catalogues & WBA merchandise.
3/10 Rutherford Rd (facing Kepler Crt.), Seaford Vic 3198
Phone: (03) 9775 0006, Fax. (03) 9775 1776
Web: http://www.marinetimbers.com.au
Email: martim@ozemail.com.au
“Wooden Boat” is
now back in stock
@ $13.50 each
Open here for Postal inspection
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