An Historic Gem - The Pedalled Paddle Wheeler "SUNBEAM" circa 1870

Do you know anything about this boat or similar designs?

Adrian Brewer  proprietor of "Floataboat)" in Melbourne,has come across a record of an interesting craft that initially plied the waters of Albert Park Lake, and appears to have ended its days on the Gippsland Lakes.

Adrian has asked -

“Wondering if  anyone has information on an old excursion vessel called “Sunbeam”.

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Check out "The Boatyard"

Looking for a boat? some good ones in the "For Sale or Wanted" section - some FREE.

check it out!

1898 Hobson’s Bay “Flattie” (Bob Morgan)

After a nearly two year restoration my 14’6’’ 1898 Hobsons Bay Flattie “Larrigai” was re-launched at the 2018 Paynesville Wooden Boat Show.

It also appeared the following week at the Geelong Wooden Boat Festival sitting on its trailer. This is the “Larrigai” saga.

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Why Build a Wooden Boat?

Why build a wooden boat?  Maybe we all have different reasons – but I built mine because I wanted to go fishing on Port Phillip Bay, and I didn’t want to spend the money on a new boat, or take a chance on someone else’s reject

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Building the Alma J. (Ken MacMahon)

I built three wooden boats as a teenager – a kayak, a 10’moulded plywood dinghy, and a sailfish. Then, for forty years, my attention was diverted into bushwalking, travel and family activities.

When I retired four years ago I built a nice, big shed and searched for a new boat building project. My main selection criteria were as follows: a construction method that suited my skill level, big enough to be stable and comfortable for an older person, able to be set up and sailed single-handed, easily trailerable, and it had to be a pretty boat.

I eventually settled on a Penny Fee, a five metre long glued lapstrake sailing dinghy designed by Ian Oughtred. I bought plans and a kit from Robert Ayliffe of Straydog Boatworks (South Australia). The kit includes moulds and plywood planking. These were laser cut in Melbourne, so I picked them up directly from the factory. As the planks are cut out of 2400 x 1200 sheets there is a bit of scarfing to be done. Small laser marks are aligned with a string line to ensure the finished planks are the correct shape.

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About the Wooden Boat Association

The Wooden Boat Association was formed in 1989 for people who enjoy wooden boats and wooden boat building.

Members appreciate wooden boats for their aesthetic qualities, the beauty of the boats and the materials from which they are constructed, and the pure romance of wooden boats.
In this age of mass production, each wooden boat is as individual as her owner.

Join the Wooden Boat Association today, by completing our online membership form.

Find out more about the Wooden Boat Association

The Williamstown St Ayles Skiff Project (Jane Howard)

  The St Ayles Skiffs are 22 foot row boats that are similar to ancient Scottish craft used for fishing and recreation around the Scottish Isles. The St Ayles Skiff was designed for communities to build and own to encourage community engagement and build skills both in the building and the rowing. These boats are now being built around the world for this purpose. The Williamstown group had its inaugural meeting in July 2016. A core group of 12 women members have been active in raising funds, attending other events here in Victoria (Geelong and Warrnambool), Tasmania and South Australia, and meeting monthly. The commitment by the women to attend on a weekly basis for the build has been phenomenal. The Williamstown build was inspired by the Franklin Women's Build in Tasmania. Their boats (x4 now) are moored on the river and accessible at all times for casual rows and competitions.

In February a small group attended the Hobart Wooden boat festival and participated in the mini raid return to Franklin over four days. This introduced us to people from around Australia, Scotland, England, Holland and New Zealand and gave us an amazing opportunity to see the full impact that this growing sport engenders.We are auspiced by Outlets Community Co-Op in Newport who are very supportive. As part of Outlets we qualify as a non-for-profit group. We have a committee and membership structure. At the beginning of the year the Welsh Church (which built and rows the St Ayles Skiff “Cariad”), kindly allowed us to set up to build our St Ayles Skiff in their shed at Seaworks, Williamstown.

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Club Night with FloataBoat May 2017

Another great night at the Albert Park Yacht Club rooms (APYC) – a great turnout.

It was good to see visitors and their model boats from Broadmeadows, the Albert Park Yacht Club with Chris’ and Paul’s twin model yachts, Surrey Park Model Boat Club with a model of the “African Queen” as it looked in the film, and the Lake Illawong Model Boat Club (Patterson Lakes) displaying 3 models which included a vintage model of the pilot vessel “Wyuna” that had been made by Rosey as an 8 year old.

Our club also had models on display from David O’Dempsey, Alex and Stewart Pigdon with their lovely model Couta boat, and Graham Signorini’s giant model of the cutter “Madge”. This last boat is so detailed, I suspect that Graham soaked the original cutter until it shrank to its current size!  

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Building A Wooden Boat?

If you are building a Wooden boat of any size, building a model wooden boat, - own a wooden boat, or you are interested in building a wooden boat of your own, THIS CLUB MAY BE FOR YOU.

Every member of the WBA has at least one of these interests, and you will find like minded men, women, and the occaisional youngster, willing to share experiences - and if required, offer advice and assistance.    Of course we enjoy using our boats together, too.

More information required?    Email  info@woodenboat.asn.au  and we will be in touch.

Rescued on Westernport Bay

A great forecast for the day, and a mate rings up to see if I would like to go fishing. I have to think carefully about this, as he doesn’t have a wooden boat! On the other hand, his boat is bigger, he is doing the towing and launching, responsibility for finding the fish and shouldering the blame for failure is his, I don’t have to spend an hour cleaning up etc. when I get home …. and his missus is a fabulous cook who always forces his friends to stay for homemade delights with accompanying beverages.

I accept.

So I pick up the 3rd mate, rendezvous with the skipper and we head off to Warneet to catch the tide.

All is well, although the skipper did drop a bucket accidentally over the transom, which managed to snap off the transponder on the way past……. But we simply drop into “what we used to do before transponders” mode and head out.

Well you know what fishing is like, you sit and chat for 4 or 5 hours, throw the keepers in the fridge and the others overboard, then getting tired ,and having eaten all the food you go home! Usually!!

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