An Unempiracle Health Check
15 years ago, a spectacular CYANZ fleet passes North Head- Image Mark Chew
Giving that I’m not a maritime professional, I seem to spend an unhealthy amount of time talking about wooden boats and the world around them.
Through conversations with shipwrights, festival organisers, racing officers, custodians, and brokers, without seeking it out, I get an impression of the perceived status of our small world of wooden boats. And if I had to summarise that impression, I would describe it as “downbeat, but not desperate.”
So now I’m a little confused! There are so many good things going on, so many positive stories and no shortage of activity, so why we are not brimming with optimism?
In an unscientific attempt to assess the state of the wooden boat community in this part of the world, I thought we might look at five different indicators.
Metric One - Boat Prices.
There seems to be little doubt that prices in Australia for quality wooden boats of excellent provenance in reasonable condition are very low. Take for example the immaculate 1939 S&S SIROCCO that has been on the market for over a year. One of the earliest non-US commissions for Olin Stephens, she was built out of perhaps the best boatbuilding timber in the world (Huon Pine) at the epicentre of Australia’s maritime industry in Battery Point. You could buy this fully restored, and fitted out gem for less than the price of a 20 year old Beneteau 393 of which exactly 600 units have been built. The driving force for these low prices seems to be the poor demand side rather than an overabundant supply.
Sirocco 1939 S&S
Of course, cheap wooden boats are a double-edged sword. Custodians are less likely to invest serious money in their boats knowing that their return, when eventually they pass them on, will be a fraction of what they spent. But on the other hand, it makes access to the boats achievable for younger and less well healed potential enthusiasts.
So why is the demand so poor and what can we do about it? Perhaps the values of wooden boat custodianship have fallen out of fashion over the last few decades. A respect for history, self-sufficiency and expertise through dedication, are all no longer front of mind to a prospective boat owner. Interior volume, comfort gadgets and minimal maintenance have trumped sea kindliness, elegance and aquired experience, but I’m optimistic that the pendulum is swinging. Satisfaction that doesn’t come from a screen or a bank balance may well become sought after again soon.
Metric Two - Festivals
Wooden Boat and Historic Maritime Festivals seem to be popping up like a 2020 Covid outbreak! This years AWBF by any measure was the most successful yet. Yes, perhaps some of that was pent up enthusiasm from the cancelled 2021 event, but with an on water waiting list of around 50 vessels and the highest visitations ever, in can only be classified as a roaring success. Between the 2023 and the 2025 Australian Wooden Boat Festivals I have on my radar a multitude of like-minded events.
The 2023 Festival - Image Mark Chew
Following the 2023 National Festival in Hobart there was the South Australian version held on Hindmarsh Island in April this year. In 2024 this event will be reverting to an October time slot and moving back to its spiritual home in Goolwa. Both moves will benefit a great local gathering.
Coming up next month from 14–15 October 2023 is the Whangārei Maritime Festival followed by the newly minted New Zealand Wooden Boat Festival to be held from 1st-3rd March 2024 at Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter. Its part of a series of Waitemata harbour based events, such as the Auckland Boat show, The Millennium Cup superyacht regatta, and Sail GP
The Paynesville Classic Boat Rally, is scheduled for March 1st, 2nd & 3rd , 2024
And the following week the Geelong Wooden Boat Festival will fill the Corio Bay waterfront.
And then before you know it we are back to Hobart for the 2025 Pacific themed event.
I’m sure there are plenty that I’ve missed… but the overall picture in terms of inclusive, non-competitive community events seems to be entirely positive. Which leads nicely onto my next metric…
Metric Three- Classic Yacht Racing
This seems to be where the biggest downturn has occurred over the last 20 years.
Visiting New Zealand with FAIR WINDS fifteen years ago we participated in Summer Classic Yacht Events with fleets of over 50 yachts. I have heard that you would be luck to see half this number now. In its early days Melbourne’s “Cup Regatta” was sailed with up to 40 boats, but last year had only 13 starters (which has led to the effort to revitalise the event). In New South Wales the Sydney-Hobart Veterans Regatta is tracking solidly, but with a limited pool of potential entrants, it’s hard to draw wider conclusions. The timber fleet from the SASC seems consistent at best. In regard to the more prestigious events, the wooden craft in the major ocean races in Australia are now a curiosity, whereas in the UK (Fastnet) and especially the US (Newport-Bermuda) fleets have seen increasing wooden boat participation over the last decade.
Racing on the Hauraki Gulf Image- Mark Bergin
So, what’s causing this decline in participation? Part of the answer must lie in technological development. I spent much of my time on the water racing a Sydney 38… and its FUN! It’s easy to handle, it goes where you point it, it’s a blast downwind, and it’s a great measure of your sailing prowess. At the end of the day, you hose it down, you step off and you go home. Compare to this the difficulty and expense of insuring wooden boats and the more substantial commitment needed from a crew, then the decline in numbers seems to be explainable. But the enjoyment we get from sailing Classics is harder to explain. They engender a slower, and perhaps deeper satisfaction, one that needs to be worked at. And in our time poor, instant gratification seeking society, that’s not popular.
I’m still a believer that for many of these craft, racing is an important part of their custodianship. Not only is it a great way to make sure that they are well looked after, (a well-prepared boat is more likely to win than a poorly maintained one) but it is also an expression of what many were designed to do. At the risk of being overly anthropomorphic, in the same way we don’t cage lions anymore at the zoo, we should never discourage classic racing craft from competing!
And so what do we do to get more boats back out on the racecourse? Be inclusive at every opportunity. Include and encourage female and youth participation at each step along the way. Never hint that a boat might not be “worthy” of joining a fleet. Ditch the pipe smoking, braid hatted, white bearded tropes. Value the traditions that matter, and ignore the ones that are just there to perpetuate a world that wasn’t always perfect. Continue to race hard.
And above all embrace the romance. There is no sensible reason to spend time and money racing old, outdated, and impractical yachts… so do it because it’s crazy and bring everyone you can along for the ride!
Metric Four- Restorations
This one is hard to judge. There are many great restorations underway out there in the boat yards of Australia and New Zealand with tens of millions of dollars being poured into the rebuilds. But I’m not sure if there are more or less than twenty years ago. Purely anecdotally, it seems to me that with many of the restorations I know of, the journey of that restoration is just as important as the destination… the final product… the shining finished piece. Many owners want to experience the rebirthing process firsthand rather than just write the cheques, which must surely be a step in the right direction.
One of the other concerns I have in terms of restoration, is that given the limited resources, there seems to be very little guidance as to which craft are actually worth the effort. Two hard nosed questions are sometimes avoided when it comes to restorations. Is the unrestored craft worth the effort? And will it provide me with the experiences I want once the restoration is complete?
Metric Five- The Traditional Shipwright industry.
I’ve spoken to the principals of half a dozen shipwright firms recently. They all seem busy and every single one of them is looking for staff. The need seems to be across the spectrum from apprentices to experienced seniors. The shortage seems to stem from the fact that many skilled shipwrights have found higher paid (and perhaps easier) jobs in different but overlapping fields such as specialist construction. The talent shortage will eventually have to flow through to the customer in the form of higher hourly rates making wooden boat ownership less attractive. Creating subsidised apprenticeship positions is an obvious long-term solution but how we keep those people, once trained, in an industry that is not inherently lucrative or stable is something that needs thought.
Well there’s my personal snapshot from the very limited viewpoint of a Melbourne Wooden Boat owner. I’d be interested in your thoughts as to how other parts of the Southern Wooden Boat World are faring