The Wooden Boat Centre has built various hard chine skiffs, dories or similar vessel, many clinker dinghies and seven cruising yachts, about 30 feet on deck,as the product of student work, mainly in the Diploma course. Other boats have been produced by the Wooden Boat Centre over the years, in a variety of styles. Some examples include Iain Oughtred "Grebe", "Robin" and "Acorn" design as well as Tasmanian designs such as the "Piner's Punt", Murry Isles "Tarana", and John Atkins "Erika" design.

Examples of the work of the Wooden Boat Centre are illustrated.

1. Betsy Walton. 
A 4.2m punt style workboat designed by Murray Isles and used as an exercise in hard chine construction in l995. 
She has a cross-planked, caulked bottom and clinker sides. 
The boat was named after the "ferry girl who rowed passengers from the river port at Franklin upstream to the terminus of the coach road to Hobart at Huonville". The boat has been used to lay moorings, as a stable platform for the construction of boat houses and jetties, as a rescue boat and a cargo boat, carrying firewood retrieved from the Huon River to fuel the Wooden Boat Centre’s steam box.

2. Foster 10 Dinghies.
These delightful Huon Pine rowing and sailing dinghies are becoming increasingly popular both in Tasmania and on the Australian Mainland. One of them was recently exported to Japan. Dimensions are 10' overall with a beam of 4'2" with a tall gunter rig which gives them a good sailing performance.

The boat was designed by Bill Foster specially for the clinker construction part of the Diploma course, as a development of a dinghy he designed and built himself as a 21st birthday present for one of his daughters. Twelve of them have been built so far by students of the Wooden Boat Centre and the demand appears to be keen.

They are light enough to go on a car roof rack or to be hoisted aboard a larger yacht. They tow and row well and make ideal sailing boats for families with young children. Only the best materials are used including Huon Pine planking, grown Huon Pine knees and breasthook and transom, Oregon spars and Celery Top Pine ribs and keel.

 

3. Carvel Yachts
These are commissioned in advance.  The boats provide students with the unique educational opportunity of carrying out the whole building procedure of a traditional vessel from lofting to launching and sea trials. 
Yachts built at the Wooden Boat Centre include Lady Franklin , designed by H.E. Cox of New Zealand in l948 and Atlas , designed by graduate Jim Brooke-Jones. 
Then followed three Lyle Hess cutters: Wild Honey (Nov. 2000), Ublque (Dec. 2002) and Zuline (July 2004) In April 2006 the school launched Huon Kelly, a 30-foot motor sailer in Huon Pine and Celery Top.
People interested in commissioning similar boats are invited to contact us.

     "Lady Franklin"

    "Zuline"

    "Huon Kelly"

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