The Wooden Boat Centre’s (WBC) Quick and Dirty boat building competition is all about ingenuity and the ability to work well under pressure.
A reasonable knowledge of boats is also helpful.
On Thursday, November 13, teams of two had just three and a half hours to build a boat out of three sheets of four millimetre plywood, four pine battens, 100 cable ties, a handful of screws and three tubes of sealant.
The two teams of apprentices went rogue and merged, which meant they had double the materials to use – but their superyacht had to hold the four of them.
Only hand and cordless tools can be used for the build, these include hand planes, saws and chisels.
The event included teams from the WBC, and for the first time outside competitors including Sentinel Boats (tactical defence seaboat builder), RM Marine, Tasmanian Shipwrights and Cygnet Wooden Boats.
Once the deadline is reached, teams downed tools and had lunch.
They were free to use the afternoon to paint or decorate their boats.
The next day it was a showdown on the Huon River, lifejackets non-negotiable, wetsuits optional. Crews were tested on their boat building prowess and team work as they rowed around a course. They were all vying to win the Jack Cup, a gaudy Huon Pine trophy.
Holding up at the end was the team ‘Pollock’s Destroyer’, Jerome and Danny from the WBC – a triumph.
