For most locals, the Wooden Boat Centre (WBC) is the place you drive past on the way to the supermarket.
In the wooden maritime world, however, it’s a beacon — the only boatbuilding school in Australia dedicated solely to the building and restoration of wooden boats.
The WBC is best known for its year-long, 38‑hour‑a‑week course, where each student receives tailored tuition from a master shipwright. This year, four new students began the program on Monday, February 2 — one from the Huon Valley and the others from Victoria, New South Wales, and England.
Tilly Finlayson is the one who hasn’t had to uproot herself to the same extent as the others. Born in Scotland, she spent around three years living on a 46‑foot fibreglass boat with her family. They moved to the Huon Valley four years ago, settling in Crabtree. After finishing school, she completed a Certificate II in Mechanics at the Huonville Trade Training Centre. Then she made a pact with her dad — if he covered the course fees, she would build him a boat.
Andrew Pamisano, a biomedical technician at Northshore Hospital in Sydney, has been gradually edging his way toward the WBC course — even if he didn’t initially know it. His woodworking hobby, with no shed and only a backyard workspace, began to take hold. He taught himself joinery in reverse, restoring old furniture for charity shops and eventually maintaining the pews and doors of a nearby cathedral. Then he started building wooden kayaks, though it’s unclear if any were completed.
So 2026 is Andrew’s wildcard year. He’s given up his 28‑year rental property, put his job on hold, and brought himself to Franklin — ready to absorb everything he can.
Jess Suffolk holds the trophy for having travelled the furthest to reach this year’s boatbuilding course — all the way from Suffolk, England. She grew up near the Deben River, close to a boatyard, and studied dinghy sailing at college on the Isle of Wight. Back home, she began working at the boatyard; with no prior experience, she was put to work painting and finishing, as well as driving tractors — pulling around what had previously been WWII bomb trailers.
In a similar capacity, she spent time working at a few different yards, including on the docks at Falmouth, until circumstances pushed her to make a change. A session with Google led her to the WBC, and she’s been in the country for a week.
Oliver Lawrence comes from the Yarra Valley in Victoria. His brush with boating happened during school holidays visiting family in Port Lincoln, South Australia. Messing around in sailing dinghies didn’t hold his interest.
He became a carpenter, working on renovations, retrofitting, custom shed designs — whatever came along. Throughout that time, he followed online the seven‑year restoration of the sailboat Tally Ho in the US state of Washington and now regrets not becoming involved. After an unpleasant encounter at work, he decided it was time for a change.
Now he’s focused on learning new skills over the next 12 months while boarding on a property with several friendly, furry Maremmas.
