OUR MISSION: TO ENSURE THE TRADITIONAL CRAFT OF WOODEN BOATBUILDING ENDURES AND REMAINS A RELEVANT PART OF CONTEMPORARY MARITIME CULTURE.

We are a community owned, member led organisation creating awareness and appreciation of wooden boat building methods by showcasing the craft at festivals and events in partnership with similar organisations. And we are progressing the historic boat building heritage of the township of Franklin and supporting and promoting the Tasmanian wooden boat building community to the world.

The organisation’s object is to pursue the following charitable purposes:

Promoting the culture of wooden boat building by:

• creating awareness and appreciation of wooden boat building methods

• showcasing the craft at festivals and events in partnership with similar organisations

• progressing the historic boat building heritage of the township of Franklin

• supporting and growing the Tasmanian wooden boat building community to the world

Growing the craft through:

• skills training of wooden boat building and associated maritime craft

• using traditional methods to build new boats

• restoring heritage wooden boats

We welcome locals and visitors, individuals and groups to drop by for a guided tour to explore the age old craft of wooden boat building.

Learn the Craft

You may like to enrol in one of our many courses to experience the satisfaction, achievement and camaraderie of hand building wooden boats at Australia’s only wooden boat building school operated at the Wooden Boat Centre.

We offer a 1-Year Wooden Boatbuilding course and a variety of shorter courses that will give you hands on experience in both traditional and modern boat building techniques.

For further reading we're proud to include a paper on our founding philosophy here, including an introduction by David Hume. You can also read the inaugural lecture given by John Young on the History and Ethos of the Wooden Boat Centre- Tasmania here.

Watch Our Short Introductory Video