Wooden Boat Association of Cairns in Cairns, Queensland, Australia | Community organisation

Wooden Boat Association of Cairns

Locality: Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Address: 68 Tingira Street, Portsmith 4870 Cairns, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.woodenboatscairns.com.au

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24.01.2022 Both gunwale sponsons are now fixed to the Pathfinder permanently. Bedded into sealing compounds, well-fastened, and just itching to bounce off a wharf somewhere.... * cough * A huge effort is going into the transom at the moment, with the hope of having all the prettywork inserts finished and glued into position before we slow down for the Christmas period. The pics show the natural progression of templating, fitting, glueing and clamping in place. A very pleasing display of timberwork and teamwork by Marc and our members. (Who said Naval Architects aren't handy with tools...?)

22.01.2022 The cooler weather is causing the sandflies at Tingira street to slow down quite a bit of late. Unfortunately it's having the same effect on our members......until the second coffee kicks in... ...but we're battling on regardless. The Pathfinder is having final fittings of the cockpit seats prior to their being painted, further work on developing the transom polished timber inlay continues, and of course our reorganisation of our facility is almost complete - along with anoth...er huge ute-load of rubbish taken to the dump. They like us there. Our mound of dirt fill has finally been dispatched into the low spots where lugger Floria used to sit, and the site looks much better for it. New woodworking benches are also under construction, and will soon be installed. Meanwhile, much design and development work has been under way in various Cairns and Atherton suburbs on super secret projects!!! Next month we'll be race-testing at least three manually-propelled boats. Two will have' flipper' type propulsion units operated by hand-cranking, and the third will be driven by a pedal-powered twin-propeller arrangement. Of course, we'll have the helicopter rescue people on speed dial just in case. More soon...!

21.01.2022 Work on our boats continues..... Oak ribs are being installed to brace the canoe's structure, and they're working an absolute treat. Mind you, the methodolgy being developed and used to get them properly into position is an absolute joy to behold. Our members are nothing if not determined and resourceful. The Pathfinder's cockpit decks are in the process of being fitted permanently, with hinged access panels for below-deck stowage compartments. The removable bowsprit - made from Northern Scented Rosewood - is completed, and will be bolted into position soon. The rosewood is a beautiful timber to use, nice crisp shavings from the plane and a lovely colour. * sigh *

20.01.2022 Aaaaand now the starboard sponson has been installed.... Laid in quite snug and looks a treat! Once fitted permanently, they'll had nice polished stainless keepers (retainers) around the bow and on both port and starboard quarters. Very pleased with the result!

19.01.2022 Today, we avoided boatwork for a change and concentrated on much-needed maintenance and repairs to our old clubhouse, - specifically repairing the floor bearers. This of course involved a bunch of 'older' blokes climbing into a 4' space (yes 4 feet, we're still not convinced that metric stuff is going to catch on) and not bellyaching too much about it. Reg, one of our southern members was in town and he duly volunteered ( ) to help out. After being warned about snakes he w...as a little jittery, but that changed into absolute stark terror when another member grabbed a piece of plastic ag pipe and moved it around next to him. Of course, that delayed the job for another ten minutes while we recovered from his reaction! Still, all in good fun and most of the job was completed to 'better than new' status! And we believe Reg is now back at his accommodation 'having a good lie down'! Shiploads of fun, truly!

17.01.2022 Little activity here on facebook doesn't mean no activity with WBAC. We recently had the annual Great Tinaroo Raid at lake Tinaroo (with one night down to 2 degrees ), but we'll have a grand update on that soon. In the meantime, the Pathfinder took a significant step forward. She has now been lifted onto our steel building jig to facilitate the installation of the centreboard and to fine tune the associated lift & lower mechanism.... Also, this raises her to provide a much more comfortable height for working on the transom, rudder pintles, etc. And of course the painting continues....

16.01.2022 Great boat scenes on Lake Tinaroo.

15.01.2022 Pic taken during Tuesday's under-floor repairs, and an appropriate caption would be: "Okay, we managed to get ourselves in here, now who's going to get us out??!!"

15.01.2022 Much ado happened today at the clubhouse. Things got that hectic that we had to severely curtail the coffee breaks. (Yeah, terrible state of affairs, isn't it?) The Flareline was finally transferred from her trailer onto the dock blocks for some lower hull filling, fairing and sanding (for joy, for joy). It was a complicated affair, with Brendon earning 50 demerits for failing to detach the boat from the trailer when we attempted to lift it. We tried to beat him around the he...ad and shoulders but the bugger was just too quick for the rest of us. Nevertheless, all was achieved quite safely and she's now sitting quite securely ready for work to commence. Likewise, the Pathfinder's prettywork transom inserts are complete (with just a little trimming to go), the sponson's counterbored screw holes are plugged, glued, and sanded, and soon the bowsprit will be attached permanently. Then it's the aft skeg keel, and then the hollow bird's-beak mast will get inserts top & bottom - with the traditional coin already stepped into one of the inserts.

15.01.2022 Our two woodworking benches are coming along just fine. Made from H2 treated construction grade pine so they can stand up to the outdoors area. They've been laminated & glued & through-bolted, had the 19mm construction ply bases screwed on, and the support brackets made from steel box section. We'd love to sit them onto the ground but the termites would love that even more, so steel supports are the way to go. And then we get to mount them on the side of our container.... Soon, the shavings will fly!

14.01.2022 Now that we're back into the swing of things, the activity at the WBAC clubhouse has reached fever pitch. New adult size sawhorses are being made (the ones that you don't have to bend over when using them ); marking out for the cabin is taking place on the Pathfinder and the Rudder & centreboard are ready; Roger's canoe is getting it's seats & gunwales; and a couple of recalcitrants have been sentenced to shovelling dirt to fill in a low spot (no, no convicts here). Thanks heaps to Ports North for supplying the dirt to fill in the low spots and thereby getting rid of the mozzie problem!!

14.01.2022 The very last of our site updates and modifications will be finished this week. The roof over the hardstand between the containers went up last Tuesday like clockwork, showing the value of prior planning and good design. Beams, purlins, battens and then corrugated iron roofing seemed to just fly into position with us old blokes operating like a well-oiled machine. Well, almost..............truth is there were a lot of creaking joints on the machine and it ran out of steam a ...few times until replenished and recharged with coffee and a chocolate bickie or two, but it's done, and done well! In the meantime, some boatwork has continued. The motor and controls are out of the Flareline, giving us access to the entire boat and the interior is almost completely stripped out. Photos to follow soon. The Pathfinder has her centreboard installed and operational, with more painting (of course) being carried out. The timber for the gunwhale rubbers/sponsons and the transom has been given it's first machining for colour-matching and will soon be cut to size. The end is within sight....

14.01.2022 A new milestone's been reached on the Pathfinder! Today, the port gunwale sponson was trimmed up, prepped, laid onto the port sheer line and fastened up tight. And doesn't it look an absolute treat!! We've changed over to Kwila instead of the N.S. Rosewood and our team worked it in beautifully. It will ultimately be removed again after it's had a chance to settle in position, be clear-coated through 360 degrees and then resecured and bedded into a polyurethane compound. ... The sponson was also fitted so it has a 5mm lip on the topside to act as a toe rail. Starboard side coming up.

13.01.2022 The ongoing floor repairs are now well under way, and due for completion this coming week. We intend to celebrate byplaying cha-cha music and running a conga line of available members. And yes, we have the ambulance on speed-dial thanks.

13.01.2022 All sorts of events are happening of late. Shipping container repairs and even some wooden boat work. And coffee. The one sure thing you can guarantee about steel, it rusts in a marine environment and lets in the rain - which is a bit problematic in Far North Queensland. So we have to fix things quite regularly. Luckily, within our membership we have a staggering amount of marine tech experience. Add to that a willingness to get in and get the job done and VOILA! Things get f...ixed correctly, as you can see with Marc doing a bit more painting on a container. He's also started to inset the pretty work on the Pathfinder's transom. More pics on that soon. Our quite extensive library is also undergoing a transition thanks to Sir Dermot (our voluntary librarian). It's changing from a whole bunch of books, magazine collections, boat plans and so on to an actual library! And last of all, a pic of our club photographer Glen standing on Cook's Lookout on Lizard Island. This is one of the spots where Lt. James Cook climbed to so he could plot a way through the Great Barrier Reef. A little bit of history.

10.01.2022 This lovely girl arrived at WBAC today, ready to have a bit of a nip & tuck here & there, along with a little cosmetic surgery and makeup. Brendon's 19 foot Hartley Flareline is here for the final stages of her restoration, some minor hull repairs, and then the sanding, filling, sanding and painting to bring out her best features. Definitely one of Hartley's best designs!

09.01.2022 Two weeks ago, WBAC held our annual Great Tinaroo Raid. Our hosts were the always-accommodating Tinaroo Sailing Club, and it was such a great weekend at a great venue! All sorts of secret boat business was carried out during the past 12 months, and it culminated in all sorts of weird, wonderful and whacky inventions that proved themselves during the inaugural Peculiar Propulsion Race, followed by the Great Tinaroo Seagull Race - held not for the feathered variety but for the ...British Seagull Outboard kind. Whilst some did not prove successful, great fun was had 'just mucking about in boats'. The Tablelands put on a magnificent few days weather of bright, clear, cloudless, blue skies and night time brought the ideal weather for fireside banter with great friends. The races were interesting to say the least, but no more interesting than the boats fielded - ranging from canoes and kayaks of both timber and GRP construction to boats of long length, a steamboat, an epoxy-sheathed balsa dinghy, and right down to owner-built old-style flatties. Propulsion for the PPR centred on whale flukes to divers' flippers to even an eggbeater in a tube - and yes it finished the race. Of course, having the race downwind probably assisted some contestants. Plans are already on the drawing board for next year....

09.01.2022 The one great think about being an old bloke (apart from not having fallen off the perch yet), is that over the decades you've picked up an awful lot of experience and skills on the way. Take today for instance. Four blokes get together, one a Naval Architect, one a Truckie, one a Master Mariner of many years standing, and one a Naval Shipwright. Add in a cubic metre of crusher dust, around 200 concrete pavers, water, formwork, shovels, rakes, sledgehammers and VOILA!!... Around 10 square metres of paved area in front of one of our containers. Of course, there were also 4 sore backs, many sore joints & muscles, and several cups of coffee, biscuits, and much laughter. Old blokes rule!!

09.01.2022 Well, like the rest of Oz we're all restricted with travel so not much happening around the clubhouse at the moment. However, that does NOT mean our members are sitting on their derrieres! Much is happening at our homes and here's a few photos to prove it. Just click on the photos for the explanations.

09.01.2022 The workbench is in at last. It was really interesting trying to find a straight area on the side of the container.... no, make that impossible. So there was a great deal of packing out and packing up the supporting brackets. Now, all good. And the Pathfinder has entered a new phase. Marc is mocking up the bespoke rudder pintles that have to be made, and taking into account the size & swing of the tiller arm. Soon, he'll be starting the polished timber inlays on the transom... itself. Alternating circumferential bands of Yellow Walnut and Northern Scented Rosewood against the bone white of the hull will be absolutely stunning. More soon......

08.01.2022 One of our hidden secrets is the WBAC Library. Over the years we have collected boxloads of books, magazines, plans and templates of many types. We've even had blokes arriving at the gate with bootloads of very old complete series of boat magazines that belonged to a family member and they didn't want to see their part in history lost. Those collections and books and similar treasures now form part of our library. And the library has been the subject of an almost-endless amou...nt of sorting and classification in the past couple of months, primarily by 'Sir' Dermot. He gained the nicknmae by virtue of being a dyed in the wool republican, and Irish by birth - so it was a natural progression given our collective sense of humour. But enough of that! Here he is, deep in though, up to his armpits in tomes of a myriad nature, planning his next step.

05.01.2022 The rearrangement of our boundaried area in Tingira Street is now complete. Many, many hours of digging, spreading dirt & gravel & cracker dust, paving, concreting, tripping over things (and each other) are now behind us. Old muscles are feeling very sore but happy we did it all. To explain, our area of tenancy was dogleg in shape, but is now rectangular, and to comply with that change we had to move the blue container to a new position. That meant all sorts of work at short ...notice but our dedicated team always has enjoyed a challenge. It's just that being somewhat 'mature aged' we approach it in a different manner. (we hope & pray someone else will do it!) Alas, that was not to be, so we got stuck into it. After all the prep work was done (and the ibuprofen, aspirin, and other stronger medications got a workout), the wonderful people at Century Cranes came to our rescue and lifted the blue container from it's old spot to the new position, and what professional people they are! In half an hour the whole job was done, and spot on in placement. Thanks to Scott and his team!! A cleanup of the temporary tarp cover around the Pathfinder workbay was quickly completed despite the wind being strong enough to blow the spots off a dalmation, and now we're ready to go back to doing what we do best. Coffee breaks interspersed with building and repairing wooden boats. And of course, many thanks must go to Ports North for their continuing support of our club.

04.01.2022 Well, we were hoping it wouldn't, but the corona virus situation has severely curtailed our activities. Roger has taken his canoe home to work on it just to ensure it keeps moving along, and Tom's pathfinder has components also being progressed at home. Our clubhouse will be attended and checked frequently, but rarely manned until the situation improves. In the meantime, we'll endeavour to bring you selections of pics from previous Tinaroo Raids, and also small articles fea...turing our members' boats. - or in some cases, member's fleets! Take care out there, we're all looking forward to better times.

04.01.2022 Now that some of the restrictions have been lifted, that means we're re-starting our regular mornings (Tuesdays & Saturdays) at the Tingira Street clubhouse. Of course, the social distancing requirements means that we're not able to recommence the Handkerchief Dancing and Hugging sessions, so we've replaced them with more 'coffee & tall tales' breaks. And believe me, there are some tall tales told! Soon, we'll also have Brendon's 19' Hartley Flareline moved into the first wor...kbay to start her completion - something we've all been looking forward to for some time. Stay tuned......

04.01.2022 At the moment we're still doing a big cleanout/cleanup of old and unneeded bit & pieces, so not a lot of boatbuilding going on. This will change very shortly, and visitors will see an interesting addition to our Tingira Street site very soon, so keep an eye on us. Our members continue to work on their projects at home, and one of the success stories is Dermot's boat. Once a partially-complete project that was showing signs of weathering (see pic #1), the sailing dinghy has ...undergone a complete metamorphosis. A drastic alteration in design with the change from a centreboard to twin bilge keels; much sanding, filling, fairing & sanding again to sort out a deal of rough edges & joins; epoxy sheathing & more filling & fairing; a bespoke paint job; a new mast & sail made to a bespoke design; and voila: A swan has replaced the duckling! Great job Dermot, you should be very pleased with your efforts!!

04.01.2022 After all the recent moving, fixing, renovating and rearranging we decided to have a bit of a break for a while, sit back, kick our shoes off and set a spell. Of course we didn't. We noticed there was a 4 metre gap between the orange & blue containers that was just crying out for a weather proof cover. And, seeing as we had a whole bunch of old sails and rope and so forth, and we have a bunch of old sailors who are used to sails & rope and so forth, we put 2 and 2 together. ... ...and decided to build a metal roof. Shortly after we decided on the metal roof Murphy clicked into gear and we've not had a rain-free day since! It's slow going, but we'll get there eventually. In the meantime, the Pathfinder has had a test fit of the centreboard - which failed because someone fitted cheek pieces that were too thick, so said someone was then sentenced to removing the too-thick sections. More painting inside the small forward section of cockpit was needed, and when only a small job is required then a small painter is needed. Goodonyer Sheila! And just to let everyone know how great Cairns is, even the local bitumen plant is situated at the end of a rainbow. More soon!

01.01.2022 Whilst we complete a few further details to our re-organisation of the clubhouse and surrounds - with more news on that to be advised soon - the Pathfinder has been slowly having her flashy bits applied and touched up. Internal decks and stowage compartments completed, cockpit seating almost finished, various tweaks to the transom arrangement, siting of the boomkin retainer, and painting of the upper deck. The centreboard housing internal coatings are complete, and the centre...board is being installed very soon along with the raising & lowering arrangement. She will be one comfortable boat.

01.01.2022 Pathfinder now has her port gunwale sponson attached permanently. Sealed with a 2-pack clear and bedded into polyurethane compound, it ain't coming off any time soon. We may have done more today, but a weather bureau-predicted monsoonal 'shower' (read: bloody great deluge) interrupted proceedings.... One Shipwright was not happy as his toolbag was out in the open. Turns out the toolbag is waterproof.......and holds water....and that's the errant toolbag in the foreground of the pic below.