With over 30 years experience in wooden boat building and repair we are pleased to discuss any aspect of Wooden boat construction, mast and spar construction and repair, as well as outfitting boats of all construction types.

Tony O'Connor is delighted to be the Australian builder for Francois Vivier's gaff yawl Jewell and is the authorised supplier of CNC kits for Jewell ,and will be happy to supply complete or partial kits for other Vivier designs to costumers requirements.

Tony is also available to cut CNC parts to order for customers.

30th anniversary in 2021!

"April 2021 marked my 30th year as a boatbuilder. When I first got started in wooden boatbuilding in the 1980’s my main interest was in traditional boatbuilding, particularly clinker planking,and my first paying job after qualifying was to build a 24’ replica of a thames rowing skiff.

 I can’t remember the exact figure but it involved several thousand small copper nails and an equal amount of even tinier copper roves. 

Over the years I got to build and repair many traditional clinker boats and I have to admit that counting nails became a familiar exercise, along with wondering if there was possibly an easier way of fastening all those nails.

Nowadays almost all of the clinker planking I do is epoxy glued , so I suppose modern technology has provided an answer , or at least an alternative. Epoxy glued clinker is much easier and faster, and for amateurs much more forgiving than traditional clinker, the only drawback is cleaning up excess glue, which I find is best done as soon as possible before the glue has set.

Whilst traditionally built boats may be pleasant to work on ,the fact is that the majority of work for a boatbuilder these involves a wide range of building techniques, both traditional and modern, and I have found over the years that the variety of work I do is probably the thing I like most about my job. So I find that within a short space of time I can go from traditional planking repairs to interior fitting out, and then to composite construction and/or repair. 

Being a wooden boatbuilder does involve working on boats that aren't made of wood, I work on fibreglass and aluminium boats too, these boats have plenty of wooden parts usually, and the better quality boats can have some very fine quality woodwork in them which I find very satisfying to work on ."

O'Connor Wooden Boats. Unit 4, 12 Day rd. East Rockingham. 6168 Western Australia. Phone 08 95921826.

Mobile 0423 284502

Wooden boat kits in Australia

Restoration and repair of wooden boats in Western Australia

email: oconnorwoodenboats@outlook.com