The Living Boat Trust is committed to preserving and passing on knowledge and skills to do with boats and boat building. The LBT committee has decided that embarking on a programme of creating and delivering courses in traditional boat building as well as other types of boat construction, tool making, repairing and maintaining boats, oar and yuloh making will assist with this mission.

This oar making course will commence at 10 am Monday 24 May 2010, to be delivered by John Young; sailmaster, boatbuilder (one of the founders of the Shipwrights Point School of Boatbuilding) and life member of the LBT. The course will consist of four, weekly, four hour sessions and will cost $150 per person. There is room for 10 students, each of whom will make a pair of 7 - 8 foot oars. Those students who donate their completed oars to the LBT  (we are in constant need of good oars for our busy fleet of Grebes and other boats for hire and for use in our row and sail training activities) will receive a course fee discount of $60 per person.

Students will not only make a set of oars but also will learn about the history and evolution of oars and paddles and will learn how to use a spar gauge. Students are encouraged to bring along tools such as no. 7 try planes, drawknives, spokeshaves and will learn how to use and maintain these tools. Any participants with an old wooden block plane can learn how to make it into a hollowing plane.

Doug Barton working on shaping oars for the Capricornia, January 2009