Join us for few days of good company in a perfect setting.
Windermere Jetty Museum, 28—30 June 2024
The Wooden Boat Gathering 2024
Come along for a weekend of talks from eminent speakers, museum and conservation workshop tours, and excellent opportunities to discuss all things wooden boats and boatbuilding.
The theme for this weekend is ‘Ensuring the future for boats made of wood’. We will be surrounded by beautiful boats, old and new, confirming the enduring relevance of a sustainable, long-lasting boatbuilding material – wood.
The Wooden Boat Gathering is organised by The Wooden Boat Trade Association and hosted by the award-winning Windermere Jetty Museum.
In memory of Iain Oughtred
The Wooden Boat Gathering will be dedicated in memory of Iain Oughtred who sadly died in February. Iain was a inspirational figure in the world of small wooden boat design, always generous with his knowledge and advice to anyone building his boats.
The significance of Iain's influence on wooden boatbuilding cannot be overstated, we will all miss him.
What’s on?
Talks
We have eminent speakers offering a varied programme of talks on Saturday and Sunday.
Tours
Museum staff will be leading tours of both the Museum and the conservation workshops on Saturday and Sunday.
Socialising
On Saturday evening, there will be a delicious Cumbrian Buffet served in the Museum cafe.
Boating
Plentiful opportunities to enjoy peaceful moments on Windermere
Windermere Jetty Museum
The museum stands on the eastern shore of Windermere, England’s largest natural lake, and on the site of the former Windermere Steamboat Museum that housed the collection of George Pattinson, a local builder and boat collector.
Described by Jonathan Morrison in The Times as ‘The most beautiful boat shed in Britain’, the museum was developed by Lakeland Arts and designed by architects Carmody Groarke, reopening in 2019. The museum houses 40 boats covering the history of sailing and boating on Windermere from the late eighteenth century.
Meet the Speakers
-
Gabriel Hemery
Speaking on Saturday 29th AM
Dr Gabriel Hemery is an author, tree photographer, and forest scientist who writes, lives, and breathes trees.
-
Abbey Molyneux
Speaking on Saturday 29th PM
Abbey is a Norfolk based boatbuilder specialising in the restoration and preservation of historical wooden boats.
-
Gail McGarva
Speaking on Sunday 30th AM
Gail is a traditional wooden boat builder who is passionate about working boats and the stories they hold.
-
James Dodds
Speaking on Sunday 30th PM
James Dodds is a British artist. His paintings and prints are inspired by boats and boat building.
Wooden Boatbuilders’ Trade Association
Thirty-two years ago, a group of boatbuilders exhibiting at the long lost Greenwich Wooden Boat Show decided to form an association to pool ideas and create a collective body to represent wooden boatbuilding.
The idea grew, as did the membership, to include allied trades such as designers, timber merchants, boatbuilding schools, a magazine etc. Not only does the WBTA bring together people working in amongst wooden boats, but it exists to show that the future for building boats from sustainable materials is bright and is a shining star in a world of mainstream plastic boating. We encourage anyone wanting to start in a wooden boat business with mentoring and a special subscription rate. The full members of the WBTA all have to prove that their work is of a quality and standard that deserves the WBTA logo. We are here to demonstrate that good quality wooden boats are desirable, practical, and, most of all, beautiful.