Wooden Boat Festival

These blokes love nothing better then messing around with boats - wooden boats that is. They indulge their passion in a small shed at the bottom of Australia's greatest river. Since 1885, Armfield's Slip on the banks of the River Murray at Goolwa, has played a key role in South Australia's wooden boat building industry. In 1988 following the death of the owner old Doug Armfield, this humble shed was bequeathed to the community with the aim of continuing the skills and traditions needed to make this elegant craft. Nick Marinos originally hails from the Greek Island of Siros. Perhaps that explains his obsession with wooden boats and the size of his ever-expanding personal flotilla. "I have built two - a twenty six foot and a eighteen foot six boat. I own about seven I think now. They range in size from twenty six foot to about eight foot." We asked Nick what the obsession with wooden boats is.
"They are nice things to work on, to build, to sail and to use. One of the boats I have is a very old one. It is an old lifeboat about ninety years old. It was a wreck when I got it then I restored it and put an inboard motor in and we launched it about a month ago."
"And I understand that was a lifeboat from the Old Karatha - the grain ship which ran around the coast of South Australia."
"Yes, that's right, we found it underwater here in one of the channel's - we retrieved it and took about a year to restore it."

For Nick, his wife Helen and the rest of the crew at Armfield Slip the need to own a wooden boat is primal. Fibreglass is certainly cheaper, but these die-hards will always set you straight when it comes to the beauty of working with timber. "Well there's no comparison really is there. Touch it and you will know what the difference is. With wood you can feel the timber, there's a certain feel about it. The sound as you mentioned is very different and it looks much nicer. With timber you can see the grain, the different colours of timber and you can make a very beautiful thing out of timber. All plastic boats look the same but every wooden boat is different." But few as different as this wooden fire breathing beast - The William Randell. Roly Bartlett is a qualified stoker but when you're the owner and captain of your own steam-driven paddle wheeler you get to call the shots. Which means mates like Mike Loney have to hunker down in the bowels of this forty tonne monster - feeding its endless appetite for river red gum. The William Randell is a five year labour of love for Roly who decide to build is own piece of riverboat history after plying the waters of the Murray on another paddlesteamer several years ago.
"The idea came to me when we went on a trip on the Oscar W to Echuca in 1991. And there I saw a couple of small paddlesteamers which had been built in modern times and also the engine and sort of went from there." And the name the William Randell, where did that come from? "William Randell was one of the pioneer navigators on the River Murray. He was the first - Cadell and he both left Goolwa approximately the same time in 1853. Randell really set off to sell all the material from the Gumeracha Flour Mill and that's how it started."

She sounds like a giant espresso coffee maker but this beast is powered by a massive seven horse power Ruston Horsnby steamplant which was brought to Australia in 1923. This giant engine once powered and entire shearing shed at Echuca. Now it propels Roly and his crew on their regular trips up the Murray. While she's a privately-owned vessel. the William Randell will be open to the public at the forthcoming Wooden Boats Festival at Goolwa, where she'll take part in what's been billed the World Steam Boat Speed Challenge. Nick Marinos and the gang at Armfield's Slip will also sail, row and exhibit their wooden treasures at the Festival which starts on the evening of Friday March the 12th and ends on Sunday the 14th. Most of the action takes place at or near the Goolwa Wharf. For more information you can email info@postcards-sa.com.au