There may be nothing that is half as much fun as messing about in boats, but there is also nothing to match the sense of achievement that comes from launching a boat you have built or restored yourself. As members of the WBA, we always enjoy the arrival of a newly built or restored boat at one of our sailing days. To share the joy of seeing a new launching amongst all our members and to recognise and reward the efforts of the builder, the WBA committee created an award for boatbuilding.
The Alan Chinn Award for excellence in boatbuilding was established in 2018 in honour of founding member, long term committee member and highly skilled boatbuilder, Alan Chinn. The aim of the award is to promote the skills of boat building and restoration and to recognize the work of our members in their boat building activities.
The emphasis is on recognizing the efforts of all members who get involved in a boatbuilding project rather than finding a winner for the award. A brief story about each nominated project will appear in Shavings.
The range of sizes and styles of boats nominated over those years shows the huge variety of interests within our WBA membership. From strip planked kayaks to large motor cruisers, from sailing dinghies to vintage speedboats and with a model boat added to the mix, we have something for everyone.
The biennial Alan Chinn Award has been presented three times since its inception. The inaugural award winner in 2019 was Russ Hurren for his restoration of the motor cruiser, Maude. The second award was presented in 2021 to Tim Drinkall for his restoration of the speedboat Comet. The 2021-23 award was made to Peter Batchelor and Pitthirrit, a Lapwing 16, built by Peter.
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| Russ Hurren and Maude, a work in progress | Comet on the Maribyrnong River | Pitthirrit on Albert Park Lake |
Graham Signorini:
Leigh McNolty:
