Builders of Ships

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 792, 12 October 1929, Page 18

Builders of Ships

SHIPWRIGHTS AT WORK ARE LIKE SAILORS WITH SHORE JOBS J __i

QUIET WORKERS Tap! Tap! Tap! Clop! Clop! Clop! The sound of the shipwright at work may be heard coming from the various shipyards on Waitemata's shores, from vessels repairing and overhauling at the wharves, and from beaches and hauling-out sites where pleasure craft are “on the hard.” ! No leviathans of the deep, no giant I liners or cargo-carriers result from i their toils, but these workers are ever 1 busy building little ships that sail up and down the coast or ply busily in various >Jew Zealand ports, refitting vessels, both coastal and overseas, and I adding to Waitemata’s pleasure fleet. In his mental make-up and his attitude toward his work the shipwright is like a sailor with a shore job. Tnd “vasty deep” seems,to cast a spell over the sailor —the knowledge that as tw boat is plugging onward its destination is inevitably growing closer and so hustle and bustle is futility tne pride in his ship that makes him always give of his best in his work a. resignation to the monotony of daily routine aboard. . Association with ships, the sea. ana the men who cross it seems to msa i something of this quietude into I shipwright, for in his work he j the same characteristics as ‘tr seaman. Steadily, conscientious^ ! capably, he labours, wielding his caull* ; ing mallet, his adze, or his chippie*, hammer. No breathless hurrying an S sweating, no confusion, no skimp** work, no talking—and no 1 oaf mg; His silence, his methodical ways, his quiet and confident capability aro entirely typical of the sailor; and finished work is likewise a “water* tight” job, impervious alike to the s«s and w tO the fault-seeking ey e of t* l foreman or boat-owner. . To be always able to look at completed job and know that he rtf* put his best work into it and has truth “delivered the goods” must t>« i great satisfaction to the shipwright. I And so he carries on unostenta* tiously. He is not a conspicuous mem* i ber of the waterfront commurm}-'’ nothing is heard of him but his Tapi Clop! Clop!” But he is per i forming an essential work, a i vital to the life of Auckland’s mari activities. . r And every now and then anoir Lfc little ship takes the water, and eac» is a mute witness to the art of t unassuming shipwright.