Dale R. Hamilton
04-19-2004, 11:18 AM
So it happened that Gwen and I were in England a couple years ago, rowing a Thames river skiff from Lechlade in Oxfordshire, downstream all the way to London. We planned on overnighting at Hurley, a really tiny town clustered around the remains of an 11th century Benedictine Priory-but more importantly, home to Peter Freebody- probably the most famous boatbuilder in England. We were told to follow the old Priory wall that would take us to Peter's 300-year old boatyard. For a boatbuilder, walking into his ancient tree-shaded shop, you feel like Howard Carter must have felt when he entered King Tut's tomb for the first time. All around you repose the glistening mahogany hulls of wooden boats that rank in the "fine art" category- like so many bars of bullion at Ft. Knox. Italian Riva's, slipper launches,and beaver-tailed saloon launches compete for your attention in this tiny shop. Peter, who bears a striking resemblance to Father Thames, does not just restore wooden boats-but he interprets them-he makes them better than they were with modern materials to fit modern use- and without loosing their original character. I applied for a job with him on the spot. But these are artists who practice old world craftsmanship on priceless museum quality antiques- and they had no need of my help.