While he knows that there isn't a great demand for wooden boat fittings, Mike also knows from his own experience just how hard it can be to get some if you want them. And that's how his company, Wooden Boat Fittings, came to be. This small company, established on the shores of Western Port in the 1990s but now based in the country's capital, Canberra, makes traditional wooden boat fittings by hand, the way it used to happen. The company uses a variety of different timbers for their fittings, depending on client preferences and intended use. Items are typically manufactured from redgum,
jarrah, spotted gum, merbau, teak, oregon, or mahogany, although other timbers including cedar and ballart have also been used.
Rather than manufacture blocks himself, Mike chooses to source them from a reputable (and reasonably-priced) block manufacturer he has since located. And he is also agent for marine bronze fittings and for fully sewn and appliquéd flags. But all other fittings are made by the company itself. The list is a long one. It includes belaying pins, saddles, fairleads, toggles, pennant staffs, masthoops (hinged and plain,) beeblocks, deadeyes, thimbles,
and bullseyes, together with six types of cleat—in fact, pretty well any fitting from a mooring cleat for the foredeck to a jackstaff on the counter. Mike also offers a listing service on the internet for the sale of wooden boats in Australia.
Finally, and in line with his abiding interest in ‘All Things Ransome’, Mike has also produced maps of The Lake, Wild Cat Island, and Secret Water, which are available for free download by other Ransome fans at http://www.allthingsransome.net/armaps/ozmaps.html (where, for completeness, they will eventually be joined by maps of the northern and southern water of
the Norfolk Broads).
[Ed: the beautiful maps providing the backdrop to the 'Ransome Pages' in this issue are copies of the ones Mike has for free download at the above address. A testement to Mike's care and attention to detail.
Mike can be contacted at:
Email: [email protected]
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