Visit Us
SORRENTO
ADDRESS
129 Hotham Road
Sorrento VIC 3943
Australia
03 5984 4333
129 Hotham Road
Sorrento VIC 3943
Australia
03 5984 4333
OPEN HOURS
Monday - Friday: 8am - 5pm
Saturday: 9am - 12pm
Sunday: 10am - 12pm
Public Holidays: 10am - 12pm
Closed Christmas Day & Good Friday
Monday - Friday: 8am - 5pm
Saturday: 9am - 12pm
Sunday: 10am - 12pm
Public Holidays: 10am - 12pm
Closed Christmas Day & Good Friday
QUEENSCLIFF
ADDRESS
Shed 4
10 Wharf Street
Queenscliff VIC 3225
Australia
Shed 4
10 Wharf Street
Queenscliff VIC 3225
Australia
OPEN HOURS
Monday - Friday: 8am - 4pm
Monday - Friday: 8am - 4pm
Servicing Sorrento & Queenscliff
In addition to our central headquarters in Sorrento, our Queenscliff shed is often bustling with activity. Operating now for a decade, our outpost at Queenscliff represents The Wooden Boatshop’s enduring commitment to engaging with maritime history. Originally a fishing village, Queenscliff evolved into a crucial cargo port, docking steamships, and enabling their safe passage through the nearby perilous Heads.
More locations... more boats!
Our Queenscliff Shed offers our full range of services, extending across the sprawling Bellarine Peninsula. Recent focused activities include the construction of Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club’s Cheviot 32 Volunteer, as well as several boat constructions, including a Kooyong 28. The 150T travel lift and hardstand gives us the capacity to service large craft, including quick and easy slipping of boats for repairs and maintenance, including painting, varnishing and mechanical services. We encourage enquiries about the possibility of new boat constructions, flagpoles, or any type of service relating to boats!
In addition to our central headquarters in Sorrento, our Queenscliff shed is often bustling with activity. Operating now for a decade, our outpost at Queenscliff represents The Wooden Boatshop’s enduring commitment to engaging with maritime history. Originally a fishing village, Queenscliff evolved into a crucial cargo port, docking steamships, and enabling their safe passage through the nearby perilous Heads.
More locations... more boats!
Our Queenscliff Shed offers our full range of services, extending across the sprawling Bellarine Peninsula. Recent focused activities include the construction of Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club’s Cheviot 32 Volunteer, as well as several boat constructions, including a Kooyong 28. The 150T travel lift and hardstand gives us the capacity to service large craft, including quick and easy slipping of boats for repairs and maintenance, including painting, varnishing and mechanical services. We encourage enquiries about the possibility of new boat constructions, flagpoles, or any type of service relating to boats!
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodions of the land and waterways on which we live, work and play, the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to Ancestors past, present and future. We acknowledge sovereignty has never been ceded.
Our History
Fishing boat origins
On the south-eastern coast of Australia, in the late 1970s Tim Phillips OAM, along with a group of like-minded friends, begun messing around in Couta Boats. The Couta Boats had been named after the eponymous barracouta – the local fish caught off The Heads, and the most popular fish of the day in the early 1900s.
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The Couta Boat was a fast and seaworthy craft, and there had been a slew of local boatbuilders who constructed beautiful and singular boats in the era, such as Andrew Hansen, Mitch Lacco and Peter Locke. Her lines were clean and classic, and she was practical and efficient, having proved herself in navigating under sail the treacherous waters off Pt. Lonsdale and Pt. Nepean in all manner of conditions.
The Couta Boats would head out from Queenscliff before dawn, often catching their quota before racing back to port. Those first back would command the most desirable wharf position and fetch the best price for their catch. There was a competitive edge embedded into the boats even in the early days. In fact, every so often the fishermen would organise a Couta Boat regatta, usually held on New Year’s Day or over the Easter long-weekend.
On the south-eastern coast of Australia, in the late 1970s Tim Phillips OAM, along with a group of like-minded friends, begun messing around in Couta Boats. The Couta Boats had been named after the eponymous barracouta – the local fish caught off The Heads, and the most popular fish of the day in the early 1900s.
The Couta Boat was a fast and seaworthy craft, and there had been a slew of local boatbuilders who constructed beautiful and singular boats in the era, such as Andrew Hansen, Mitch Lacco and Peter Locke. Her lines were clean and classic, and she was practical and efficient, having proved herself in navigating under sail the treacherous waters off Pt. Lonsdale and Pt. Nepean in all manner of conditions.
The Couta Boats would head out from Queenscliff before dawn, often catching their quota before racing back to port. Those first back would command the most desirable wharf position and fetch the best price for their catch. There was a competitive edge embedded into the boats even in the early days. In fact, every so often the fishermen would organise a Couta Boat regatta, usually held on New Year’s Day or over the Easter long-weekend.
The demand was steep for Couta Boats, and right up until the Second World War there was a shortage. With about 15 new boat builds a year, and an abundance of barracouta, the Couta Boats were thriving. However, the boom years did not last. Barracouta eventually became scarce due to overfishing, and the rise of gummy shark as a popular eating fish saw the gradual decline of the Couta Boat fleet.
Humble beginnings
By the 1960s and early 1970s many Couta Boats were rotated out of use and sat dilapidated in garages and backyards. Years later, Tim and his friends begun to take an interest in these craft and set about restoring their own Couta Boats. Thus, The Wooden Boatshop was born, and its early origins exemplify our ongoing commitment to maintaining and preserving important and often long-forgotten aspects of maritime history.
In the early days The Wooden Boatshop was operated out of Tim’s carport in Delgany Avenue, Portsea. Already a master carpenter, Tim undertook an informal boatbuilding apprenticeship with Jack Norling, restoring Couta Boat Wattle and building 28’ Sally alongside Ken Lacco. As a local Couta Boat fleet begun to emerge Tim and his mates started the Portsea Fishing Boat Regatta (now The Portsea Cup). As the fleet kept growing, so too did The Wooden Boatshop. We now occupy 3-acres of land in the heart of Sorrento, where we service and build hundreds of boats throughout the local area.
Committment to craft
Our yard comprises a sail making loft, mechanical workshop, multiple marine engineering factories, a well-stocked boat chandlery, boat storage, flagpole construction, bronze castings, boat painting, antifouling, boat design and manufacture. We are passionate boaters and master craftsmen, placing quality and function above all else!
An incredible boat range
Over the last 30 years we have developed our boat range, which was born out of a love for cruising both near and afar. Our range consists of smaller craft such as the Wyuna Launch, modelled from the early Pilot Boats at Queenscliff, responsible for safely guiding ships through the perilous Heads, to 50’ Launches capable of circumnavigation and outfitted with all the modern amenities such as wood fires, full galley set-ups and futuristic navigation software.
We pride ourselves on building boats capable of practical seafaring, and the foundation of our ethos travels back to the early tales of the Couta Boat. Working boats are reliable, having proved themselves in the hard years spent fishing and working local grounds. Our boat range reimagines traditional working boats and offers those dreaming of a seafaring lifestyle the ideal vessels for exploration.
Constant refinement
To date we have built over 120 boats and have dedicated a lifetime to developing a boat range suitable to any number of purposes. Whether it’s cruising down to Tasmania and exploring the Kent Group Islands, cray-potting, snorkelling, and sailing around Australia, taking a Clinker Dinghy for an afternoon cruise, or racing a Couta Boat off Sorrento, we are a one-stop-shop able to cater to any seafaring itch!
To date we have built over 120 boats and have dedicated a lifetime to developing a boat range suitable to any number of purposes. Whether it’s cruising down to Tasmania and exploring the Kent Group Islands, cray-potting, snorkelling, and sailing around Australia, taking a Clinker Dinghy for an afternoon cruise, or racing a Couta Boat off Sorrento, we are a one-stop-shop able to cater to any seafaring itch!
Speak to us about ordering your boat today!
Vision Statement
A well lived, uniquely Australian life!
We see boating and an affinity with the sea as an intrinsic aspect to the fabric of Australian lifestyle and envision a future where its joys and pleasures are widespread, ubiquitous, and sustainable.
Our new boat storage facility in Sorrento supports The Wooden Boatshop’s vision of boating made simple and easy. Over his lifetime Tim Phillips OAM has built a rich culture of boating on the Southern Mornington Peninsula, and we aim to continue to support its growth into the future.
Enhancing beauty & style in Sorrento
Our boat storage facility is an incredible structure, and a much-needed update to our site of 40 years. Critically acclaimed architect March Studio have envisaged a virtuosic building. The façade is made of Coreten steel, specifically designed to elevate the aesthetic and feel of our beautiful local coastline and its material elements.
A trajectory toward sustainability
In demonstrating our respect and awe for the environment, our focus on creating a sustainable business practice is well on its way. The Wooden Boatshop is now completely self-sufficient in its energy requirements.
A small business with big ambitions
Accomplished
Solar
︎ 39kw solar system with 73 panels, each at 540W
︎ SOLAREDGE – an optimized inverter technology that analyses & maximises individual panel output & provides real-time data on energy collection
Draining & runoff
︎ Flood mitigation system & on-site soaker pit, meaning all runoff is filtered
︎ 39kw solar system with 73 panels, each at 540W
︎ SOLAREDGE – an optimized inverter technology that analyses & maximises individual panel output & provides real-time data on energy collection
Draining & runoff
︎ Flood mitigation system & on-site soaker pit, meaning all runoff is filtered
Electric vehicles & charging
︎ Wiggins E-Bull electric fork, the first of its kind in Australia
︎ Jungheinrich electric fork
︎ 5x EV Zappi charging stations that utilize excess solar only, meaning our fleet is charged 100% by The Wooden Boatshop green power
︎ Provide customers & staff with free EV charging of company and privately-owned vehicles
︎ Wiggins E-Bull electric fork, the first of its kind in Australia
︎ Jungheinrich electric fork
︎ 5x EV Zappi charging stations that utilize excess solar only, meaning our fleet is charged 100% by The Wooden Boatshop green power
︎ Provide customers & staff with free EV charging of company and privately-owned vehicles
Later Phases – TBC
Solar
-
Expand solar collection to all buildings – eventually 160-200k of onsite collection
- Energy swap with our other sites through POWERLEDGER’S blockchain driven energy trading, ensuring we’re self sufficient for all energy across all sites
- Electrification of all heating & hot water systems to run on solar
Electric vehicles & charging
- Expand The Wooden Boatshop vehicle fleet to become c
ompletely electric – partially accomplished with two vehicles purchased as of 2023
- Increase EV charging capacity to 20+ vehicles
- Electric work boats
Our Values
Striving for perfection
We are highly skilled speciality tradesmen passionate about crafting beautiful, one-of-a-kind boats. Every single aspect of our boat range is quality controlled from our factories in Sorrento and Queenscliff. Our boat range has emerged from a rigorous process of refinement, and through an artistic sensibility honed and polished through a lifetime commitment to wooden boat building.
100% Australian
Unlike the vast majority of contemporary boatbuilders, our boats are 100% Australian. They are built by locals who are expert in their knowledge and skill. When you purchase a boat from our range, you are assured to have the best in the world. We are unlike any other boatbuilders on the market. The boats we offer are efficient, practical, and safe, and are built by hand from beginning to end.
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Sustainability & commitment to materials
We are committed to ensuring our business model utilises sustainable and ethically sourced timbers and does all that is possible to reduce its carbon footprint. We utilise Cedrela, a plantation grown timber endemic to Africa and whose fragrant aroma is resistant to insects and termites. Cedrela is a wonderful boatbuilding timber, due to its strength-to-weight capacity. It was first used by Joshua Slocum on his boat Liberdade, built in Brazil. Cedrela saws, sands, and bores well, is easy to glue and nail, produces an excellent finish and has a high impact resistance.
Likewise, we also use Iroko and Makore, both timbers are endemic to Africa, and commonly used for boatbuilding purposes. Iroko is known to be an extremely durable timber. American White Oak, an excellent all-round timber commonly used in high-grade furniture and boatbuilding, is utilised for steam bending and much of the finer details on our boats.
Our importer upholds the strictest standards of due diligence and ensures timber products are regulated and traced using licencing, records of audits, log delivery documentation and forest concession licences.
Built to last
The foundation of The Wooden Boatshop rests on that of the historic fishing vessel, the Couta Boat. We envision boats as being built to last well beyond the lifetime of those individuals who construct them. We apply our ethos of long-term thinking to the restoration of historic vessels, and are devoted to ensuring that the materials we so greatly value do not ever go to waste.
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We are highly skilled speciality tradesmen passionate about crafting beautiful, one-of-a-kind boats. Every single aspect of our boat range is quality controlled from our factories in Sorrento and Queenscliff. Our boat range has emerged from a rigorous process of refinement, and through an artistic sensibility honed and polished through a lifetime commitment to wooden boat building.
100% Australian
Unlike the vast majority of contemporary boatbuilders, our boats are 100% Australian. They are built by locals who are expert in their knowledge and skill. When you purchase a boat from our range, you are assured to have the best in the world. We are unlike any other boatbuilders on the market. The boats we offer are efficient, practical, and safe, and are built by hand from beginning to end.
Sustainability & commitment to materials
We are committed to ensuring our business model utilises sustainable and ethically sourced timbers and does all that is possible to reduce its carbon footprint. We utilise Cedrela, a plantation grown timber endemic to Africa and whose fragrant aroma is resistant to insects and termites. Cedrela is a wonderful boatbuilding timber, due to its strength-to-weight capacity. It was first used by Joshua Slocum on his boat Liberdade, built in Brazil. Cedrela saws, sands, and bores well, is easy to glue and nail, produces an excellent finish and has a high impact resistance.
Likewise, we also use Iroko and Makore, both timbers are endemic to Africa, and commonly used for boatbuilding purposes. Iroko is known to be an extremely durable timber. American White Oak, an excellent all-round timber commonly used in high-grade furniture and boatbuilding, is utilised for steam bending and much of the finer details on our boats.
Our importer upholds the strictest standards of due diligence and ensures timber products are regulated and traced using licencing, records of audits, log delivery documentation and forest concession licences.
Built to last
The foundation of The Wooden Boatshop rests on that of the historic fishing vessel, the Couta Boat. We envision boats as being built to last well beyond the lifetime of those individuals who construct them. We apply our ethos of long-term thinking to the restoration of historic vessels, and are devoted to ensuring that the materials we so greatly value do not ever go to waste.
Achieving net zero
While we take great pleasure and enjoyment from the natural environment, we acknowledge Global Warming and Climate Change presents a litany of major threats toward future generations of seafarers and land-lovers alike. We pledge to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2030. This will be accomplished through a combination of solar energy and the transformation of our fleet of vehicles and forklifts to electric power. We plan to install car charging stations at The Wooden Boatshop premisis in Sorrento in the coming years.
A safer, cleaner environment for all!
While we take great pleasure and enjoyment from the natural environment, we acknowledge Global Warming and Climate Change presents a litany of major threats toward future generations of seafarers and land-lovers alike. We pledge to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2030. This will be accomplished through a combination of solar energy and the transformation of our fleet of vehicles and forklifts to electric power. We plan to install car charging stations at The Wooden Boatshop premisis in Sorrento in the coming years.
A safer, cleaner environment for all!
Meet Our Team
We’re
proud of our team, we’re specialists in what we do. We are committed to Australian manufacturing and the preservation of traditional boatbuilding skills. Our team is driven by passion and an overarching love for all things nautical. Our level of
expertise and craftsmanship is rare. We build beautiful boats and our greatest wish
is to share our love for the sea and its culture amongst our community.
When you support us, you support local families and Australian manufacturing.
When you support us, you support local families and Australian manufacturing.
TIM PHILLIPS OAMDirector
WAYNEGeneral Manager & Boatbuilder
SALLY
Finance Manager
WILLProduction Manager & Boatbuilder
SAMLogistics Manager
EMMAMarketing & Communications
TRACEYAdministrator
JANETAdministrator
BOBCareers
JONODesign
KYENaval Architect
BILL
Engineering
TROYEngineering
TIMHead Boatbuilder
JIMMYBoatbuilder
JAMESBoatbuilder
RODRIGO
Boatbuilder
RICKBoatbuilder
ZACBoatbuilder & Furniture Maker
CHRISApprentice Boatbuilder
SURREYApprentice Boatbuilder
LIAMApprentice Boatbuilder
ASHER
Apprentice Boatbuilder
ALANBoatwright
DAVEBoatwright
CHRISBoatwright
CHRIS
Boatwright & Logistics
FANGBoatwright
ASH
Boatwright
DAVECarpenter
LINDSAY
Carpenter & Painter
RICHARDPainter
BRANTON
Painter
JAXON
Trade Assistant
CHRIS
Head Mechanic
ANDYMechanic
CLAYApprentice Mechanic
FLYNNApprentice Mechanic
GEOFFSailmaker