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Traditional micro-shipbuilding art

The Boudalas family in Skopelos has written more than 2 centuries of history in shipbuilding as it counts 7 generations of shipbuilders who had their own shipyards in America, in Romania at Constanta and at Braila. They then returned to Skopelos and worked as shipwrights in the tarsanades, the traditional shipyards of the island.

Their descendant Triantafyllos Boudalas worked as a shipbuilder in the tarsanades of Skopelos until they were closed in the 1970s due to tourism. In order to make a living he applied all his technical knowledge in shipbuilding by making faithful replicas of sailing ships on a small scale, using walnut wood from Skopelos and making all the details by hand, thus becoming a pioneer small shipbuilder and continuing a traditional profession that was lost.

He taught the art of shipbuilding to his son John and the art of shipbuilding to his daughter Nina. Today, Yannis Boudalas continues the family tradition and teaches it to his daughter Rigina.

From the shipyards to the workshop....