Recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming naval architecture students and professors to our “Resalto” at the NM Marine shipyard, where it spends the winter.
To someone who loves the sea, boats, and shipbuilding, a place like this feels like an interactive museum!
Captain Nikos Bezimikis gave us a tour of his shipyard where students got a close look at various types of traditional hulls and rigs, practicing their recognition skills.
A Liberty ship under repair provided the perfect opportunity to examine the vessel’s framework and become familiar with the use of molds. This knowledge is invaluable for designing frames according to the traditional method of wooden shipbuilding!
A Liberty ship under repair provided an ideal opportunity for students to examine the framework of a wooden fishing boat.
Afterward, the naval architecture students, divided into groups, boarded our “Resalto.” They explored both the interior and exterior, becoming familiar with the names of various parts of the boat’s wooden structure. We observed differences in the curvature of the deck, known as the deck “beams.” Finally, we examined the reinforcements within the boat’s “core,” along with the joints that connect them.
Our Captain, pointing to the mast, explains the rigging of “Resalto” to the students.
It may seem unusual at first to someone unfamiliar with the sea, but to those who love the ocean and boats, a place like this feels like an interactive museum!
A heartfelt thank you to NM Marine for their hospitality and to the professors and students of the naval architecture department for coming to meet us!
Did you know that…
Wooden shipbuilding is part of Greece’s Intangible Cultural Heritage and is protected at a pan-European level by the Barcelona Charter.
Despite ongoing efforts to preserve traditional boats, a European directive aimed at reducing overfishing in the Mediterranean led to the implementation of controversial measures. These measures resulted in the destruction of a large number of traditional vessels and the decline of the wooden shipbuilding craft.
Using boats like Resalto for tourism is a romantic way to help preserve them…