5. The Teachers

The number of educational disciplines that are emerging from the acorn that was once a seemingly innocent appeal to save an old boat, are quickly growing into a forest already.

It’s not merely the repairs and restoration of what would otherwise be a piece of maritime history lost to the sea, it’s a growing list of ancillary trades and interrelated activities that work in unison towards its long term sustainability.

Students from schools and universities will soon be crossing the demarkation lines of what would normally be deemed to be something best left to the experts.

The experts though, were students once and learning is at its best when it’s a life-long undertaking. Teachers are at their best when they too recall the spark of their own hunger for learning.

The shipwrights who built the Oakdale started out as apprentices, learning their craft, hands on, one incremental piece of a larger picture at a time. From carrying timber to rolling oakum or from helping the blacksmith through to steam-bending their very first bow timbers. And is often the way, we each gravitate towards a learning style and a particular discipline that feels as though it was made for us.

Teachers then, cover every conceivable subject and each teacher has their own unique way of engaging their students and passing on the vital spark. No doubt you can recall a certain teacher that inspired a curiosity that’s still with you to this day?

The opportunities for learning in this particular project cover every single touch point. The building of a boat and how it was constructed. The craft skills required in that initial build. The skills required to navigate her through all seasons on often perilous waters. The maintaining and husbandry required for her long term survival. The conservation of her irreplaceable components and the creation of replacement parts.

Then of course there’s the broader skills required to navigate her working role in industrial and maritime history or her social relevance as a means of lighterage in an era of ecological consciousness. The teachers are the knowledge holders; they’re the living descendants of boatbuilders and flatmen, the experts working in their respective fields, the communicators, the artists, the sponsors and patrons, the craftspeople, the enthusiasts and those with an acute awareness of their responsibility to inspire the next generation with a spark that lasts, often way beyond their lifetimes.

Photo: "Legacy" or "The Crossing" Statue, Liverpool by Mark DeGraffenried