Greek traditional wooden boat builders a dwindling craft

Each beam of wood, each plank, has been felled, trimmed and shaped by one man alone, hauled and nailed into place using techniques handed down through generations, from father to son, uncle to nephew. But the current generation could be the last. The art of designing and building these vessels, done entirely by hand, is under threat. “Unfortunately, I see the profession slowly dying,” said Giorgos Kiassos, one of the last remaining  boatbuilders on Samos, an eastern Aegean island that was once a major production center. “If something doesn’t change, there will come a time when there won’t be anyone left doing this type of job. And it’s a pity, a real pity,” Kiassos is working on two: a 45-foot pleasure craft and a 30-foot fishing boat. The boats are being made to order, with the bigger one costing around $70,000, and the smaller one around $35,000. >click to read< 11:41

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