| Pompei Boat builders Mordialloc |
Page 1 of 3 The Pompei family of traditional wooden boat builders.Jack and Joe Pompei truly represent the heart and soul of Mordialloc and Melbourne classic wooden boat building. Jack was known as Mr Mordialloc over the last 40 to 50 years of his life. Jack was quoted in the media as saying... Dad, over the years, used to... you know, he taught us to build timber boats and he would say to me, "If you can't walk round a boat, don't be on it." In other words, it's dangerous 'cause it hasn't got enough stability. We'd look at other people's boats and make our boats better.
Jack would go out and look for boat building projects. He'd do the initial talking with the people who wanted a wooden boat built, he'd draw up the plans, he'd work through all that initial detail and planning. According to Jack... A lot of fishermen didn't understand a drawing. They used to make half a model. They would cut the model up and then take drawings off it.
Jack Pompei leaning against one of his famous small wooden displacement clinker fishing boats. Brother Joe is more hands-on and reputedly works like three people. "He's so strong, he's got a great knowledge, he's got the trades to make all the parts of the boats that you need. If I need a bolt, or there's something missing, I just send up to Joe, tell him the size, and Joe goes into the tool shed and makes it. It was a part of his trade."Pompei boatbuilders really was the complete family show. They did not have to go outside their own business for assistance to build boats.
And we still use the edge, of course.
Now, it takes us about 12 months. I think old age has caught up with us. Or stiff knees. I used to do some funny, stupid things. We're probably going to build another one, 48 feet. Getting a bit old in the tooth now. But, um -- yeah, we still desire to build a wooden boat. ABC, 2002.
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