About us
Tasmanian Shipwrights & Company was founded on the belief that by combining the skills, knowledge and resources of a select group of passionate young shipwrights, we would be able to build a strong and lasting company that provides the highest quality craftsmanship and professional service in the boat building industry. Sustainability is at the heart of what we do, which underpins our commitment to provide a great training ground for apprentices to keep the coveted art of wooden boat building alive and healthy for generations to come.
Nathan
Nathan grew up in the Marlo Pub, pulled beers through his 20’s in Melbourne, wrote government business cases for prisons and helped leadership teams in big business solve problems in creative ways. None of that explains his pathway to boat building but his passion for the water and working with his hands wouldn’t quiet.
Nathan moved to Tasmania to learn the art of wooden boat building and he’s never looked back. He cut his teeth on clinker dinghies and carvel restoration during a 12-month full-time course at The Wooden Boat Centre in Franklin and then became the school’s President shortly thereafter. Some scraping for Andrew Denman led to working with Jon while he was operating Jonathan Minnebo Design and the rest is, as they say, history.
As wedded to the beauty of a line as much as the function of its form, Nathan brings an eye for detail, creativity and high quality workmanship to the team.
Matt
Matt grew up in Beauty Point on the beautiful Tamar River in Northern Tasmania. Growing up on the river he learned to sail at a young age and so the love of boats began. After completing school Matt undertook a building apprenticeship gaining a valuable skill set that transferred to the next stage of his career. With an endless appetite for working with timber and an unhealthy obsession with boats, Matt wasn’t satisfied with just building houses so he jumped at the opportunity to undertake a mature-age apprenticeship with one of Australia's leading boatbuilders, Denman Marine.
In Matt’s eight years working for Denman Marine, he was lucky enough to work on over 10 new builds ranging from dinghies to 32-foot motor boats finishing his time as lead shipwright on the rebuild of the historic 32-foot carvel planked yacht “TeRapunga”.
Matt’s passion for wooden boatbuilding and Tasmania’s wooden boat history is second to none and his high standards for quality workmanship are a great asset to the team .
Jon
Jon grew up in Sydney and moved down to Tasmania at the age of 17 to attend a wooden boat building course at the Wooden Boat Centre in Franklin for 18 months. During the course he worked with a team to construct a 32-foot Huon Pine motor sailor.
After completion Jon went on to work at Able Marine for two years. Learning custom fibreglass construction of marine components, fibreglass repairs and spray painting. He then moved to Denman Marine for five years, gaining further experience in traditional and modern boat building techniques. Jon then moved on to work at R M Marine, specialising in wooden boat repair and restoration for a further three years.
This combined experience led to Jon establishing his own business, Jonathan Minnebo Design. In the six years working for himself, he’s earned a reputation for high quality workmanship, specialising in fine joinery, custom furniture and boat fit-outs. With 18 years in the trade, Jon brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.