A tribute to tradition

Chisel by chisel, plane by plane, boatbuilding legend Joe Gelsthorpe is quietly parting company with his tools. He built his first boat when he was 12; up in the family attic where he crafted a 16ft canoe which he could only get out attached to a washing line through a roof window.

In the marvellous years that followed he built over 20 wooden cobles; working alone in his Hornsea workshop, his hair forever peppered with the dust of larch and oak and pine; his face a picture of furrowed concentration amidst the timbers and the tools.

But Joe is 80 now – in his own words, ‘a bit crotchety’ – and he’ll