He Builds Boats

An association with the fishing industry and an accident three years age were the combination which helped produce the exhibits shown on this page. They are the work of Mr Joe Montaperto, 9 Rutene Road. Following a wharf accident which barred him from working, Mr Montaperto turned to an old hobby of model shipbuilding to occupy his time.

He starts a model with a solid block of kauri, which is shaped and hollowed out. Then follows the painstaking work of building up the superstructure. For variation, Mr Montaperto, using enlarged photographs, makes realistic paintings of Napier trawlers, such as that above.

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Mr Montaperto at work on a boat he built many years ago.

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The Pilot Star, a model of a North Sea trawler, which Mr Montaperto completed last winter.