Holdfast Marine

Queenscliff · Port Phillip Heads

Wooden boats,
held fast

A working yard for lapstrake and carvel hulls. We loft, plank, fasten and caulk the old way — bronze screws, Stockholm tar, and a floor that is never quite level but always fair.

Write the yard See the loft
STN 00 The Loft Floor

Every hull begins on the floor

Before a single plank is cut, the boat is drawn full-size on the loft floor in thin cream lines: stem, sheer, keel, ten stations squared off the baseline and faired with battens until the curves run sweet from bow to transom.

HF-1924 · 22 ft launch · scale 1:8 Queenscliff Loft
Lofting-floor drawing of a 22-foot wooden launch Profile of a wooden hull drawn in cream lines on the dark loft floor: a sheer line, a keel, ten numbered mould stations, a red dashed waterline and two fairing battens. WL 3 WATERLINE SHEER KEEL 012345678910
Sheet 1 — sheer profile, waterline at WL 3.
The baseline
A snapped chalk line down the middle of the floor. Everything on the boat is measured from it — nothing is guessed.
The stations
Ten mould stations squared off the baseline. Stand at station five and you are standing inside the widest part of the hull to come.
The battens
Quarter-sawn long battens held with brads, bent fair through the station marks. When the eye runs the batten without a kink, the lines are lifted and the moulds follow.
STN 01 On the Floor Now

Hulls on the floor

What the yard is holding this season: one new build, one restoration, and berths for the winter.

HF-1924

22 ft launch

New build — carvel

Steam-bent oak frames over a plywood mould, New Zealand kauri planking, copper roves below the waterline and bronze above. A workboat sheer, an engine room that smells of linseed, and no more electronics than a compass will forgive.

Lofted · moulds up
HF-0907

Couta boat, 26 ft

Restoration — lapstrake

A Queenscliff fishing hull that worked the bay for fifty years. The keel is sound, the stem is honest, and the rest is replacement — rock elm, king planks, and a new mast step cut from the old pattern.

Planking · 6 strakes to go
HF-LAYUP

Winter berths

Lay-up and storage

Hauled, scrubbed, checked for worm, and blocked level under cover. Tarpaulins fitted, bilges dried, seacocks greased, and a standing rigging inspection before the first cold front comes up the bay.

Four berths left
STN 02 The Yard

What the yard does

One shed, two slipways, and the tools our grandfathers would recognise.

New builds

Dinghies to 30 ft launches. Lapstrake or carvel, drawn on our floor or lofted from your old hull.

Restoration

Plank and frame replacement, stem and transom work, deck and cockpit rebuilds, re-caulking and re-fastening.

Winter lay-up

Haul-out, blocking, covers, ventilation and monthly checks while the boat sits out the cold months.

Bronze and tar

Fastenings, straps, rudder gear and port lights cast or fitted locally; Stockholm tar and pine gum applied hot.

Spars and rigging

Solid and hollow masts, booms and gaffs, hand-fitted wooden blocks and traditional standing rigging.

Surveys and advice

Pre-purchase looking-over for wooden hulls, written plainly, with a straight answer about what can be saved.

STN 03 Visit the Shed

Find the yard

The roller door with the red ensign over it, two hundred metres short of the pier. If the tide is low and the track is soft, come around by the top road.

The yard

Holdfast Marine
18 Wharf Street
Queenscliff VIC 3225

Looking over Port Phillip Heads

sales@little.cloud +61 3 5258 1940

Hours — tide aware

Mon – Fri 07:30 – 16:30
Saturday By appointment
Sunday Tide and weather

Saturday visits by appointment. The floor is quieter in the afternoon, and the kettle is always on.

Write the yard

STN 04 Write the Yard

Tell us about the hull

A note is enough: length, build, what ails her or what you dream of. We answer between tides, usually within two working days.