ARKHANGELSK, April 25. /TASS/. The Solombala Boat. Revived Legend exhibition about wooden boats, which were designed and built in Arkhangelsk in the 20th century, opened at the shipyard of traditional wooden shipbuilding on the Moseev Island in Arkhangelsk. The main exhibits are the Solombala boat, which is being built at the shipyard, and a boat built in 2008-2009 in Koshkanitsa (Arkhangelsk's suburb) by local craftsman Alexander Varakin, the project's representative Marina Titova told TASS.
Solombala is a symbol of Arkhangelsk of the 20th century. The boat carries the name of the Solombala historical island, where Peter the Great founded the country's first shipyard. "These boats were built for several generations of local residents as passenger transport, as a leisure boat, as a fishing vessel, and even as a river dacha. Solombala was the last example of mass small-scale wooden shipbuilding in Arkhangelsk, both industrial and amateur. This may be explained by the fact the Solombala Shipyard was closed, and metal and plastic boats have become more popular, and also by the new regulations for small vessels registration," she said.
The exposition features materials about Solombala's history - about the pre-Peter shipbuilding, and about the Admiralty Shipyards, about the state shipyard, created by Peter the Great's order. The section on the Solombala boats contains drawings of the shipyard, boat models, as well as DIY devices: patterns, wooden clamps and various tools.
Another section describes stories about boats, told by their owners. "At the moment, we have 14 interviews, supplemented with archival and modern photographs from family albums. By opening the exhibition, we do not put an end to the research: anyone is invited to tell a story about their Solombala, thus adding new interesting facts to the shipbuilding history," she said.
The exhibition is part of a historical and cultural project to revive the national wooden boat. In 2023, the Fund for the Revival of Traditional Shipbuilding and Arctic Navigation won a grant from the Arkhangelsk Region's governor.
Solombala boats: factory-made and homemade
Solombala boats were both factory-made and homemade. The basic design was developed by Mikhail Kuroptev, a master at the Solombala Shipyard. The boats made there since the late 1950s were called Solombala leisure boats. The boat was 6.22 m long, the width was 1.65 m, the hull was made of pine planks, the frames were made of oak, the cabin - of plywood. The speed was about 15 km/h, the boat could carry up to 6-8 passengers.
Homemade boats were made of what was available, but all the Solombala boats were known for good carrying capacity, a warm cabin with a wood stove. However, the wooden watercraft required constant care - to be caulked, oiled, tarred, painted, hull boards were to be replaced duly, and eventually the wooden boats gave way to boats made of plastic or metal.
The shipyard has been building the Solombala since November, 2023. The exhibition shows the creation stages: from drawings and keel laying to sewing the hull, and the superstructures' installation.
The exhibition offers guided tours, as well as master classes in wood processing. Visitors will learn about the North's traditional occupations: carpenter, joiner, shipbuilder. The exhibition will run until the end of September, 2024.