21 September 2025 (12:00 - 16:00)
In the late 1800s Portsoy had several active boat builders and sail making in the Sail Loft on the Back Green. In 2004, the Boat Festival Trust began its policy of working with children to teach and revive basic principles of wooden boat building. Through outreach projects coordinated by the Boat Festival Trust, children have created over 60 dinghies and several small boats called Curraghs and a North Sea Faering and a St Ayles Skiff. It was subsequently identified that a permanent premises was essential to the continued teaching of boat crafting skills and Portsoy Maritime Heritage gifted derelict buildings on the Old Harbour to Portsoy Community Enterprise, who thanks to funding of half a million pounds, transformed the building into the Boatshed.
The Boatshed, built upon the ruins of a former boatshed/store, was fully renovated and opened in 2015. It is now home to a group of enthusiastic boatbuilding volunteers with a passion for wooden boat building who use the purposely designed workshop space, equipped with tools, for community boatbuilding projects and school boatbuilding sessions, ensuring the skills of traditional boatbuilding remain active.
You will find a friendly welcome and a hearty chat as the team share their skills, knowledge and learning. Come along and see them at work

Address
Portsoy Boat Shed, 90 Church Street, Portsoy, AB45 2QR