Boat Building

A special boat building facility was constructed in Pelena, Weligama enabling to build boats up to 14 m in a fully controlled atmosphere in terms of temperature and moister content of the air to be able to use the most advanced techniques and materials.
 
Youths are trained to acquire the necessary technical skills to build leisure as well as fishing boats using fibre glass and wood techniques. The type of boats produced by the trainees goes from fibre glass canoes, fibre glass optimists’ type of boats up to large wooden fishing crafts. Theoretical and practical training is provided by both local and foreign trainers.
 
An Australian expert in boat building has spent more than one and a half year at the Foundation to train youth to build the trimaran fishing boat Sashimi MK1. A French expert boat builder is currently (Mid June 2011) training youth to build a large catamaran fishing boat in BAFF’s boatyard. More pictures under “Innovative fishing boats”.