The shipwrights and the small double-ended fishing boats which sail the sea

By this time are few the craftsmen of wood, who observe the tradition of the forefather in the making of boats, in particular of small double-ended fishing boats. We can find some of these in Carloforte (in the island of san Pietro), in Sant'Antioco, in Calasetta and in Alghero, in the existing private yards.

During the last years there was a recovery of the shipwrights' activities, even because of the increasing interest towards the latin sail spectacle (the triangular sail which replaced the square one, popular in the time of the Romans: it seems that the innovation was introduced by the Arabs). Among the most important events planned in Sardinia, we recommend the “Trofeo Challenge-Presidente della Repubblica Italiana” (Challenge Trophy – President of the Italian Republic), organized in Stintino.

These boats were used for fishing (in particular the crawfish), for trading and for transporting the materials extracted from mines (from Bugerru and Carloforte) or from the pits of white granits of Villasimius (in general towards Cagliari, a town which has been mostly paved with this quality stone).

Unfortunately, the making of boats in standard fibreglass has caused a crisis in this field, which suffers the high costs of the quality wood needed for the hull.