One of Scotland’s last traditional boatbuilders has told of his devastation after a blaze destroyed his workshop. Peter Matheson, 77, lost several handcrafted vessels in the fire which ripped through a boatyard in Clydebank.
Students come from all over the world to learn from Peter, a former Merchant Navy seaman who has been building boats for decades.
Now a crowdfunder has been launched in a bid to help him rebuild the facility and buy new tools. It had already raised more than £2,400 by Saturday afternoon and Peter told the Record he’s been moved by the “kindness” of those donating.
The fire broke out in the Dock Street boatyard on Thursday night and completely gutted the polytunnel workshop. Peter, from Govan in Glasgow, said: “We don’t know how the fire started but it seems to have been an accident.
“It might’ve been a piece of glass acting like a magnifying glass in the sun and set something on fire. I was completely devastated. Everything we had was in there. The boats, all our equipment, and there was no insurance.
“There were six boats, four were destroyed and two mostly destroyed. There’s a woman who built a boat with me and she only got to use it once, rowing on Loch Lomond, and it’s gone. A 26ft boat which was hardly used was destroyed.
“I’ve got a group coming over on Monday from France to learn boatbuilding. I told them not to come as the workshop has burnt down, but they said they’re coming anyway to help us rebuild which was very nice of them.”
The JustGiving crowdfunder was launched with a target of raising £5,000 to help Peter rebuild his workshop and purchase tools and timber. The funding page says: “Peter is one of the last traditional boatbuilders left located in Clyde boatyard in Clydebank.
“He has volunteers from all over the world come to learn boatbuilding. He’s 77 and still going strong but his whole premises was destroyed by fire. Let’s all get together and raise some money for him to rebuild and continue teaching this dying trade.”
Dad-of-two Peter, who has been married to wife Patricia for 46 years, said: “A lot of people have put money in and I’m so thankful. There’s so much kindness.
“I’m one of the last of the traditional wooden boatbuilders. We mostly build fishing boats and I also teach people boatbuilding to try and keep the trade alive.
“I’ve been at the boatyard for about 12 years, building traditional wooden boats. Before that I was building boats in Govan for about ten years. I spent 24 years running a boatyard in Caithness after being a Merchant seaman so I’ve been involved with the sea most of my life.”
William Brown, 32, who runs Offshore Workboats with his business partner and rents the yard space to Peter, set up the crowdfunder. He said: “Most of Peter’s time is spent teaching people how to build wooden boats. Peter was distraught after the fire. We want to launch the crowdfunding to help him get back on his feet.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson added: “We were alerted at 8.09pm on Thursday, June 15, to reports of a building fire in Clydebank. Operations Control mobilised four appliances to the town’s Dock Street, where firefighters extinguished the fire and worked to make the area safe before leaving the scene. There were no casualties.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 9.05pm on Thursday, June 15, police were called to a report of a fire at a boatyard on Dock Street, Clydebank. Officers attended to assist the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and enquiries are being carried out to establish the cause of the fire."
Donations to the JustGiving page can be made here.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
