Wooden boat school course fees

I wish to raise money for myself to undertake the 1 year shipwright course in Franklin, Tasmania. During the course in 2021, I will gain the necessary skills required to fulfil my life-long goal of designing and building a community focused sauna site in Hobart.   
Every cent donated will go straight towards my school fees.  The total amount for the course is $15 000 + GST. I have already paid two deposits of $3800 + $1700 from my own savings.
The final instalments are due Jan 31st 2021 and July 2021 so I hope to raise the remaining $11 000 by this time. 
I would be forever grateful for any money contributed to these school fees! I have tried getting funding and assistance through the government, however this course is a non-registered RTO/approved course therefore I am not able to access FEE-HELP, ‎HECS-HELP plus numerous loans and Artist grants. 



Below are the full details on my background, my love for saunas, why I want to gain these particular skills and the business plan. 

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In 2015 I graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Design, majoring in architecture at the University of Tasmania.  After working in an architectural firm in Hobart, I soon realised that the industry was quite different to that of the  university environment and felt it wasn’t suited to my practical and constructive mind set. Dissimilar to the hands-on projects and creative freedom explored during the degree, I found the real-world industry to be restrictive of ‘hands-on’ work and problem solving. Reflective in myself, I felt dissatisfied by the lack of practical knowledge into how joinery and buildings are assembled ranging from the small-scale details to the larger constructions. I also felt that to truly succeed in the architectural industry and achieve the creative freedom one desires,
it takes years of dedication, open-minded clients, skilled builders, larger budgets and a substantiated reputation. I soon understood that these circumstances are rare and much of the time as an architect is spent indoors behind a computer completing renders, spreadsheets, computer generated plans and adhering to bureaucratic expectations. As a result of my experience working in an office, I have turned to various other professions ranging from nannying in Europe to
administration work in Brisbane. What I have learnt while taking time away from the industry is that I still have a proclivity to design and I am passionate about architectural history and the built environment. Around the world I have greatly appreciated a collection of good design followed by skilled builders, carpenters, masons, shipwrights and engineers. My mind and way of learning however, is certainly directed towards practical skilled-based knowledge and I believe that woodwork and this shipwright's course is the ideal medium between practical knowledge and design. My desire to learn how high-quality projects are put together on a small and large scale lies in being in a workshop or outdoors behind the tools. I believe my background knowledge in design plus my passion for timber and practical skills are the driving reasons why I would like to pursue boat building. Furthermore, I believe the boat building course will give me the necessary skills required to fulfil my life-long goal of designing and building a community focused sauna site in Hobart. I have included more on this idea below!


GMS Collective (Give. Me. Shelter. Collective)

As tourism and the local population of Hobart grow in scale with associated changes to our way of life in Tasmania, the articulation of novel concepts and strategies in creative thinking and planning is of absolute importance to the molding of our city. These changes should dominate the critical and artistic spatial discourse in Hobart today. Working in this field of creative discourses which sit within the urban planning of Hobart for local Tasmanians and visitors, I hope to design and build a multi-use collective of small scale named “GMS Collective”  (Give. Me. Shelter. Collective). The entire site would house; one traditional Finnish style smoke sauna, one firewood sauna, a communal/lounge area, a space to hold art exhibitions and residencies and a garden or space to hold events focusing on artistic and cultural exchange. Any money raised with this GoFundMe will go straight towards the school fees for the 2021 shipwright course in Franklin, Tasmania. Over the course of 12 months, I would be developing the necessary skills to work with timber which will carry on to designing and building   the “GMS Collective”. 


Across Tasmania we have witnessed both public and shared artistic spaces act as vital hubs for our community. Projects such as the Collins Court upgrade, Good Grief Studios, the Rosny Hill development, The RICH Hobart project, The Hobart Aquatic Centre redevelopment, Visual Bulk, Junction Arts Festival and Mac 02, along with numerous other proposals across the state, have acted as platforms for social, environmental and political mobilisation. 
GMS collective will undoubtedly achieve these progressions by offering a unique and wholesome space. It will allow; an advance in well-being, all season/year-round engagement and enjoyment, a platform for the arts and education, a celebration of the unique Tasmanian landscape and minimal impact on the land.
Being a sociable resident in Tasmania, I have come to notice drastic changes in human activity between winter and summer months. It is no secret that during winter locals can spend more time indoors, reduce social activities, go straight home after sunset and seek physical and psychological warmth. Retail, hospitality, the arts and tourism are sometimes affected by this lack of human activity. Furthermore, tourists can be limited to a small number of comforting and affordable activities such as visiting art galleries and museums, restaurant/cafes, local retail shops and other small recreational businesses. There are of course countless walks surrounding the cbd, however, this type of activity doesn’t offer comfort, shelter, warmth and the chance to communicate with strangers. It is from these primary observations over many seasons in Hobart that my initial vision was born and how I realised that the GMS collective is absolutely required in Hobart for social interaction and accessibility.

By initiating a dynamic dialog and collective space for local and international artists as well as citizens for the community, various activities and opportunities will arise. 
Firstly, the private artist residency will house 5-6 creatives such as artists, designers, academics, scientists, writers and curators. They would reside in a large studio space separate from the public site during predominately daytime hours (non-residential studios). The aim of the studios would be to provide a peaceful, inspiring and offline environment where creatives can produce new works, hold exhibitions and exchange ideas and knowledge. Artists would also have opportunities to engage with a wider audience, local community and visitors to Tasmania. Creatives would be chosen by application/invitation and the studio use would be free of charge over a 4-6 month period. 
Members of the public would be invited to use the remainder of the site for a sauna session followed by relaxing in the communal areas and enjoying the company of themselves and/or others. 
A sauna session for participants specifically would involve; 
1. taking a shower on site before the sauna to cleanse and refresh the body
2. enter either the smoke or firewood sauna and bathe approximately 10-15 minutes so the body starts to sweat
3. If the air feels too dry, participants or a sauna operator would throw water onto the stove, creating a warm and enjoyable steam
4. participants could then take a contrast shower to refresh themselves or depending on the site, take a dip in a cold pool or the ocean 
5. After cooling off, participants can either enjoy a glass of fresh water, a cold beer, or repeat the session for 10-15 minutes more or in repeated sessions.
6. After the final session, users could take a warm shower to wash themselves properly and dry off
7. Once dry, participants would be free to wander the entire site, soak up the landscape and enjoy company with themselves and friends


Bathing and sweat bath traditions around the world have greatly influenced the overall vision and research for this project. It is through personally immersing in cultures and countries such as Turkey, Japan, Hungary, Germany and Finland, that I have experienced a broad range of bathhouse cultures and why they are so beneficial to communities and participants. One unanimous factor found across all experiences was that bathhouses are highly successful in providing a multi-purpose space for collaboration and community engagement. Regardless of weather conditions and cultural backgrounds of participants, bathing culture around the world has long served mankind in this way. 
Subsequent to an all-season comfort space that acts as a platform for the community to collaborate and engage, numerous other social, economical and environmental benefits were discovered to be of equal importance. The link below is to a table that clearly illustrates these foremost benefits. It should be noted however, that these are just the initial benefits the space would offer. Countless postliminary advantages will naturally unfold overtime and would aim to sustain future activity. 

Table of benefits GMS Collective will offer 


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Thank you so much for putting the time into reading this and being open to considering my life-long goal. For you to make it this far down the page is enough for me to know that there are people out there interested in what I am up to! 
Again, I would be so grateful for any contributions towards my school fees to gain the necessary skills to build this project from the bottom up. I am hard-working and determined and have been dreaming up this idea for years. Your donations will not go under-utilised or understated. 

Hope to see you in Hobart one day for a sweat and/or a boat trip on a vessel i've built myself! :-) 


Wooden Boat Centre website 

Pictures and notes on Finnish sauna from a research trip in 2018