The carpentry art is one of the most traditional branches of our country. Knowledge has been passed down from master to master, from mouth to mouth, for centuries now in karnayas. The shipwrights who "built" their valuable experience piecemeal, are now dwindling.
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The profession received its first blow in 1996, when the law for the "breaking up" of wooden fishing boats came into force, with the aim of limiting overfishing. Since then, thousands of fishermen have surrendered their licenses and their boats have been destroyed. Within a few years, Greece has lost most of its fishing fleet, which was also the largest in Europe.
Thousands of schooners, peramas, trahantarias, caiques, barges, schooners, barques, barges have melted under the arms of a bulldozer.
Many of the remaining and minimum orders are used more recreationally by hobbyists than for professional use.. Unfortunately, the organized construction of wooden boats by shipwrights is "dying a slow death"...
Along with traditional crafts, experienced craftsmen are also disappearing. The main reasons are the reluctance of young people to become a fisherman and the minimal demand for wooden boats, given the prohibitive amount of expenses involved in coastal fishing.
According to the data of the Hellenic Association of Traditional Boats, of the approximately 14,500 boats, 12,500 have been destroyed in the last 20 years. Numbers that accurately reflect the "crime" committed against our maritime tradition.
*The photos are from the traditional ¨Kabouroglou¨ carnage in Chalkida