Wooden boats are still highly valued today for their reliability, and the craft masters in Punat are considered unsurpassed in the quality of their workmanship
Modern shipyards are mostly located in places with developed industry, in large port cities or next to them. Punat, a small coastal town on the island of Krk, is an unusual destination for a serious shipyard, located right next to the famous marina.
Today, Punat is one of the most important shipyards for maintenance, repair and modification of all types of vessels up to 40 m in length and up to 600 tons. Along with Jadrolinija’s passenger ships and ferries, as well as police patrol boats and local excursion boats, popular catamarans and megayachts can increasingly be found on the slipways, while recreational boats, motor yachts, speedboats and sailboats are held at the nearby Marina Punat Yacht Service, where original parts and marine equipment are sold as well. Considering that the installation of original parts and other interventions are performed by certified masters, the performed works are covered by an insurance policy, which guarantees quality and reliability, giving the owners of the vessels peace of mind.
Shipbuilder Nikola Zorić probably could not even imagine what his small shipyard in Punat would grow into in a hundred years. After 1922 and the start of the business in which he produced wooden boats – models called ”gajeta”, ”leuta” and ”trabakula” for coastal trade and fishing, the industrial revolution brought steam power to the sea, and then the diesel engine, so oars, sails and masts quickly fell into oblivion, replaced by new technologies for building steel and plastic boats that emerged.
Punat shipbuilders did not let time run them over – at the end of the last century, they shifted the focus from wooden shipbuilding to the maintenance of wooden and motor boats, and today to the maintenance of catamarans and megayachts. They continue to nurture traditional woodworking skills, but also to educate young people for the professions of mechanics, locksmiths, electricians. They are regularly educated by authorized institutions and manufacturers of engines and marine equipment, and they also employ specialists in electronics, stainless steel, fiberglass, and even 3D printing.
In the 1980s, Punat Shipyard was the largest shipyard of wooden boats in the Adriatic. Among the most famous are the 34.4-meter-long luxury motor yacht Jadranka, built for Marshal Tito, as well as two luxury yachts 26.9 m long, built in 1967 for a Greek client, which still successfully cruise the Mediterranean.
Contact: Marina Punat
