Every now and then, a “Stradivarius of the sea” will find its way back to the workshop on Lake Zurich. Melchior Bürgin explains: “Rowers who appreciate timber craftsmanship and aesthetics – the true connoisseurs – are the ones who bring their boats back to be serviced.” Often, he says, it can “fall very heavy on the heart to make the decision whether a wooden boat should be repaired or scrapped.” Many of them nurture and care for their boat themselves over the years. It is only when there is real damage to their boat – due to a collision with driftwood or another rowing boat, for example – that they bring their boat back to its birthplace, the dockyard in Wollishofen. Many a rowing club will scrap boats like this at some point in order to make space for the modern synthetic boats. For Bürgin, this is not a very sustainable way of thinking, as “synthetic boats are often replaced after only a few years, whereas wooden boats can serve for between 30 and 40 years.” These words are spoken with a great deal of experience and passion. “Wooden boats require more repair work. But this can be dealt with over decades and the repairs can be kept under control. However, the sport has grown significantly since the advent of rowing machines – people learn the technique quickly, but do not know how to maintain the boats.” In other words, you have to treat all boats with care, whether they are made out of wood or synthetic material. Stämpfli is countering this throw-away culture by collecting old boats. “We give many of them away to clubs who can’t afford new boats. We also restore some of the particular treasures or timeless classics”, says Bürgin and adds “The boats that we cannot save or that are still with us after several years sometimes find a place in someone’s home or office as a nice piece of furniture, like a table, bookshelf or even a sideboard.” The sky’s the limit in this regard, he says with a smile.

A timeless classic
 One of the boats that Stämpfli “rescued” themselves is the skiff “Espresso”. Following a collision with another boat, which resulted in the bow of Espresso being destroyed, the rowing club didn’t want to have it restored. However, for the men at Stämpfli there was no question that the boat would be repaired – after all, this is the boat that was the last Stämpfli wooden boat to win a medal in the 1995 World Championships. The boatbuilders of the Stämpfli dockyard are convinced: “Old things don’t need to be thrown away. Here, we make something new from something old.” However, the throw-away mentality is also unfortunately taking with it people’s appreciation for craftsmanship. Only “beautiful things, things worth keeping” are restored now.

Experience is in demand
Even where the craft of wooden boat building is concerned, modern technology can help here and there to restore or repair something. Adhesives, for example, have become stronger and more powerful. But, otherwise, the work is much the same as it always has been. Bürgin sees it as a positive thing that young people are coming back to the challenge of working with wood. Young people also know that they have more to learn in this regard than just how to use wood. Melchior Bürgin is a living legend in the Swiss rowing community and is even a former World and European Champion rower himself. He knows what he is talking about when he philosophises about the feeling of gliding when rowing. His memoirs were published recently, detailing the many years he spent as a professional rower. The book also contains numerous anecdotes about boats and fleets that Stämpfli once flew all over the world and sailed in international regattas. Even though Bürgin has since passed on the business to the younger generation, his former apprentice Daniel Zlinszky, he is still involved whenever possible and wherever he is needed.