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Peter Lyons Peter has been around now for close on 60 years, he always liked wood and was always able to make a few things from timber in his spare time. One of the first projects he made was the "Readers Digest" bed, a project in an early DIY book published by Readers Digest. this was a double bed made from Parana Pine. A mahogany coffee table followed, which has been around now for some 30 years. A love of sailing is another passion of Peter's and he has also found that wooden boats are another way of indulging his need for working with wood. He bought his first wooden boat for £10. A clinker built skiff that needed gunwhales fitted. This was duly done and manys an hour was spent off the coast of Co. Down around Cloughey fishing in this old boat. A National 16 dinghy was retrieved when the trailer wheel fell to bits and the owner abandoned it. Peter hobbled together a makeshift wheel and was able to get it to a safe place. He restored the boat and sailed it for a couple of summers, again around Cloughey. Peter then found that there were other people interested in wooden boats. He joined the Old Gaffers Association in 1989. In 1996 Peter bought Honora, his own wooden boat, built in 1939 in Paglesham in Essex. He has restored Honora to a good condition, fitted a new engine, new sails and enjoys sailing and working on the boat with Alison his wife. Now, as Northern Ireland Area President of the Old Gaffers Association, Peter has plenty of contact of a lot of the wooden boats in Northern Ireland, and further afield. He is called upon for advice and help in all sorts of projects. He has built bowsprits and masts for local Gaffers when people have found it difficult to get these thing done. The purchase of his lathe in 1999 has broadened the scope of the things Peter does. He has made many items on the lathe. Peter Joined the Irish Woodturners Guild and enjoys their monthly get togethers in the Woodshed at Templepatrick. He continues to work at his woodturning to improve the standard of the work he produces. He has been awarded prizes for various competitions within the IWG and has found that turned wooden objects make wonderful gifts. Peter has now been elected Hon Sec of the Ulster Chapter of the IWG Peter has also joined the Woodland Trust and acts as a volunteer Warden for Kilcooley Wood. This involves walking around a Wood to watch the trees growing, it is such hard work I love it!! |