Samuel & Filhos: where history is recreated perfectly
The wooden construction of historical replicas is one of the areas of specialization of the Samuel & Filhos shipyard – which has been rehabilitating the Nau Quinhentista (16th century ship) of Vila do Conde, built by it and anchored in the River Ave since 2007 – but expertise is an indelible mark on the other projects that come out of its shipyard.
Nau Quinhentista of Vila do Conde, the caravels Bartolomeu Dias (South Africa), Boa Esperança (Algarve) and Vera Cruz (Lisbon), rabelos and other typical boats – the portfolio of replicas of historic vessels from the Samuel & Filhos shipyards is extraordinary. It displays a know-how that not only responds to the great challenges of wooden shipbuilding, but also accompanies the regular activity of the shipyard, which is currently dedicated to the maintenance of fishing and tourist boats.
Founded in 1935 by Samuel Fernandes do Carmo, heir to the experience and technique of this centuries-old craft, the company never left the family sphere. After an interregnum caused by the Second World War, it was rebuilt in 1948, now with the involvement of the founder’s sons, António and Francisco Gonçalves do Carmo. Today, Samuel Carmo, Francisco’s son, and José Manuel Carmo, António’s son, are at the helm. The latter tells us about a business built on passion and resilience.
Every year, “around 50 boats are maintained, both national and foreign. We now have a lot of woodwork for boats on the River Douro”, where “rabelos” (traditional boats) adapted for tourism sail.
The time when work was done on the street
It’s not such a distant past. Until the move in 1994 to Azurara, on the left bank of the Ave, the shipyards were located on the other side of the river, in the heart of the city’s riverside area. It was literally built “on top of the road”, the Cais da Alfândega street, “with cars having to pass under the scaffolding of the boats”. Traffic was often cut off “in order to move timber and plane a plank”, recalls José Manuel Carmo.
There were almost no lifting and transportation systems. There were already mechanical means for the industry, “but the crossbars for the boats to slide on prevented them from being used”. What’s more, the sawmill and timber yard were a kilometer from the shipyard: “The logs to be sawn were carried on a massive wooden wheeled cart, pulled by about twenty men. Once they had been sawn, they were transported on their backs back to the shipyard. We would go along the road with the apprentices, people would pass by and make fun of us…”
Even in conditions “from Roman times”, as the manager jokes, the company built 12 fishing boats at the same time, half of them 30 meters long.
“The logs to be sawn were carried on a massive wooden wheeled cart pulled by about twenty men. Once they had been sawn, they were transported on their backs back to the shipyard. We would go along the road with the apprentices, people would pass by and make fun of us…”
Moving the shipyards to a better space was a long-standing demand, but it was still in the old facilities that Samuel & Filhos specialized in building replicas of old ships, building the first two caravels. “They were made exactly as they were during the Portuguese Discoveries. Only the winch was diesel instead of manual. We have it on display.”
The pride of those who know how to do it well
At the start of the millennium, the construction of the Nau Quinhentista was a Herculean task, brought to a successful conclusion. “It was the largest ship we ever built and a daily challenge,” recalls José Manuel Carmo. Respecting the historical research carried out by Admiral Rogério d’Oliveira – “an extraordinary designer”, who was also involved in the design of the three caravels – it was up to Samuel & Filhos to create a series of solutions.
“We had to think about how to make various pieces, such as the rims of the panel [vertices on both sides of the spar], the aft, all the herringbone planking… And the boat is so round that it wasn’t possible to bend the planks. Every plank you see on the ship, between the waterline and the first castle, was taken one by one at the thickness of huge logs of wood.”
Because “you can’t get large stone pine” in Portugal, exotic woods such as mahogany and kambala were chosen. As well as the logs being “much larger, they offer more guarantees of durability”.
The man in charge of the shipyard speaks of men with knowledge learned by doing, taught by their elders. “Joaquim Marques, Albino Rocha, Manuel Andrade, Joaquim Gomes, Zé Gomes; Alcino, Arlindo… were our oldest workers, some from my grandfather’s time, who trained the younger ones.”
For the naval carpenters and other specialists involved in the construction of old vessels, the final quality of the projects brought “enormous pride”.
The man in charge of the shipyard speaks of men with knowledge learned by doing, taught by their elders. “Joaquim Marques, Albino Rocha, Manuel Andrade, Joaquim Gomes, Zé Gomes; Alcino, Arlindo… were our oldest workers, some from my grandfather’s time, who trained the younger ones.”
Today, active craftsmen are rare talents and “multi-skilled. There used to be foremen who only managed the boat, naval carpenters and interior joiners who focused on their specialty, and caulkers who only caulked. Nowadays, everyone does what needs to be done, depending on the work at hand. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to keep the business open.”
Let new talent come in and much more will be done
“We have clients, but we lack the staff to respond to everything they ask of us. There is a market, but a shortage of human resources. The good professionals are retiring and there’s no one to replace them. It’s a well-paid job, but it’s hard,” says José Manuel Carmo, who sees this shortage as the major threat to the future of the wooden shipbuilding industry. The lack of qualified workers is a reality, which is why investment in training is a priority for CdAN.
At the Samuel & Filhos shipyard, it is currently impossible to think about new construction when there is not enough staff to meet all the requests for boat repairs. This situation, coupled with the lack of space to maintain two production lines, one dedicated to building and the other to repairing, means that this second aspect of the activity prevails. “We can build, but we’d have to give up maintenance, which has taken us a long time to achieve.”
“We have clients, but we lack the staff to respond to everything they ask of us. There is a market, but a shortage of human resources. The good professionals are retiring and there’s no one to replace them. It’s a well-paid job, but it’s hard,” says José Manuel Carmo.
Every year, “around 50 boats are maintained, both national and foreign (by Portuguese shipowners with joint ventures in Africa, particularly Mauritania). We now have a lot of wood service for boats on the River Douro”, where “rabelos” (traditional boatas) adapted for tourism sail. These boats are subject to wear and tear: the fresh water rots the planks and with the high temperatures in the Douro Interior region “the wood bakes completely”.
As well as river tourism, this shipyard with almost 90 years of history, one of three operating in Azurara, maintains all kinds of fishing boats, particularly sardines and gillnets.
Currently, its professionals are working on a special project that fills them with pride: they are restoring the Nau Quinhentista of Vila de Conde, in situ, in order to restore it to its former glory.
