ABOUT LEONARDO BORTOLAMI
He is an expert of design, supervision and execution of restorations of wooden boats and also author of a book on the subject.
Leonardo is into wooden yachts since he was a boy. He graduated in Architecture in Venice and then in Yacht Design at the University of Genoa.
Thanks to the attendance to a course of wooden boat building in Venice and some experiences at shipyards and associations he deepened the knowledge on both yacht design and restoration of classic wooden boats.
The practical execution of restoration works on wooden boats increased his skills and knowledge of typical problems of the traditional materials which he solves with both traditional and innovative methods.
In 2014, he concluded the PhD organized by the Department of Architecture of Ferrara developing a research activity on restoration of historic boats, in particular wooden and wooden-metal composite built boat. During the research period he personally tested his restoration guidelines on the racing dragon Acanto built in 1966.
The Acanto restoration was awarded with various prizes including the "best restoration under 40ft" from Classic Boat magazine.
In 2018 he publishes “Imbarcazioni in legno. Il restauro consapevole” ("Wooden boats. The awareness in the restoration") a book which introduces an innovative approach for identifying the correct procedures of conservation and restoration of wooden hulls. The approach is based both on the building technique and the condition of the original fabric of the boat.
Leonardo works as advisor for restorations and yacht design and as boat builder. He is responsible for the boat building activities of the Scottish Fisheries Museum boatyard in UK.
Among the most recent works there are the consultancy for the refitting of the schooner Delphin, activity still in progress, and the supervision of the restoration works of the herring drifter Reaper, on behalf of the Scottish Fisheries Museum.
Leonardo is into wooden yachts since he was a boy. He graduated in Architecture in Venice and then in Yacht Design at the University of Genoa.
Thanks to the attendance to a course of wooden boat building in Venice and some experiences at shipyards and associations he deepened the knowledge on both yacht design and restoration of classic wooden boats.
The practical execution of restoration works on wooden boats increased his skills and knowledge of typical problems of the traditional materials which he solves with both traditional and innovative methods.
In 2014, he concluded the PhD organized by the Department of Architecture of Ferrara developing a research activity on restoration of historic boats, in particular wooden and wooden-metal composite built boat. During the research period he personally tested his restoration guidelines on the racing dragon Acanto built in 1966.
The Acanto restoration was awarded with various prizes including the "best restoration under 40ft" from Classic Boat magazine.
In 2018 he publishes “Imbarcazioni in legno. Il restauro consapevole” ("Wooden boats. The awareness in the restoration") a book which introduces an innovative approach for identifying the correct procedures of conservation and restoration of wooden hulls. The approach is based both on the building technique and the condition of the original fabric of the boat.
Leonardo works as advisor for restorations and yacht design and as boat builder. He is responsible for the boat building activities of the Scottish Fisheries Museum boatyard in UK.
Among the most recent works there are the consultancy for the refitting of the schooner Delphin, activity still in progress, and the supervision of the restoration works of the herring drifter Reaper, on behalf of the Scottish Fisheries Museum.
