Boat builder Chris O'Keefe eyes off a piece of timber and thinks of the endless possibilities.
He's captivated by the way it feels between his hands, the earthy smell, the sandy colour, the smooth lines, the heaviness.
"It has a soul to it. You can read it," he said.
"Each type of timber has its own personality and when you've been doing this a while, it's almost like you're interviewing a piece of timber for the job it's going to do."
He curves and twists each piece of wood into shape, over and over, hour by hour, until it transforms into a beautiful work of art that's destined for a life on the water.
"Once you finish a boat it comes alive and becomes like a living, breathing entity," he said.
For Mr O'Keefe and his fellow members of the Wooden Boat Club of Cairns, it's more about building the boats than sailing them.
"It's a bit like a woman putting on her make-up, there's a real process to it," he said.
They call themselves the "Men's Shed with barnacles" – a group of mostly retired men with huge personalities, and a couple of women too.
A safe space to open up
Mark Richards joined the club after a career as a naval architect.
"I'm still here 14 years later," he said.
"I love coming down to the club and meeting up with the other guys to work on someone's boat. We usually try to have at least three boats on the go at one time."
Mr O'Keefe himself served two decades in the Navy after a childhood spent building his own billycarts, furniture and even his own double-storey tree house.
But not all members have a background in boating.
Club president Roger Fryer joined the club after deciding he wanted to build a boat, but he needed help finding parts.
"I love the process and the mateship that comes with working on the boats and I know many other guys feel the same," Mr Fryer said.
They natter away for hours while they carve, hammer and clamp – after all, it's a safe space to open up and share what's on their minds.
"That's why we call ourselves 'Men's Shed with barnacles'. If someone has physical or mental problems, it's important they have other people to turn to," Mr Richards said.
"We support each other and we have plenty of coffee breaks and Tim Tams and we're always up for a chat."
A competitive spirit
Once on the water, however, their objects of beauty are put to the test.
At the recent annual Wooden Boat Association Tinaroo Raid, members turned into competitors as they raced some of their handmade vessels.
"There are lots of secret squirrel meetings and lots of lies told, we definitely exaggerate the truth a little so we can win," Mr Fryer said.
The race that causes the most secrecy is the Peculiar Propulsion Race, which requires non-conventional mechanisms to propel the boat forward.
"We have some people pumping water through tubes and others with bicycle-propelled paddle wheels and pumps," Mr Fryer said.
"The winner this year had two levers that moved backwards and forwards by hand, this connected to ropes that moved vertical fins on the transom that also moved."
Not all boats make it over the line, however, and some even end up being towed before they start.
But it's all in good fun.
