Hundreds of water taxis ply Venice's canals and lagoon day and night. The comfort, elegance and speed of the small motor yachts are legendary. Old wooden boats in particular are a feast for the eyes for boat lovers. Almost condemned to extinction a few years ago by GRP boats, these neat mahogany beauties are currently experiencing a renaissance in both restorations and new builds.
If you want to find out more about old Venetian water taxis, you have to visit Pietro Cucchini on the island of San Giorgio, which is directly adjacent to the historic centre. Small pleasure boats called "Lance" have been built there for passenger transport since 1919. "My grandfather Antonio, who had previously built large barges, was one of the first to start doing so in Venice after the First World War," says his grandson Pietro Cucchini, who is now the third generation to run the shipyard. Crossing an old wooden bridge, past the ancient convent walls that enclose the entire shipyard site, you reach a mighty wooden door. Curious visitors have to knock for a long time before they are let in. Then the visitor stands in a noisy, elongated hall amidst a whole armada of jacked-up old wooden boats, all water taxis.
They are sanded, polished and repaired. The completed boats lie in front of the shipyard, pile by pile. The long hulls are made of eight-layer varnished marine plywood. Their grains create a play of light on the milky green water of the Canale di San Pietro and enchant the observer with their unique shapes.
Particularly striking on the boats, which are between 8.50 m and 9.50 m long and 2.05 m to 2.35 m wide, are the long strake of the flat cabin roof and the separate driver's cockpit. The history of the boats' development can be derived very clearly from these shapes, assures the shipyard boss.
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