From left, club manager Glenn MacMillan and Men's Shed members Ian Hill and Charlie Taylor. Picture: GREG TOTMAN
When Glenn MacMillan first spotted the surf boat named Friendship six years ago, it was lying in a Bulli horse paddock with rotting wood and peeling paint.
But the faded lettering on its side revealed its true character, so the Thirroul Bowling Club general manager formed a plan to return the 8.2-metre vessel to its former glory.
"Friendship is what we try to encapsulate here at the club, so I thought it would be perfect as a bar," Mr MacMillan said.
"I wanted to make it into a massive table for the whole community and the members of the club to gather around and enjoy."
After retrieving the boat from the Bulli property when it went up for sale last September, he enlisted the help of Thirroul Men's Shed members.
They spent more than 600 painstaking hours repairing the boat's rotting keel, eventually constructing a table top for the boat out of Tasmanian oak and jarrah.
The boat was installed in the club at the weekend and Mr MacMillan was thrilled with the results.
"It's amazing - the timber was rotten and it had deteriorated completely, but a lot of work went into it and now it looks a treat," he said.
"I've never seen anything like it in a club before."
He said the boat's strong connection to the Thirroul community made it the perfect talking point.
It was donated to the Thirroul Surf Life Saving Club in 1991 by patron Russell Morrisey, who was also a member of the bowling club, and was used for several races and championships before it was put out to pasture.
"A lot of our older members have ridden the boat and it was in the world titles in New Zealand in 1993, where it came third," Mr MacMillan said.