Tsimbas Boatbuilding Carpentry | Boatbuilding on Syros Today

Spyros Xagoraris, known by his nickname “Tsimbas,” began learning the trade of boatbuilding in 1976 at the age of 12 with a craftsman named Zannis Bougioukas. In the early 1980s, he joined his father’s workshop; they built boats for two years, before a drastic decrease in boatbuilding activity led them to pursue boat maintenance and repair activities. Spyros runs the boatbuilding carpentry workshop, located in the outskirts of Hermoupolis, with his son Vagelis.

The collection includes a series of photographs spanning from the mid 1950s to the present day, taken at various boatyards in Syros as well as in Varkiza, a suburb of Athens.

1 From left: Vagelis Xagoraris, Evagelos Paravalos, Aris Mavrikos on a liberty type boat, c. 1960.

2 From left: unknown, and Vagelis Xagoraris at a boatyard in Varkiza, c. 1980.

3 Repair of the “Petros,” a fishing boat, c. 2007.

4 From left: Spyros Xagoraris, Nikos Zorzos, Evagelos Synodinos at construction of “trechantiri” type boat, c. 1976.

5 Vagelis Xagoraris at work on a liberty type boat, c. 1975.

6 Vagelis Xagoraris outside Tarsanas Shipyard, c. 1971.

7 Construction of a liberty type boat in Varkiza, c. 1981.

8 Vagelis Xagoraris and a client’s daughter during construction of a “trechantiri” type boat, c. 1975.

9 Repair of the “Bouboulina,” c. 2012.

10 Vagelis Xagoraris at Tarsanas, c. 1955.

11 Repair of the “Thirasia,” c. 2016.