Gondolier floats dream into reality

  • Published
  • By Jim Sajo
  • Vigileer Contributer
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  When Craig Manley says he is going to do something, you better believe him. Five years ago, when the University of Maryland professor said he was going to build a gondola, most people did not think it could be done. But then, they did not really know Craig Manley. 

On Oct. 19, with the help of friends, family, volunteers, and some contracted drivers and heavy equipment operators, Mr. Manley accomplished something that no American has ever done before. He put his gondola into the waters of Venice. 

Another American, Tom Price, once lived and worked in Venice building gondolas. But he had years of apprenticeship under his belt, and had a crew of experts working with him. In Mr. Manley's case, the entire project - from start to finish - was his own work, done without help or training. 

For the last five years, some of us have seen a glimpse of this unique on-base project as it developed from a pine skeleton to a fully sea-worthy, sleek black gondola some 33 feet long. Mr. Manley used an engineering book written in Italian (with specific technical terms in the local dialect only people from Venice can understand) as his guide. Visiting the sinking city frequently, he spoke with current and former gondoliers, took pictures of every inch of "official" gondolas, and came back to Aviano to continue his work and refine even the smallest detail. 

All of the parts were created at the 31st Services Squadron Wood hobby shop on the flight line. When the shop changed locations about 18 months ago, the gondola had to be moved. For the last year, it has been sitting in a shed under the old hangar behind the Child Development Center. 

Each week for the last five years, Mr. Manley returned to the wood hobby shop to work. Sometimes, as with any project like this, if it was not perfect he had to start over.
Of course he balanced all that effort in with his regular teaching duties at the University of Maryland on base. But that is his job - for the last five years, the gondola has been his passion.
Most modern commercial gondolas are produced at a single factory in Venice. They are constructed almost completely out of special marine plywood and pine. Craig, following the tradition practiced at historic squeros (or gondola yards), preferred to follow the original design, using eight different kinds of wood and 1,000 screws to secure the trim. 

Describing the size of the project, he said, "I had to drill 1,000 holes. Then countersink each one of them - so 2,000. Next I had to drive in each screw, so 3,000 times in all. And that was the easy part!" 

At about 12:30 in the afternoon of the 19th, riding shotgun in a contracted flatbed truck, he arrived at the Tronchetto industrial section of Venice. The unusual cargo drew stares from tourist, motorists, fishermen, and workers at the docks there. 

Mr. Manley popped open a bottle of Prosecco to christen the gondola. He and Alex Hai, the only female gondolier in Venice, poured the bubbly over the bow and finished off the bottle in true Venetian style. 

Next a huge crane lifted the boat off the truck and lowered it gently into the water where Hai took it for a test drive. 

After maneuvering around near the pier for about ten minutes to the cheers, clapping, and high fives of Manley's friends and family, Miss Hai declared the gondola sea-worthy.
Because obtaining a commercial gondolier's license is difficult, for the time being Mr. Manley and his girlfriend Toni will use the gondola for private conveyance around Venice. 

But he might decide to earn the license someday. 

And when Mr. Manley says he is going to do something, you better believe it.