GUYANA is indeed a land of many beautiful waters and abundant natural resources and the most luxurious way of absorbing its serene beauty is by exploring its rich, dark, and sometimes mysteriously sinister streams, creeks and rivers.

It is only then that one is enthralled by the mystical allure of its rich foliage, forests and animal abundance. Tourists have marvelled at the country while exploring it on water and one individual who makes their trips possible and so memorable is boat builder Leaton Byrone, of Charity, Essequibo Coast.
While this very gifted and talented man resides in the village of Charity, his boat building expertise has spread wide and far.
The Guyana Chronicle found him happily toiling in the sun as he finished a vessel made to order for transporting supplies to Barama Company Limited interior location.
He was comfortably at work on the bank of the Pomeroon River (Charity River Dam), soaking in the dazzling aura as his ideas were made reality using greenheart and purpleheart wood to ensure long-lasting durability.
It was Byrone who built the first wooden yacht, in the early 1980s, for a Florida, United States (U.S.) businessman. That very large vessel took him a few months to complete but, when done, was described by those who saw it, as sleek and fashionable.
It was sailed successfully to Trinidad and then to Florida with no complaints from the owner.

STILL ABSORBS
Presently residing at Lot 6 Perth Village, Essequibo Coast, Byrone has been involved in his occupation for more than 30 years now and still absorbs the joy of standing back and admiring his finished product.
“Boat building has been the joy of my life and it has brought me much happiness and satisfaction. Yes, of course, it is very hard work and inclement weather can be a disadvantage at times, but my love for my job and dedication keeps me going. It is such a thrill to stand back and watch my handiwork when the job is completed,” he remarked.
This talented Guyanese, as a youth displayed a vivid interest in wood and would be observed by family members fitting pieces together, eventually making intricate and appealing ornaments. No one, including him, actually thought that there was a boat building mind bubbling inside him and, as such, even he showed no interest in the things he could create using wood.
However, in his early teens, he began working as a carpenter at a furniture store and boat building entity under the supervision of the owner, Hector Stoll, and over the years he fine-tuned his skills and soon impressed his supervisor with his ability to complete and deliver quality work ahead of schedules.
At age 18, with a reservoir of experience, he moved to Supenaam and began to build fishing boats with Silvan Onah of Good Hope, also on the Essequibo Coast. His knowhow was further developed and he relocated and started his own business at Charity River Dam.
To date, Byrone has built numerous boats for Barama and many of those used for fishing in the Guyana/Venezuela waters are products of his.
But as the old saying goes, there is no gain without a little pain and this has been Byrone’s experience, too.
He said it is very difficult to secure raw materials to fulfil his many boatbuilding orders since the silverballi and greenheart woods are not readily available to him. As such, he may run into problems because of their unavailability, and is forced to travel long distances and pay exorbitant sums to secure them in Region 1 (Barima/Waini).

NEXT YEAR
To solve this problem, Byrone plans to build a vessel for himself next year and use it to transport large quantities and ensure he never runs out of supply.
“It is sometimes very difficult to get the wood you need to do the work because silverballi and greenheart are not always readily around. And the time and money one has to spend in getting them from outlying areas can prove very expensive and time consuming,” he pointed out.
Byrone builds speedboats, passenger carriers and even large fishing vessels for which clients are required to give him at least a month’s notice and required designs.
He is assisted by employees, who are his two sons, Roy and Dennis Byrone and Essequibian singer/entertainer Edward Perez.
Customers who have solicited the services of Leaton Byrone were all satisfied with his handiwork.