The wooden brig Windeward Bound looks like it could have been moored at Hobart's docks since colonial times.

In truth, it was built in the 1990s based on a northern American design from 1848.

"The idea began in 1965," Sarah Parry, captain and owner of Windeward Bound, said.

Her passion for sea vessels was ignited by an encounter with the New Endeavour, a ship launched in Denmark in 1919 and purchased by an Australian syndicate in the mid-1960s.

"I fell in love with the New Endeavour straight away and decided I wanted to get involved with ships like that."

Windeward Bound (right) and fellow replica Lady Nelson during the 2008 King of the Derwent race. ( ABC News: Nicole Price )

With a background as a cabinet maker and joiner, Ms Parry set out to learn what she could about boat building.

"I used to haunt the boat workshops of some of the older boat builders.

"They were very free with their knowledge and very free with their time."

The more Ms Parry spoke with people experienced in the construction of ships, the more she realised the practical steps required to build a vessel.

Once a design was settled, she had the problem of how and where to source the materials to make it.

A composite of old vessels and old Hobart

While working as a photographer during the 1988 tall ships race, Ms Parry noticed the piecemeal nature of the wood used in the ship she was photographing.

It looked like recycled timber.

"The logic just hit me," she said.

Building ships out of recycled timbers was common practice to reuse materials and to keep costs down.

Ms Parry set out finding used materials to make her dream come true, discovering scuttled ships left over from the Tasman Bridge collapse in 1975 and a source of wood connected with Hobart's performance history.

Windeward Bound was made from materials recycled from scuttled vessels and the demolished Prince of Wales Theatre. ( Supplied: Sarah Parry )

The Prince of Wales Theatre was a popular spot for live performances and film screenings until its demolition in 1987.

"Every frame in the Windeward Bound came out of the Prince of Wales Theatre," Ms Parry said.

It was also decided that the graffiti and pencil marks etched in the theatre's beams, including love hearts, should be featured and preserved as part of the Windeward Bound.

"It's a composite of old vessels and old Hobart."

More than 200 people helped with the build, from Rotary groups to young offenders assigned to the project as part of their community service.

In 1996, 31 years after her original idea, the Windeward Bound hit the water and set sail for the first time in 1998.

Since then Ms Parry has trained 38 shipmasters, hosted more than 3,000 young people on voyage programs and taken more than 7,000 people on short-term trips.

Keeping Hobart's past living on into the future.