"Work is the best way to enjoy life. Making ornamental model ships is my  favourite  hobby which embodies  my love for the sea and the beautiful memories I lived through  when working  in the sea”  maritime Eng.  Rashid Dalati from Lattakia said.    

He added that he is fond of  his work and his hobby of  making models of ships and  steamboats with high technical accuracy, taking into consideration  the simplest details.   

"I started my work in the sea in 1975 and  obtained  a certificate of experience in maritime engineering. I developed it by continuing  my studies at the universities of Batumi, Georgia and Odessa, Ukraine, where I obtained a degree  of chief engineer," Dalati  told SANA.  

Eng.  Dalati, who started his hobby in ornamental ships industry  in 1970 when he was 15 years old, indicated  that he saw a person from Arwad Island making ships ,  watched him and tried to imitate him by making small ships, and that was the first model he made and then he developed himself through working in the sea .   

He was drawing and designing ships and applying their details by making an anthropomorphic   which embodies  the true details of the steamships. 

Regarding the stages of work, Dalati made it clear  that they are being  done  by using simple tools including  a saw, a hammer, bobbin , adhesives, screws,  loose anchors strings , small rods, and hand-carved wood.   

Dalati  added , due to his bad health conditions, he retired from working in  the sea in 2016 and devoted himself to making ornamental ships.He has made 11 ships so far.  He is currently making a model of a Portuguese ship at the request of a customer .  Through his page on  Facebook he receives several orders  to design ships  from abroad. He  sold many of his works in America, Spain, Greece, Romania and other places .

“I spend my free time  in making model ships  that look like real ones, and I give them special  names like the name of my wife and  or my children's names” . Dalati concluded.   

Rawaa Ghanam