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shipwright on census records

By expat2021 |
General Genealogy

Hallo everyone, I would be very glad if someone could settle this argument between me and my son (a joiner by trade).
Our 3rd, 2nd and 1st great-grandfather are shipwrights in the 1851, 1861,1871 census' in Liverpool.
Son says they could saw through a plank of wood and drill a hole, but could not build a ship or boat.
Does anyone know what they could do?
Best regards,
Pat Maack-Mooney

I'm a Shipwright by trade and I can assure you I can do more than saw a plank and drill a hole. Rather than me type away, just google Shipwright.

I have to ask did you drop your son on his head as a baby?

Thank you so much for your responses to my posting and I apologise for the delay in writing this. Sorry for exercising you with my flippant post.
The operative words I forgot to put in were “could not write” i.e. parties signing on marriage license records with their mark, when they have been described as a shipwright (can’t find the records again). I asked myself how they could build a boat if they could not read or write. The not dropped on the head son, said they did it with stencils (I think he was sending me up). But this could not have applied to the men who designed the boat. I think the answer is going to be complex.
Looking again at the records in my family, they always signed with their name and must have enjoyed a high level of education as one was a customs and excise officer in 1781.
I could not find a definitive answer to this when I googled it i.e. could a shipwright always read and write, and I don’t have access to books which would help me.
I am in total awe of this profession.

For anyone who is interested in seeing traditional wooden boatbuilding techniques being applied in a modern setting I can thoroughly recommend this Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SampsonBoatCo/videos
Leo Sampson Gould introduces each episode with a brief explanantion of what the project is all about, and you only need to select one episode at random to see the incredible woodworking skills he and his team display.