460 years after it sank, this ship is almost ready to sail again, thanks in part to Canadian know-how [Video]

In a large covered workshop on the coast of Spain sits Xabier Agote’s life’s work.

Teams of craftsmen are using hand tools to shape each wooden piece of a Spanish galleon.

It’s been hundreds of years since ships like this were built in the Basque Country, and learning how was one of the biggest challenges.

“We are recovering traditional tools, we are using the same type of woods like in the past, mostly oak trees from our nearby forests,” Agote told CBC News in a recent interview.

In the 1500s ships like this were common in towns like Pasaia.

Hundreds of Basque shipbuilders would build the ships, which would then head across the Atlantic to hunt whales.

They built the ships from experience and …