the 2016 Course Catalog

Transcription

A C C E S S
TO E X P E R I E N C E
WoodenBoat School 2016
WoodenBoat School Campus
Our Working Waterfront
Mountain Ash Student House
WoodenBoat School Workshops
Farmhouse Student Housing
DEAR FRIENDS
T
HANKS FOR TAKING the time to look
through this, our 2016 course catalog/
website. WoodenBoat School has been
presenting “hands-on” classes for 36 years, and
we’ve been fortunate to watch our program evolve
into an experience that is both unique and special
to so many of you: unique for its vast array of
course offerings in boatbuilding, seamanship, and
related crafts in which we honor the tradition,
history, and craftsmanship of our maritime
heritage; special because of the feeling of
community that exists here each and every week
throughout our entire season. Our staff,
instructors, and students are people of many ages,
of diverse backgrounds, from all over the world, all
sharing a common interest in boats and boating.
You will have endless opportunities to learn
new skills, new ways of doing things, and have a
wonderful time in a truly inspiring environment.
An outstanding faculty is eager to share their vast
knowledge and experience. Students learn by
doing using hands and minds together. You’ll be
encouraged to ask questions, work hard and
learn, challenge yourself, stay up late or wake up
early, and be creative.
Our 64-acre saltwater campus located on the
coast in Brooklin, Maine, is a place where land,
sea, and a big beautiful sky come together and
help provide each individual an easy place to relax
and enjoy oneself. It’s a place where new friends
easily become old friends. A friendly staff, good
food, comfortable accommodations, plenty of
peace and quiet, and a fleet of beautiful boats to
use on our waterfront all make for a pretty
remarkable education center.
So, check out what we have to offer you this
season, and come join us for an experience you’ll
cherish for the rest of your life!
C O N T E N T S
Sailing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Kayaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Boatbuilding and Woodworking . . . . . . 13
Related Crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2016 Off-Site Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2016 Family Week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Faculty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Staff
.....................................
Registration Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
front cover photo © R J Leighton
MAINE
AUGUSTA
BROOKLIN
PORTLAND
NH
Atlantic
Ocean
Rich Hilsinger
Director
2016 WoodenBoat School |
www.woodenboat.com
BANGOR
CANADA
MA
2
55
| (207) 359-4651
BOSTON
SAILING
H OW TO C H O O S E T H E B E S T WAT E R F RO N T C O U R S E F O R YO U
We receive many inquiries from individuals who are thinking about
joining us on the water, yet are unsure which course(s) to sign up for.
While there are certainly different things to consider, we’re confident
that we can help you choose the best course to suit your needs.
All of our Sailing courses focus on becoming a sailor, which
means much more than just learning to sail. Each course takes a
“hands-on” approach, and the majority of class time will be spent
in boats on the water. Our instructors are fine sailors themselves,
each possessing good judgment and a knack for instilling
confidence in a positive environment. Our classrooms are beautiful,
wooden sailing and rowing craft that are a pure joy to step aboard.
Our waters offer some of the finest sailing and cruising in the world.
WoodenBoat School’s Sailing program has something for
everyone, beginner to experienced. A wonderful introduction to the
art of sailing is our very popular ELEMENTS OF SAILING course,
offered throughout the season. For practical reasons, step two
could be repeating ELEMENTS with another set of instructors. It
is easy to forget information from one season to another, especially
if you don’t have access to sailing where you live. The next step
would be ELEMENTS II. Our CRAFT OF SAIL, SKILLS OF
COASTAL SEAMANSHIP and SEA SENSE UNDER SAIL
selections get more experienced students out on an exciting array
of larger sailing vessels. And, for those folks looking for a unique
“liveaboard” experience, we offer COASTAL CRUISING
SEAMANSHIP, CRUISING THROUGH THE WATCHES,
CRUISING IN TANDEM and SAILING DOWNEAST.
You’ll also find excellent opportunities to gain experience in
coastwise navigation and kayaking. So, take your time and read
through these pages slowly. Please keep in mind that we’ll be glad
to help you with any decisions that may prove difficult; just get in
touch with us. Choosing the appropriate course brings not only
the exhilaration of learning new skills, but the satisfaction of time
well spent for everyone involved.
WO O D E N B OAT ’ S F L E E T O F S M A L L C R A F T
28'6"
19'6"
18'8"
18'
16'
17'8"
16'
16'
15'11"
15'11"
15'11"
15'11"
15'11"
15' 11"
15' 11"
BELFORD GRAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Friendship sloop
SWIFTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Caledonia yawl
MACKINAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .gaff ketch
GERONIMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Westpointer
SHEARWATER . . . . . . . . . . .double-ended ultralight
BABSON II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .outboard skiff
WHISP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .sailing skiff
SHENANIGANZ . . . . . .Fenwick Williams catboat
DOVEKIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Herreshoff 12½
WE 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Herreshoff 12½
SEAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Herreshoff 12½
ALLENE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Haven 12½
CRACKERJACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Haven 12½
CONNIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Haven 12½
FOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Haven 12½
14'9"
14'
14'
14'
14'
12'
12'
12'
12'
12'
11'6"
11'6"
10'
9'6"
7' 7"
AMERICAN BEAUTY . . . .Whitehall pulling boat
SKYLARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .sailing dinghy
WILD ROSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maine Coast dory
SHIMMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Biscayne Bay sharpie sloop
WINSLOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Saturday Cove skiff
WHIMSEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beetle Cat
ELATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beetle Cat
JESSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Catspaw sailing dinghy
PICCOLO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .sailing canoe
FERN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fiddlehead, double-paddle canoe
RACHEL and ARETHA . . . . . . . . . .Shellback dinghies
CHARLOTTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tom Hill ultralight
GOOD COOKIES . . .Constant Camber rowing skiff
BIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nutshell sailing pram
LITTLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nutshell sailing pram
C E L E B R AT I N G 3 6 Y E A R S O F WO O D E N B OAT S C H O O L
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SAILING
ELEMENTS OF SAILING I & II
Learn to sail courses that emphasize seamanship,
instill confidence, and are fun.
ELEMENTS I
Jane Ahlfeld & Robin Lincoln — June 26-July 2 (Women Only)
Jane Ahlfeld & Rich Naple — July 3-9
Sue LaVoie & Rich Naple — July 10-16
Sue LaVoie & Martin Gardner — July 17-23
Jane Ahlfeld & Annie Nixon — August 7-13 (Women Only)
Rich Naple & Annie Nixon — August 14-20
ELEMENTS II
Martin Gardner & Rich Naple — July 24-30
Martin Gardner & Robin Lincoln — August 21-27
Since early in WoodenBoat School’s history, we’ve had the great pleasure and
satisfaction of introducing thousands of students to the joys of sailing. Our
ELEMENTS courses continue to be among our most popular offerings, often
bringing students back, year after year, for more sail training. Anyone can learn
to sail, but these courses cover much more than that; our experienced instructors immerse each student in the art of seamanship. Our emphasis is on the
skillful handling of small craft and building confidence in one’s abilities. These
come from practice, and more practice.
Sailing can provide a lifetime of fun and recreation, but it also requires some
basic knowledge and experience. We have observed that the quickest and best way
for folks to learn the fundamentals of sailing is by starting out in small boats. Our
program will get you onto the water quickly, safely, and fully prepared. Under the
calm and knowing guidance of our seasoned instructors, you’ll learn the essentials
—sailing dynamics, boat rigging and spars, and safety precautions —followed by
practical lessons on sailing techniques. Daily hands-on exercises and drills will
take students through getting underway, maneuvering through the points of sail,
keeping a course, tacking, returning to a mooring and dock, and much, much more.
You’ll learn to rig our boats. We have various craft here that are suitable for the
most timid and the most adventurous of students. Your on-the-water-classroom for
the week will be our fleet of Herreshoff and Haven 12½s—keel/centerboard daysailers
that are a pure delight to sail safely. Above all, we want to take the drama out of
sailing—it is a safe and enjoyable sport, and our heavy emphasis on seamanship
should go far toward ensuring this goal. You’ll definitely have fun this week!
When the wind is fickle, you’ll practice rowing and sculling. There will be daily
classroom lessons about charts and navigation, safety equipment and weather
conditions, knot tying and heavy-weather strategy. Our instructors focus their
entire summer on our fleet and waterfront facility; their “sea sense” is highly
tuned, and experiencing that may be the biggest lesson of all.
In our ELEMENTS II course, students who have some prior small-boat sailing experience will have the chance to refresh their own “sea sense” and finetune their boating skills. You will work toward handling our vessels competently
and confidently. Solo sailing will be encouraged, and a variety of more challenging tactical/navigational exercises will be presented. If you’re a graduate of
ELEMENTS I, this is the perfect second step in your mastery of sailing. Essentially, this course is about sailing, sailing, and more sailing!
Tuition: $750
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening.
4
www.woodenboat.com
ELEMENTS II QUALIFICATIONS
Becoming a sailor takes time (more than one Sailing course,
we can promise), and it takes work. To ensure that you
not find yourself “in over your head” in our ELEMENTS
II course, we ask that you have recently completed our
ELEMENTS I course, or have equivalent experience: you
should feel reasonably comfortable sailing a small boat
from a mooring or dock, and returning her safely, using
crew to help. Improving your sailing skills will ultimately
increase your enjoyment of the sport. If you have any questions regarding your abilities, please give us a call.
“I am a student who came to
your ELEMENTS OF SAILING
course with much anxiety and
fear of sailing. Your instructors
and waterfront staff did such an
amazing job that I am so sad to
leave. But, I am departing a
confident and excited person who
can’t wait to learn and practice
more about sailing. It was an
incredible week!”
M.E.T., GILBERT, SOUTH CAROLINA
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
THE CATBOAT
OPEN BOAT CRUISING
The pleasures of a distinct
American sailing craft.
The skills for adventuring.
Martin Gardner — August 7-13
Catboats have been around forever and are as much a part
of America’s history as the Model T Ford or the Wright
Brothers’ first flight. These shallow-draft, broad-beamed,
centerboard boats with a single mast right up in the bow
have played an important role among American working
and pleasure craft. The earliest examples of these vessels
were found sailing in New York waters. As the type spread
into New England, changes were made to accommodate
not only the different conditions encountered along these
open coastlines, but also the different fisheries in which
they would be employed. They eventually garnered the
attention of sailing enthusiasts and became popular as a
racing class, youth sail trainer, family daysailer, and cruising boat. Catboats are, as L. Francis Herreshoff said, “one
of our most romantic types” and survive today as pleasure boats—very pleasurable boats—simple, roomy, comfortable, and when properly handled, very well behaved.
This course combines practical skills with some fun,
relaxed voyaging. We’ll use catboats large and small—from
12' Beetles to a 21' Crosby. We’ll rig them, sail them, reef
them, and moor them. We’ll learn how to let them take
care of themselves, to self-steer, and to heave-to. We’ll pick
exciting destinations for day trips, sail to them, anchor,
and explore local waters and islands. We’ll cover all the
basics of seamanship with particular emphasis on navigation, using tools ranging from the lead line to the iPad.
Catboats lend themselves to relaxed sailing, and we’ll
make a point of soaking up the beauties of the Eggemoggin Reach and other local waters as we cruise under plenty
of canvas.
Tuition: $750
Prior sailing experience required for this course.
Geoff Kerr — August 28-September 3
Beach cruising is an exciting step beyond daysailing. Maybe you’d like to cruise
the Maine Island Trail, participate in the annual Small Reach Regatta, or do some
extended cruising. With simple skills, basic equipment, and modest boats, one can
spend an overnight or an extended expedition voyaging in reasonable comfort,
relative safety, and engaging adventure. Doing so in a trailerable, beachable boat
opens up dazzling parts of the world to exploration and enjoyment. This course
is designed to introduce you to beach cruising with hands-on experience using
time-tested boats, gear, and techniques.
This course will be based onboard NED LUDD and SWIFTY, two of Iain
Oughtred’s versatile Caledonia Yawls. Instructor Geoff Kerr will share his knowledge gleaned from many years of sailing and camp cruising with NED in Penobscot Bay and beyond. You will learn and practice a wide variety of real-world
cruising skills and tactics. Days will be filled with trip planning, keeping an eye
toward weather, tides, and currents; practical navigation using a chart and compass; rowing, sailing, reefing, and beyond; anchoring, beaching, and getting ashore;
communications; and safety.
Each day will start with a planning session for that day’s adventure, choosing a
destination and routes to maximize adventure and your opportunities to stretch
your experience. You’ll land frequently, with a major stop midday for lunch, island
exploration, and the chance to try to keep your boat where it belongs. These island
sessions will also allow for demonstrations and discussions of provisioning, camping gear and strategies, and access to and stewardship of beach cruising grounds.
Afternoon return passages will be by different routes, taking full advantage of the
wonders of Penobscot Bay and the everchanging conditions. Students will return to
campus in time for dinner and to recharge for the next day. All you’ll need to bring
with you are your enthusiasm for small-boat sailing, your sense of adventure, and your
foulweather gear (just in case). A list of personal gear and clothing will be provided
upon registration.
Tuition: $750
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening. You should come to the course with
at least intermediate sailing skills. We’d also like you to realize that while this is not a survival course, it will be an active one. We’ll be planning and making daily passages, rowing
and sailing as it happens, come sun, rain, fog, or calm. We’ll be in and out of boats repeatedly, with wet feet and no docks. It might be hot, it might be
cold, it might be wet…it will be fun.
5
SAILING
COASTWISE NAVIGATION
SEA SENSE UNDER SAIL
Knowing where you are on the water.
Experience the true joy of sailing
with a lifelong sailor.
Rich Naple — June 19-25
Except in the smallest bodies of water, the sailor is helpless if he or she
lacks the age-old skills of piloting and dead reckoning. Even in the
clear waters of the tropics, vigilant eyeball navigation is not enough
to keep a vessel off the reefs. Along Maine’s coast of cloudy waters, sharp
rocks, and sometimes thick fogbanks, only a fool would get underway
without a good understanding of how to use charts and instruments
to navigate a safe voyage. For these reasons, basic piloting is taught in
all our Seamanship classes. The goal of this course is to give students
a really thorough understanding of and facility with, the subject—
approaching it both “academically” and on the water.
You’ll start with charts, the fundamental tool of the navigator.
Modern charts present an incredible amount of information, and to
really utilize it all—to continuously visualize the connection between
the chart and your spot on the water—takes skill and experience.
Rich will help you acquire both. You'll learn about symbols, scales,
specialized charts, and more.
You’ll examine compasses—
types, azimuths, lubber lines, the
confusions of deviation and variation. Parallel rules and dividers will
become your friends as you learn the
techniques of plotting courses, LOPs,
and fixes. You’ll move on to more
advanced procedures such as running fixes, compensation for set and
drift, bow and beam bearings, circles of position, and the six-minute
rule. You'll go boating a lot in this
course, putting your lessons into
practice and getting skillful with the
tools. You’ll use traditional and reliable instruments like the compass and leadline, and you’ll get your hands on electronic devices
like depthsounders, Loran, and GPS. A day or two of fog will be welcome, but barring that, you’ll work under an airplane pilot’s training
glasses to experience running blind.
The beauty of this course is that it provides the ideal blend of
the theory and practice of coastal navigation. By week’s end, you
should be able to enjoy the niceties of piloting and relax more with
your boat on the water.
Tuition: $750
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening. Students should be
in good physical condition, have good balance and agility and the ability
to enter and exit small boats from larger craft, beach or rocky shore.
6
www.woodenboat.com
On board the 50' Gaff-Rigged Sloop VELA
Havilah Hawkins — September 4-10, September 11-17
Havilah “Haddie” Hawkins has been sailing and fooling around in
boats throughout his life. His father, Havilah “Buds” Hawkins designed,
built, sailed, and skippered boats his entire life and was a well-known
fixture in the wooden boat community. It’s no wonder salt water
quickly found its way into Haddie’s veins. WoodenBoat School is
excited to offer students a one of a kind opportunity to sail and learn
from this master mariner on board the beautiful 50' gaff sloop of his
own design, VELA. This will be a glimpse into the lure of sailing—a week
full of seamanship, skills afloat, sound advice, and storytelling under
sail. You’ll learn how to control VELA on all points of sailing, how her
sails work, their trimming, the forces involved, dealing with wind
shifts, picking up moorings, anchoring and laying to. Haddie will also
share his thoughts on the practical aspects of running and maintaining a large vessel, and running a safe ship. Students will also learn
about navigation, the weather and tides, the visual signs you should
watch for, coastal geography and geology, marine life, sea conditions,
and using common sense. Above all, this will be a wonderful occasion
to enjoy the fun and rewards of sailing.
Tuition: $750
to enter and exit small boats from
larger craft, beach or rocky shore.a
“This was a fantastic week that far
exceeded my expectations. I now feel
confident at the helm and I’m ready to sail
my own boat. And I can’t wait to pass this
knowledge to my kids! I’ll be back. I
couldn’t be more happy with this entire
experience. Thank you so much!”
K.G., WILLOUGHBY HILLS, OHIO
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
THE SKILLS OF COASTAL SEAMANSHIP
Seamanship, night sailing, and exploration
aboard PATIENCE B.
Andy Oldman — June 26-July 2
In this course, Andy Oldman provides experienced sailors with a unique opportunity to sharpen their boat-handling skills in the challenging and intriguing
environment of the Maine coast.
We will begin with a review and practice of handling Andy’s lovely and widely
traveled boat, the 36’ ketch PATIENCE B, under sail and power. Andy continually emphasizes safety, fitness, and the constant vigilance required for coastal
piloting. Students will refresh and practice their knowledge of chart navigation
using hand lead and compass, electronic sounder, radar, and GPS. You will then
sail off on courses for explorations and island landings. During one of the island
landings we will demonstrate setting up and using a portable outhaul mooring
for one of our dinghies.
On your days of exploration the class will sail a course for, and chart, one of
the tiny entrancing, secluded anchorages within a half-day’s sail of the school. These
favorite places are often vaguely charted, so students can expect the charting of,
and sometimes the entry into, these anchorages to involve an exciting mixture
of fun and cooperation on the boat, in the tender, and ashore. You’ll assemble the
basic data required to make a reasonably accurate hand-made chart by recording electronic and hand soundings, establishing land bearings, and making
sketches.
Weather permitting, there will be at least one long sailing day with dinner
aboard in which PATIENCE B will be underway during twilight until you moor
under sail at WoodenBoat. Twilight sailing will demonstrate the value and comfort achieved in planning, visualizing, and sighting the important waypoints
along the intended course such as key islands, land silhouettes, and buoys.
Safety and fitness issues will include frank discussions on seasickness, the
challenges of moving about the deck at night and in rough weather, and methods and products available for rescuing a man overboard. Toward the end of
the week, we will practice a man-overboard recovery while underway.
There will also be extensive emphasis on developing one’s senses to the everchanging tidal and climactic conditions; how wave forms vary off major capes
and outlying islands, and how in the fog those subtly changing wave forms may
assist in navigation; we will also demonstrate how access to island beaches may
vary dramatically according to the state of the tide.
Complementing those skills, we will demonstrate techniques for anchoring and
mooring under sail, the use of two or more anchors, and the use of a simultaneous
pair of anchors. During a quiet morning or afternoon, we will also demonstrate
and practice the use and magic of spring lines for docking and undocking.
This is a wonderful chance to share Andy’s enthusiasm for, and knowledge
of, various techniques used for entry into difficult anchorages and inter-island
passages; twilight and night piloting; and hand charting and exploration of special, local anchorages. It’s a “must” for any sailor wishing to learn and improve
the art of safe cruising.
Tuition: $750
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening. Students should be in good
physical condition, have good balance and agility and the ability to enter and exit
small boats from larger craft, beach or rocky shore.
EAST, WEST, AND ISLAND
EXPLORATION
NEW
A delightful blend of seamanship practices
and selected yoga techniques for sharpening
sailing skills and understanding nature’s ways
while exploring local waters and islands.
On board the 36’ KETCH PATIENCE B
Andy Oldman & Madeline Otani Oldman — July 10-16
The Maine Island Trail (MITA) is a 325-mile-long waterway extending from Casco Bay in the west to Machias Bay in the east. The trail
winds its way along the coast over saltwater rivers and quiet bays,
around magnificent and exposed capes, and among islands large
and small. It takes advantage of the existence of over 90 privately
owned and state-owned islands and numerous public mainland
sites along the route, using them for day visits or overnight stopovers
where one can camp in a wilderness setting.
Come share Andy and Madeleine Oldman’s enthusiasm for exploring, gunkholing, and navigating the MITA islands. The emphasis of
this course will be to balance the skills and demands of island seamanship and to develop a deeper self-awareness with the incredible rewards of time spent ashore on these islands and islets. We will
blend these experiences, thought processes, and the dexterity needed
aboard into the yoga exercises, which will enhance coordination,
concentration, confidence, and mindfulness, and complement good
seamanship.
The extent and range of exercises will be tailored to each participant and class to maximize and sharpen your focus, dexterity, balance, and other skills needed for successful coastal sailing. Practice
sessions will be divided into no more than two 45-minute sessions
ashore each day.
Each day’s voyage will be planned, charted, and navigated by the
class to reflect wind and sea conditions and the particular emphasis
of the island selected for exploration. All participants will have the
opportunity to learn as much as they wish about gaff rig, chart work,
weather prediction, and electronic aids to navigation. The anchoring and landing process is often complex and exciting. At particularly
challenging locations, we often make our own detailed charts of the
island anchorage so that return visits may be repeated with safety
and certainty. We will also discuss and problem-solve how in thick
fog PATIENCE B may safely approach, anchor, and then make an
ideal beach landing.
Andy continually emphasizes safety, fitness, and constant vigilance required for coastal piloting. Students will refresh and practice
their knowledge of chart navigation using hand lead and compass,
electronic sounder, radar, and GPS. We will then sail off for island landings, exploration, and a true appreciation of nature.
Tuition: $750
Note: Students should be in good physical condition, have good balance
and agility and the ability to enter and exit small boats from larger
craft, beach, or rocky shore.
7
SAILING
TALLSHIP SAILING AND
SEAMANSHIP
Learn numerous skills and sail handling
aboard the schooner MARY DAY.
Capt. Barry King & Jane Ahlfeld — July 17-23
WoodenBoat School invites
you to join Jane Ahlfeld and
Capt. Barry King for a week of
experiential instruction aboard
one of Penobscot Bay’s legendary tall ships, the schooner
MARY DAY. Launched in 1962
and rebuilt during the winter
of 1999/2000, the schooner is
90' on deck, 125' sparred
length, displaces 96 tons, and
carries 5,200 sq. ft. of canvas
with more sails than any other
windjammer on the bay. She is
a big, pure sailing vessel, designed and rigged along the lines of a
traditional coasting schooner, but built with comfort and safety
in mind.
During this “hands-on,” team-oriented course, students will
have the opportunity to become integral members of the MARY
DAY crew. Topics covered will include general seamanship, coastal
navigation, and marlinespike seamanship. Students will be divided
into teams to learn the skills that every sailor needs aboard any vessel. The crew of MARY DAY will expertly guide you in trimming
and handling sails, steering, plotting a course, stitching a ditty
bag, and going aloft (optional) to stow the topsails. On Friday,
students will take command and utilize the skills they have been
learning throughout the week.
Like any windjammer cruise, we will get ashore each day to
walk, stretch, and explore. There will be time at night to enjoy
some traditional sailor’s songs and relax under the stars. Great
food is the hallmark of any windjammer cruise to satisfy the
hardiest appetites, including a Maine lobster picnic.
The rhythm of shipboard life provides a unique environment
to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the Maine coastline. Most importantly, Barry and Jane bring humor, joy, and a
relaxed atmosphere to the sailing experience. Join Barry, Jane,
and the crew of the MARY DAY for a great week under sail discovering the workings of a traditional sailing ship.
Tuition: $1,175
Note: This is a six-day course that begins and ends in Camden
Harbor, Camden, Maine. All reservations should be made
through the schooner’s office at 800-992-2218. www.schoonermaryday. com. There is space available for friends of participants
who would rather not take part in the hands-on sail training.
8
www.woodenboat.com
CRAFT OF SAIL
Learn and enjoy big-boat sailing
with a master.
On board the 40’ Sloop TAMMY NORIE
Joel Rowland — July 10-16
On board the 39’ Yawl MISTY
Queene Foster — July 3-9, August 14-20,
August 28-September 3 (for women only)
On board 32' Gaff Sloop BUFFLEHEAD
Daniel Bennett — July 17-23, August 21-27
CRAFT OF SAIL is for folks who have some previous sailing
experience, whether it comes from a seamanship program or
personal involvement with boats. The course is designed for
those who want to improve their skills and confidence on the
water, particularly in the context of a cruising-sized vessel.
Subjects include sail theory, hull and rig balance, helmsmanship, piloting in clear weather and fog, approaching and leaving floats and moorings, knots and rigging, man-overboard
strategy, handling ground tackle, crew management; and, with
those of our vessels that have power plants, maneuvering under
power, and the rudiments of auxiliary engines and navigation
instruments. The seaman aspires to the mastery of many subjects, but the essence of the craft of sail is sea sense: the ability
to tune in to a boat, the weather, and the crew, and apply good
judgment so that all work together harmoniously. Our instructors understand this, and they will help you to acquire that
sense by sharing their own experiences and by encouraging
you to think and feel a boat through various real and “what
if” situations. With a maximum of five students, there is plenty
of opportunity to ask questions and try tricks at the helm.
There are numerous sailing schools out there, but few offer
experience in cruising/charter-sized vessels like these—and
none that we know of offer instruction by such experienced
sailors on such lovely yachts.
Tuition: $750
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening. Students
should be in good physical condition, have good balance and
agility and the ability to enter and exit small boats from
larger craft, beach or rocky shore.
“Thank you for one of the most exciting
vacations I have ever experienced!”
B.K., HOWELL, MICHIGAN
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
C R A F T O F S A I L B OAT S
TAMMY NORIE is a 40' sloop designed by Kim Holman. Built to be both a comfortable family
cruising boat and a blue-water voyager, she was constructed in 1969 at Whisstock’s Boatyard
in Woodbridge, England. The boat was one of seven sister ships (known as the Whisstock
Landfall 40s) built by the yard between 1958 and 1972. On her maiden voyage, owner Bud
McElfresh and his family delivered TAMMY NORIE from England to Connecticut. She cruised
in Long Island Sound and along the Eastern Seaboard with the McElfresh family until she was
purchased in 1992 by Dr. Mike Rowland and delivered to Maine. She has since completed two
more transatlantic voyages and has received constant maintenance and upgrades to her
hull, cockpit, cabin, and rig. Owned now by Joel Rowland, TAMMY NORIE has been outfitted
for coastwise sailing and charter work. She is a modern, beautiful, simple, and stable boat for
anyone wishing to learn sailing skills while exploring the islands and bays of the Maine coast.
MISTY is one of the famed 39' Concordia yawls built at Abeking and Rasmussen in
Germany for the Concordia Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Designed by Ray
Hunt and Waldo Howland in 1939, the 39s served as family cruisers and successful bluewater racers, and are known for their intricate construction details, beautiful proportions,
and grace on the water. MISTY spent 45 of her 52 years on the Great Lakes in the care of
one loving family who raced her successfully. She’s received excellent care over the years,
and has never needed a major rebuild. Her layout and details are original. Her yawl rig
provides many lines to pull to adjust her sails to perfection. MISTY is easy to sail in nearly
all conditions, because no sail is too large to handle.
NEW
BUFFLEHEAD is a 32' gaff sloop designed and built by Bud McIntosh in 1966 as his
personal boat. Shaped full above the waterline and hollow below, BUFFLEHEAD is
swift, safe, and easily driven. She sails well in light breezes, stays stiff in stronger winds,
and when calm, her quiet two-cylinder, 13-hp engine gets her to her destination. She
is an ideal vessel for the Maine coast, nimble and predictable, with a comfortable cockpit, simple rig, wide side decks, and a cozy cabin.
VELA, a 50' straight-stemmed, gaff sloop, was designed by owner/skipper Havilah
Hawkins and built in 1996 by the Wooden Boat Co. in Camden, Maine. Sporting
a single headsail and a large mainsail—800 sq ft on a 35' boom—VELA is a pleasure
to sail in all wind conditions. Lazyjacks and lifts enable the huge mainsail
to be easily handled by only two people. Comfortable, seaworthy, and well balanced,
this beautiful boat provides a perfect classroom for students who will learn
how to work with the wind and sea, not against them.
9
SAILING
CRUISING THROUGH THE WATCHES
Voyaging safely and confidently under sail.
COASTAL CRUISING
SEAMANSHIP
A week’s cruising on the coast of Maine.
On board the 39' Ketch ABIGAIL
Hans Vierthaler — July 17-23
Why do people cruise in sailboats? Today there are probably at least as many people cruising for pleasure in sailboats as there were professional American seamen in the heyday of commercial sail. The ingredients have always been there for a most relaxing,
rewarding way of getting away from one’s usual surroundings into a whole new world,
one confined to the immediate horizon, the nearest landfall, and the secure dimensions
of a sailboat. For those of you contemplating what it is like and how to make an
overnight or extended trip along the coast, or an ocean voyage, this week with Hans
will shed plenty of light on the subject. We offer this opportunity to the experienced,
large-boat sailor wishing to advance his or her skills in the areas of coastal piloting,
navigation, sail-handling, watch-keeping, safety at sea, and much more. In addition to
the topics covered in our COASTAL CRUISING SEAMANSHIP courses, the
centerpiece of this liveaboard course will be journeying overnight to a destination.
Students will be able to immerse themselves in the daily routines of a traditional sailing vessel, while learning how to choose and plan a long-range destination appropriate for weather and tide conditions, safety considerations, standing a watch, and
nighttime piloting. The moon will be moving towards its fullest stage during this
week, and we hope to take full advantage of it and experience the thrill of moonlit
sailing.
The week will start with Hans explaining the various systems, instrumentation,
and sail configurations aboard his beautiful 39' ketch ABIGAIL. After spending the
first night in a secluded anchorage, Hans and his students will determine the best
option for an extended cruise after listening to the weather, developing a “back-up” plan
should conditions change, and laying out a watch schedule. Tuesday you’ll set off on
your adventure.
Designed to build the confidence of sailors who are seeking new challenges and
wish to go beyond the boundaries of day sails from the WoodenBoat waterfront,
CRUISING THROUGH THE WATCHES may help one prepare for eventual
boat ownership and/or realize the dream of an extended cruise. Whatever your reasons
for signing on for this course, you will find your captain an experienced and patient
instructor, and eager to share his 20 years of experience sailing in the coastal and offshore waters of Maine.
On board the 39' Ketch ABIGAIL
Hans Vierthaler — August 21-27, September 4-10
Over the years we’ve learned that the best way to discover the
pleasures and develop the skills of cruising under sail is to sail off
in the right boat with the right skipper. This season we are again
proud to offer three liveaboard courses on board a classic vessel.
The 39' John Alden–designed cruising ketch ABIGAIL, with
Hans Vierthaler as your instructor, is a beautiful example of
a bluewater yacht, and a great vessel on which to learn about
sailing. Designed to provide the maximum of comfort and
seaworthiness, accommodating students in a safe, spacious
manner.
Hans Vierthaler is a seasoned, proven, and enthusiastic sailor
who has spent a good portion of his life sailing and living
aboard boats. He will create a custom-tailored course in which
you will be patiently coached toward the next level in your
sailing career—whether it be skippering a vessel on your own,
or crewing with increased confidence, competence, and enjoyment. Everyone shares in the responsibilities of the cruise,
including skippering, navigating, and cooking. There’s time,
too, to savor the pleasures that cruising is all about— feeling a
well-found vessel moving through a seaway, experiencing the
peace and freedom of life at sea, and slipping into quiet anchorages each night.
This is a rare opportunity to learn anything and everything
you wish to about the complex subject of big-boat cruising,
and we’re very pleased to have the chance to offer it to you.
Tuition: $1,250
Note: Students should be in good physical condition, have
good balance and agility and the ability to enter and exit small
boats from larger craft, beach or rocky shore.
Tuition: $1,250
Note: Students should be in good physical condition, have good balance and agility
and the ability to enter and exit small boats from larger craft, beach or rocky shore.
ABIGAIL is a lovely 39' ketch designed by John Alden in his later years
and built by Seth Persson in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Rugged yet
handsome, this double-planked boat was originally launched in 1956.
Having undergone both a structural and cosmetic restoration at Brooklin
Boat Yard, ABIGAIL was relaunched in the summer of 1994. She is no
stranger to the Maine cruising community and has also cruised the
Caribbean during a brief period of ownership by an Italian count. Varied
sail inventory gives ABIGAIL the versatility one needs for the changeable
winds found on Maine’s coast, and a 4108 Perkins diesel is always available for those flat-calm days. Her spacious cockpit, wide decks, high bulwarks, standing headroom, and current electronics all contribute to a
comfortable learning experience.
10
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
SAILING DOWNEAST
CRUISING IN TANDEM
Exploring the Great Wass & Roque Island Archipelagoes
The pure simple joy of sailing and cruising.
On board the 36' Ketch PATIENCE B
Andy Oldman — July 31-August 6
On board ABIGAIL and MISTY
Hans Vierthaler and Queenie Foster — July 24-30
In this course on board the 36' ketch PATIENCE B, Andy Oldman and three students will chart a course for the unsurpassed beauty of Maine’s Downeast
cruising grounds and islands east of Mount Desert. We will visit and explore the
Great Wass Island and Roque Island archipelagoes. Our itinerary, always subject to weather and sea conditions, will include Jonesport, Mistake Island Harbor, The Mudhole and Crumple Island, and on to Roque Island, famous for
its cirque sand beach, and adjacent islands: Great Spruce and The Brothers.
This course has an ambitious schedule, and students can look forward to
extended days under sail with possible overnight sailing in the mix. Undoubtedly, the weather will vary, consisting usually of fine summer winds mixed in
with some thick Downeast fog.
Students will commence loading at noon on Sunday, and depart for Frenchboro in plenty of time to arrive before dark. At first light on Monday,
PATIENCE B will depart for Moose Peak lighthouse and Mistake Island Harbor on Great Wass, and arrive by sunset. The return is timed to enjoy the
spectacular scenery and sunset off Schoodic Point and Mount Desert as we
head west to Frenchboro again for our final night at anchor. We will return
in time to regale our fellow classmates with exciting Downeast tales at the
Friday night lobster bake. Navigation, sail handling, maritime safety, anchoring, our own meal preparation, and island landings/exploration will occupy
much of our time. Under sail we will have the opportunity to extensively use
radar and a state-of-the-art chart plotter. On land, plenty of time is available for hiking, sketching, and photography. PATIENCE B has carried two
families some 45,000 miles on two major open water passages, and is fully
equipped and well found. She is spartan by contemporary yacht standards, filled
with old-world ambiance and comfortable, cozy accommodations. Andy will
communicate with the selected students to arrange basic meal planning, gear
necessities, etc. well in advance of our departure.
If you’ve ever wondered what it is like and how to make an
extended trip along the coast, or an ocean voyage, this week
with Hans and Queenie will shed plenty of light on the subject. We offer this opportunity to the experienced, large-boat
sailor wishing to advance his or her skills in the areas of coastal
piloting, navigation, sail-handling, safety at sea, and much more.
Shipboard life and cooking aboard will also be part of this cruising experience. In addition to the topics covered in our
COASTAL CRUISING SEAMANSHIP courses, the centerpiece of this liveaboard course will be cruising in the company
of another boat and an extended group of sailors. Students will
be able to immerse themselves in the daily routines of a traditional sailing vessel, while learning how to choose and plan a
long-range destination appropriate for weather and tide conditions, and safety considerations.
The week will start with Hans and Queenie explaining the
various systems, instrumentation, and sail configurations aboard
their beautiful vessels--Hans and his beautiful 39' ketch
ABIGAIL, and Queenie and her gorgeous 39' Concordia yawl
MISTY. After spending the first night in a secluded anchorage,
both instructors and their students will gather together and
determine the best option for the remainder of the week after
listening to the weather, and developing a “back-up” plan should
conditions change. Tuesday you’ll set off on your adventure.
During the week, students will have the opportunity to change
vessels for the day to get a feel for how the other vessel performs
under sail. It will be a wonderful chance to see how the other
crew lives or sails, so to speak.
Designed to build the confidence of sailors who are seeking new
challenges, CRUISING IN TANDEM may help one prepare for
eventual boat ownership and/or realize the dream of an extended
cruise. Whatever your reasons for signing on for this course,
you will find your captains are experienced and patient instructors, and eager to share their many years of experience sailing
in the coastal and offshore waters of Maine.
Tuition: $1,500
Note: Due to the extensive physical challenges of the trip, excellent physical condition, good balance, and agility are basic requirements for this voyage, along with
previous large-boat sailing experience.
Another traditional sailing vessel for a variety of our Seamanship courses is the
William Hand–designed 36' cruising ketch PATIENCE B, launched in 1988. Harry
and Martha Bryan and their two children spent three years lovingly crafting the gaffrigged boat and then sailed off on a 32,000-mile adventure that most folks only
dream about. In 2000–2001, Andy, Madeleine, and Sumi Oldman continued the
adventuring on PATIENCE B with a 20,000-mile voyage to France, the
Mediterranean, the Atlantic islands, Brazil, Chile, and home to Boston via the
Galápagos Islands and Panama Canal. PATIENCE B is not only beautiful to look at,
but a great pleasure to sail. She is a proven bluewater sailer, dry, comfortable, handy,
able, and reasonably quick if her crew treats her properly. The versatility of her rig
gives her the ability to be sailed quite comfortably under any wind or sea condition.
Tuition: $1250
Note: Students should be in good physical condition, have good
balance and agility and the ability to enter and exit small boats
from larger craft, beach or rocky shore.
11
KAYA K I N G
THE PLEASURE OF SEA KAYAKING
Expert guidance for enjoying paddling in all types of water.
Perhaps nothing, absolutely nothing, conveys the joy of being afloat quite so purely as a kayak. Thus, WoodenBoat School offers
you two outstanding opportunities in a world-class setting to learn and enjoy the art of this popular water sport. In a series of
day trips, you’ll explore some of the most spectacular parts of the Maine coast. From the basics to tips on accomplishing more
advanced sea kayaking skills, these courses and talented instructors will enable you to discover a new and exciting environment
that beckons just off saltwater and freshwater coastlines everywhere.
ELEMENTS OF COASTAL KAYAKING
Mike O’Brien — September 4-10
Selecting an appropriate kayak; safety skills; basic gear and equipment;
transporting kayaks; paddling strokes; launching and landing; nautical
charts and navigation; capsize and recovery skills; and better understanding weather and sea conditions are a sample of the many topics
covered in this fully comprehensive course. Good fun and a great education!
Tuition: $750
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening. Students should be in
good physical condition, have good balance and agility and the ability to
enter and exit kayaks from beach or rocky shore.
ELEMENTS OF RECREATIONAL
KAYAKING
NEW
Mike O’Brien — August 21-27
In this easygoing introductory course, you’ll explore the same idyllic
waters and islands visited by our ELEMENTS OF COASTAL KAYAKING course – but we’ll paddle stable, extra-wide kayaks at a comfortable pace. Those new to kayaking will find basic paddling strokes and
other techniques more easily mastered aboard these friendly boats.
Tuition: $750
to enter and exit kayaks from beach or rocky shore.
Note: Kayaks, paddles, sprayskirts, and life jackets will be provided by the School,
but students are welcome and encouraged to bring their own if desired.
“You have a treasure here.
The staff, food, instructors, fellow
students, your waterfront – everything
made this a wonderful experience
with like-minded souls.”
S.M., BELMONT, NEW YORK
12
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| (207) 359-4651
BOATBUILDING &WOODWORKING
H OW TO C H O O S E T H E B E S T B OAT B U I L D I N G C O U R S E F O R YO U
The key to deciding which class best suits your needs is to carefully
read each course description, which incorporates much
information about the course’s content and level of experience.
We’ll also be glad to help you with any questions you may have
after reading this catalog, and if need be we can put you in contact
with our instructors. Choosing the right course means that you will
be satisfied, appropriately challenged, and among others whose
goals and abilities are similar to yours. Keep in mind that having
some previous hand tool/woodworking experience will result
in a much richer experience for anyone interested in one of
our boatbuilding courses. For those lacking this experience,
we highly recommend taking our INTRODUCTION TO
WOODWORKING course or a basic carpentry class in your
hometown before signing up for one of our boatbuilding
classes. For those of you looking for a great introduction to
traditional wooden boat construction, we recommend:
FUNDAMENTALS OF BOATBUILDING, INTRODUCTION TO
BOATBUILDING, BUILDING A NORDIC PRAM, BUILDING
THE OCEAN POINTER, BUILDING THE McKENZIE RIVER
DORY, BUILDING A MAINE COAST PEAPOD, and BUILDING
A DORY. If you are interested in a certain type of construction,
there is plenty to choose from. You’ll find various courses in the
following construction methods: plank-on-frame, plywoodepoxy, strip-plank, stitch-and-glue, and much, much more. You’ll
also find a wide variety of courses in which a class or individuals
will build canoes or kayaks. A fair number of students are
interested in taking a series of courses, with a goal of becoming
more proficient or even working toward a career in boatbuilding.
We suggest considering the following sequence: LOFTING;
FUNDAMENTALS OF BOATBUILDING; BUILDING HALF
MODELS; ELEMENTS OF BOAT DESIGN; then one or more
courses that focus on a particular design or type of construction.
Many of our shop courses are designed for beginning,
intermediate, or experienced woodworkers; a wise choice based
on skill level can determine how much you may benefit from the
course. Again, take time to read each course description
carefully.
13
FUNDAMENTALS OF BOATBUILDING
LOFTING
The theory and practice of classical boatbuilding.
Making sense of all those lines
and numbers.
Greg Rössel —
Wade Smith —
Warren Barker —
Thad Danielson —
June 5-18, July 3-16, September 4-17
June 19-July 2
July 17-30
August 7-20
FUNDAMENTALS OF BOATBUILDING is the core curriculum of our boatbuilding courses and our most popular offering. This series deals generally with
the whole craft of boatbuilding, specifically with wooden boats, and most specifically with plank-on-frame small craft.
We tend to build difficult boats in these classes—round-bilged, carvel and lapstrake-planked types—because if you can build one of these, you can build almost
anything. Ideally, each class will start one boat, work at planking another, and finish a third. The emphasis is always more on learning than on pushing through a
project. Each session combines daily discussion periods with an abundance of practical work. Usually you’ll start out talking about boat plans and design, and how to
develop a project plan.
An explanation of lofting will follow, and everyone will get a chance to give it a
try on the lofting table. (See LOFTING, as follows, for a complete treatment of
this subject.) From there, it will be a continuous stream of boatbuilding lessons,
both at the blackboard and on the workbench: how a body plan comes together;
the meaning of a fair line; various types of small-boat construction; the right tools
for the job at hand, and how to use them; different methods for planking a boat; discussions on fastenings, glues, woods, etc.; the tricks of steam-bending; techniques
of lamination; and much more.
Molds and patterns are picked up, and stems and transoms assembled. Planking, fastening, caulking, fairing, fitting seats and risers, knees and breasthooks—
each operation is carefully explained and supervised. You’ll find yourself working on
your own and alongside others, on real boats or just for practice. If your class happens to finish a boat, you’ll launch it, and that is some fun! You’ll finish this course
with a better understanding in your mind—and in your hands—of the boatbuilding process.
FUNDAMENTALS OF BOATBUILDING is open to everyone, although
woodworking skills and familiarity with tools and with the language of boatbuilding really help students to get the most out of it.
Tuition: $1,200 two-week course
Greg Rössel — June 26-July 2,
August 28-September 3
Without question, lofting is an essential skill for the boatbuilder. Once you’ve mastered it, you can at least start
to build any boat for which there are plans. Moreover,
you’re going to be able to interpret plans and better comprehend the shape of the vessel, and what the building
process will be. Also without question, learning lofting
can be intimidating and/or frustrating. Lofting is complex,
and there are numerous ways to go about it. Lofting takes
time and concentration, and a good teacher really helps
(see WoodenBoat Nos. 110 and 111).
Greg thoroughly understands and enjoys lofting; and
he has taught it repeatedly and in a variety of settings.
He has a clear idea of how to present it, and how to help
you master it. In this week you’ll discuss the written material that Greg has developed, build half models, and—
in teams—loft several small craft. We have a couple of
boats in mind, but it is also possible that some students
in the course can bring in their own plans (call us).
Tables of offsets, diagonals, buttock lines—all will be
demystified and will become for you the wonderful tools
they are for understanding, discussing, and building boats.
By the end of the week, you should be able to visualize,
lay down, and talk boat plans with the best of them. This
course is meant to dovetail with the two-week FUNDAMENTALS OF BOATBUILDING courses, three of
which Greg will also teach, and in which one of the lofted
boats will probably be started. If there is time, you’ll also
take lines off a classic round-bottomed boat and draw
up a set of lines.
Tuition: $750 | Materials: $53
14
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| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
NEW
ELEMENTS OF BOAT DESIGN
COMPUTER DESIGN
Learn the principles and process—then practice on
your own design.
Understanding capabilities and
advantages of the computer in your
own boat design work.
John Brooks — August 14-20
Clint Chase — July 10-16
Would you like to understand how to design your own boat or gain a better grasp
of how design affects a boat’s performance? Would you like to better read and comprehend the hull line drawings? Would you like to explore the relationship of construction methods to hull design—which works well with what shapes? Would you
like to think, eat, sleep, and discuss boats for a solid week? If so, you’ll find this
challenging and fun course with talented boatbuilder and designer John Brooks to
be right up your alley.
Whether you want to get a taste of the design process, be able to put your
ideas on paper, or start down the road to becoming a professional designer, this
course will allow you to accomplish several things. You’ll dispassionately analyze
the science of what makes a boat float and move, while gaining an understanding
of the role art plays in boat design. You’ll learn what makes a boat seaworthy or
not; performance oriented or not; and buildable or not. And you’ll start creating your
own design, mainly working on the preliminary and lines drawings, as much as
time allows. Before taking pencil to paper, you will research the type of boat you want
to design, discuss your initial ideas with John, and learn how to start drawing on your
own, using basic drafting skills plus learning new ones required for drawing boats.
Various building methods will be explored, from traditional to modern. Any
technique can be used for each student’s own “dream boat,” from plank-on-frame
to vacuum-bagged and epoxied veneers reinforced with exotic materials. You will
learn how to back up your project ideas with sound engineering principles, hydrostatics, and scantlings that reflect the intended use and life of the boat. You’ll also learn
about the intricate interplay of various views in a set of plans as John demonstrates
how a half model goes together. Students will explore various methods and
approaches to designing a boat, from ancient to cutting edge, and have a chance
to pick the ones that work best for you.
Students need not have any previous experience with boat design or mathematics; just a keen interest will do. The main focus of the course will be on understanding the concepts and principles that play a part in boat design and in developing
an eye for aesthetics. In spite of modern technology, designing boats is still as much
an art as it is a science. The eye and judgment of the designer are still the most
important ingredients in any design. You will leave Brooklin with a whole new
understanding about boats and a new group of friends to share them with!
Tuition: $750
What is computer-aided design (CAD)? How does one use
CAD to loft on a computer? How is a 3D model built? Can
we use the computer to do more advanced calculations?
What would one need to cut with a CNC machine? By the end
of this course with designer/boatbuilder Clint Chase, students will have a better appreciation of these essential questions and some of the answers. Moreover, you will end up
with a toolbox full of computer skills and a 3D model of
your own boat hull! Clint is eager to share his knowledge
and skills that he’s acquired over the years using Rhino3D, a
modeling program popular with designers.
The week will be busy but fun as you learn the many facets
to drawing your own boat design on the computer. Everyone will be starting with an existing lines plan – perhaps one
you’ve drawn in the ELEMENTS OF BOAT DESIGN
course or on your own. You can also start with a refined lines
sketch of the boat of your choice. The boat can be any hull type,
but for learning computer design, a simpler hull form like a
multichined or lapstrake hull is easiest for the beginner. Whatever plan you choose, it must come to class scanned into your
laptop as a JPEG file. This is our starting point.
As the week progresses, we will virtually build a 3D model
of the hull and deck of your design. Students will learn to
navigate in Rhino and become proficient with its tools and
the list of commands that enable the lines to take shape on
the screen. Demonstrations and discussions of the basic and
more subtle aspects of computer lofting, 3D modeling, hydrostatic calculations, creation of layouts and CNC cutting files,
and problem-solving will flow together through the week.
You’ll print your work on a large-format printer on Friday,
and we’ll visit a nearby shop and see how a boat kit can be
cut on a large CNC router.
Everyone in the class will be bringing a variety of experience and knowledge and a willingness to help each other so
each student leaves with new friends and the fundamentals
of computer design.
Tuition: $750
Requirements: You will need a MAC or PC laptop that is within
10 years of age; 4MB RAM; video graphics capability; and a
free 90-day trial version of Rhino 5 loaded and ready to go.
Minimally, a 15 ½" screen size is recommended as is a
comfortable mouse with pad. Students should have solid
experience with lofting or drafting table. WoodenBoat School’s
LOFTING or ELEMENTS OF BOAT DESIGN course provide
excellent prerequisite information for this COMPUTER
DESIGN course.
15
INTRODUCTION
TO BOATBUILDING
INTRODUCTION
TO WOODWORKING
A one-week primer on building small boats.
Understanding wood and woodworking
techniques with an emphasis on hand
tool usage.
John Karbott — June 5-11
Bill Thomas — September 4-10
There are many individuals out there who have decided that they
would like to build their very own boat but don’t know how to get
started. Many first-time builders have run into problems understanding
the process of what to do first and, as a result, soon get intimidated
and the idea loses momentum. Bill Thomas and John Karbott, noted
boatbuilders and teachers, invite anyone interested in wooden boats and
woodworking to join them in either of these two six-day courses focusing on the skills and techniques used in basic boatbuilding. No prior
boatbuilding experience is required; simply a desire to learn. If you
want to build a good-looking, simple sailing skiff, Bill or John can
help you get started and guide you through the step-by-step procedures to taking on and completing such a project on your own.
Bill has chosen a Karl Stambaugh design, the Bay Skiff 12, as the
boat students will construct during his course. This multi-purpose
skiff offers a great compromise between rowing and sailing qualities.
We will be building a rowing version during the course. Using traditional boatbuilding methods, she is built of marine plywood over a
strongback and moulds. John Karbott’s students will build two of his
handsome 12 ½' semi-dory skiffs combining marine plywood, white
oak, and Northern white cedar. Both classes will start with understanding boat plans and lofting and proceed through scarfing, framing, planking, and interior joinerwork. As with any one-week building
schedule, there will be plenty for students to do as we finish the boats.
As both skiffs take shape through each week, Bill and John will lead
discussions in small-craft design, selecting a suitable design for the
amateur builder, setting up a one-man shop, proper hand and power
tool usage, and much more. Whether you have a hankering for traditional skiff construction like the Bay Skiff 12 or the 12 ½' Semi-dory
skiff or are simply looking for a perfect introduction to wooden boat
construction, you will thoroughly enjoy any of these weeks.
Tuition: $800
Note: These are six-day courses ending Saturday afternoon.
Bill Thomas — June 26-July 2
Over the years we’ve seen individuals arrive on our campus to participate in a boatbuilding class who have little or no woodworking
experience. They often feel intimidated when picking up a tool to use
for the first time, especially in a setting where there are accomplished
woodworkers working alongside. We know for a fact that individuals
who do possess previous hand tool experience have the potential to
gain so much more from our boatbuilding classes.
This introductory course offers a place for folks of all skill levels to
learn from a seasoned craftsman, Bill Thomas. Bill has been a selfemployed woodworker and designer for more than 30 years. He’s
delved into everything from house carpentry, cabinet, and furniture work
to high-end boat joinery. And Bill has been teaching woodworking
and boatbuilding for nearly 20 years.
Each day, Bill will cover numerous lessons in tool selection and
capabilities; hand tool usage and maintenance; tool sharpening; proper
layout procedures; shop safety; power tools; and lots of woodworking techniques that will serve you well in future endeavors. Everyone
will also learn a lot about wood itself, how it works, and what to look
for in selecting a species for a particular purpose. Glues, epoxy, and
fastenings will be covered as well. The focus of the entire week will be
introducing students to the tools and techniques common to all types
of woodworking and joinery, in addition to a look at boat-related
projects. Each student will undertake the design and construction of
their own toolbox during this week.
Whether you have had some type of formal woodworking experience
or have never had the opportunity to try your hand with woodworking
tools, you will gain much from this course with Bill Thomas. This week
will prove to be an excellent preparation for a basic boatbuilding course
or for your own home projects. It’s also a great opportunity to work
alongside a very talented craftsmen who has plenty to share.
16
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2016 C O U R S E S
BOATBUILDER’S HAND TOOLS
BUILDING A DORY
Making, restoring, and using traditional
tools of the trade.
The elegance of traditional workboat construction.
Graham McKay — August 28-September 3
Harry Bryan — June 19-25
In spite of the ever-increasing number of power tools in the
woodworking/boatbuilding trades, the foundation of the boatbuilder’s skills is still largely dependent on the use of hand tools.
Hand tools bring you in close contact with wood, enabling the
user to get to know and work with its grain structure.
Many of the pieces that make up a wooden boat are complex
shapes employing compound angles and rolling bevels. Often it
is more efficient to create these pieces with hand tools than trying to set up a machine that is not appropriate to the job at hand.
This five-day course with well-known boatbuilder/designer
Harry Bryan will focus on developing skills with hand saws,
draw knives, chisels and slicks, auger bits and planes. You’ll
acquire skills, such as, cutting the complex angle on the end of a
deck beam and have it fit first time. You will have the confidence
to cut a stem rabbet and make short work of a plank scarf using
a slick and smoothing plane.
Keeping these tools sharp is absolutely necessary for controlled, accurate work. Therefore, time will be spent presenting
simple, straightforward methods for creating a razor-sharp edge.
From setting and filing a handsaw, to renewing the edge of a drill
bit for cutting steel, we will learn to restore tools rather them toss
them aside when they are dull. You’re encouraged to bring along
any old tools that you feel may be candidates for restoring. Harry
will also discuss where to acquire good tools, how to avoid wasting your money on cheap ones, and how to recognize and
restore that jewel covered with the rust of neglect.
Making and modifying tools is a natural progression for the
hand tool user. Students will learn about hardening and tempering tool steel, as well as sawing, filing, and drilling to create
precise shapes. There will be practice in the use of silver solder
and rivets for joining metals. Each student will be encouraged
to make a tool of their own during the week, such as a carving
gouge, chisel, boatbuilder’s bevel or pencil divider.
Hand tools are not a nostalgic holdover from the past. After
this fascinating week with Harry Bryan, you’ll feel the direct
connection between the craftsman and his work.
A century ago, dories were found everywhere along the New England coast—
they would carry a good load under sail or oar, they could handle rough
seas, and they were relatively easy to build. There are tales of small hardworking shops turning out 20 dories in 20 days! Lowell’s Boat Shop, founded
in 1793, is the birthplace of the American Fishing Dory. Thousands of
dories were manufactured at Lowell’s throughout the last two centuries.
We invite you to join professional boatbuilder Graham McKay from Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, in constructing a traditional 15'
Banks Dory. As the head boatbuilder at Lowell’s, Graham has extensive
experience and insight into traditional dory construction methods.
Graham will use John Gardner’s The Dory Book as a construction guide
through the course. The boat will be built from traditional materials with
the bottom and topsides planked in northern white pine and the frames,
stem, and other parts made of white oak. Laps will be secured with copper
rivets, and the frames will be joined at the chines with riveted stainlesssteel clips.
Using traditional Lowell’s building methods, lofting will be minimal, with
the students using patterns lofted from plans and planking by eye. The dory
will be built upright so that plank lines can be sighted and the rivets easily
reached. By week’s end, the hull should be completely planked and frames
and the inwales steamed into place and fastened.
Graham will cover building from plans, copper-riveting, caulking, spiling,
beveling and lap fitting, steam-bending, and other traditional skills. This will
be a fast-moving, exciting class where everyone will be actively involved. And
if you’re lucky in the class lottery on Saturday, you could be the winner of a
brand-new fishing dory!
Tuition: $800
Note: This is a six-day course ending Saturday afternoon.
Tuition: $750
17
BUILDING THE OCEAN POINTER
NEW
Strip-plank construction of a 19’6”outboardpowered skiff.
BUILDING THE NEW
MAINE COAST PEAPOD
In in-depth look at traditional wooden boat
construction, tools, materials, and the right
way to do the job.
John Karbott and Bob Fuller — August 14-27
When visiting the coastal communities of New England, one
immediately takes notice of the number of outboard-powered skiffs
along any given waterfront. One of the prettiest is the Ocean Pointer
– a 19'6" center-console skiff designed by David Stimson. Based on
Alton Wallace’s 18' inshore lobster skiff, the Ocean Pointer is designed
for strip-built wood construction. The hull has a flared bow and
transitions to a tumblehome at the stern. The bottom is a soft chine
with a small keel, which allows for good tracking and a comfortable
ride. Ocean Pointer also features a spacious, self-bailing cockpit and
center-console steering station. A transom-mounted outboard engine
of approximately 50 hp seems to be the ideal choice for a motor.
In this two-week course taught by professional boatbuilders John
Karbott and Bob Fuller, students will build one of these beautiful
skiffs. The strip construction technique utilizes epoxy adhesive and
edge-nailing. You will learn how to laminate the stem, forefoot, and
keel. Lofting, panel development, and patternmaking will also be key
facets of this project. The self-bailing cockpit and framing are an
integral part of the construction and allow the boat to be built without
a complex set of molds.
John and Bob will arrive with a partially built skiff that will be set
up upside down with framing in place. Students will begin fitting
planks, gluing and fastening them along the keel, stem, and transom,
and continuing up to the sheer. The hull will then be faired and
sanded, and flipped upright. You’ll then sheathe the cockpit with
fiberglass and epoxy; construct the foredeck and side decks; make and
install the coamings, gunwales, and rails in place; and build the center
console and seat box.
Students will also start the subassemblies for a second Ocean
Pointer. You’ll lay out and build the transom, motorwell, cockpit,
framing components, keel, and stem.
This will be an exciting, rewarding experience, keeping everyone
busy the entire two weeks! With John and Bob’s guidance, you will
learn how to start a project and see it through to completion in an
organized, efficient manner. Upon returning home, you may be
inspired to begin building your own Ocean Pointer or similar stripplanked powerboat. Previous woodworking experience is highly
recommended for this course.
Sam Temple — September 18-October 1
Peapods have been a natural fit for Maine’s harbors for over a century.
Long used as working boats in the lobster fishery and all kinds of
waterfront work, these craft are seaworthy, stable, and comfortable.
Models vary from small tenders to larger versions meant as a primary
vessel. The class project during these two weeks will be the Maine
Coast Peapod, a 14' traditionally planked double-ender designed by
Joel White. This is a boat that is a joy to row, sail, or tow!
The class will begin with Sam and his students reviewing Joel’s
plans, followed by assembling and fairing the building jig. Once the jig
is completed, you’ll build a white oak backbone with matching stems
and cut rabbets. Oak frames will be milled and then steam-bent onto
the vessel. She’ll be planked with northern white cedar and copper
rivets. Joel designed the sheer plank to be lapstrake, and Sam will
explain this procedure for students to tackle.
After the rivets are headed over, you’ll install breasthooks, rubrails,
inwales, and thwarts. Eventually, the peapod will be completed for
sailing by students building a dagger board, tiller, and rudder. If there’s
enough time, the lug rig and a pair of oars can be fashioned out of
spruce.
These two weeks with experienced boatbuilder Sam Temple will
give a good foundation in lining out, spiling, and traditional carvel
planking. It will certainly be a confidence builder for anyone looking
to do accurate work using traditional methods. The emphasis will be
on hand tools, trusting one’s eye, and looking for fair lines. Previous
woodworking experience will be very helpful to those interested in
this course.
Note: See page 42 for a photo of the Ocean Pointer.
©Benjamin Mendlowitz
18
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2016 C O U R S E S
BUILDING THE PENOBSCOT 13
NEW
Glued-lapstrake construction
of a beautiful daysailer.
BUILDING THE MCKENZIE
RIVER DORY
NEW
A captivating week building boats with
craftsman, historian, and author Brad Dimock.
Arch Davis — August 21-September 3
Brad Dimock — July 10-16
Arch Davis and his lovely small-boat designs have been well known to
the readers of WoodenBoat magazine for a number of years. We are
very excited to welcome Arch back to our campus this season and
invite you to spend two weeks with this innovative designer-builder
constructing his latest design, the Penobscot 13.
In this course, students will build two of these fine-looking
lapstrake daysailers. The Penobscot 13 is the little sister to two of
Arch’s most popular designs, the Penobscot 14 and 17. The 13 is
smaller and lighter than the 14 but possesses comparable lines with
similar characteristics under oar and sail. She features the same gluedlapstrake construction—with fore-and-aft stringers—that has proven
so successful in the bigger Penobscots. The designer has introduced a
number of modifications to simplify the building process so that
students can aim to complete the two boats and prepare them for
painting in the two-week time frame.
On the first morning, Arch will review the plans with students and
explain how the Penobscot designs were developed. Students will then
get busy setting up the station molds, stem, and transom on a simple
strongback. All the stages of construction will be covered: fitting the
keel, sheer clamps, and stringers; beveling and fairing; planking
(including scarfing plank stock to length), and cutting gains. Once the
hulls have been completed and turned over, you’ll fit breasthooks,
quarter knees, seats, and rails, and complete other finishing details.
These two weeks will be a comprehensive introduction to Arch
Davis’s unique method of glued-lapstrake construction, and will leave
students well equipped to build a Penobscot 13 of their own, or one
of the bigger Penobscot designs, or to tackle any other similar project.
The course promises to be very rewarding to those participating and
will bring plenty of satisfaction as these lovely craft come to life under
their hands. And two very lucky students who win the raffle on the last
day of class will each be taking home a very beautiful boat that will
provide enjoyment for years to come.
With the 2008 publication of Roger Fletcher’s Drift Boats & River
Dories, these highly maneuverable shallow-draft boats have
undergone a great surge in popularity. Originally designed as fishing
boats on Oregon’s McKenzie and Rogue Rivers, river dories have
found admirers on shallow fishing streams and whitewater rivers
around the world.
In the late 1940s Woodie Hindman created the archtypical
McKenzie River dory: the 16 Double-ender with Transom. This
elegant design has proved excellent for rowing in swift, shallow or
whitewater streams, and handles well with a small outboard motor
for flatwater and lakes. Students will be building this dory as a
traditional plywood-on-frame boat, but assembling it in the more
modern free-form method without forms or strongback.
Brad Dimock has been building, rowing, repairing, restoring, and
researching river dories in the Grand Canyon and the West for four
decades. He’ll begin this course by having students loft the design and
expand the frame patterns, then create the frames, transom, and stem.
You’ll also scarf together sheets of marine plywood into full 16' side
panels and floor. By mid-week, students will assemble the hull and
begin installing chines and gunwales. By Friday, the class should be
busy fitting seats, flydeck, and floorboards, and applying the last of
the oil and paint. With luck, you’ll float her on Saturday! A lucky
winner of the lottery will take her home for the cost of materials.
During the week you will gain the knowledge and skills to build
your own McKenzie River dory, her larger cousin the Grand Canyon
Dory, or any number of other similar craft. You’ll learn lofting,
scarfing, fabricating parts, free-form assembly, and outfitting, as well
as many of the arcane arts you’ll use along the way. You’ll use a
minimum of fancy tools, relying more on adaptation and
improvisation. Brad will also cover maintenance, storage, and repair.
Tuition: $800
19
GLUED-LAPSTRAKE
PLYWOOD CONSTRUCTION
FINISHING OUT SMALL BOATS
Build Merlin, a versatile, fixed-seat 14’
rowboat; and the Compass Harbor Pram,
a wonderful 9’ sailing dinghy.
John Brooks — September 18-24
Creating neat woodwork and joinerwork.
John Brooks — September 11-17
This very popular course focuses on the construction method
of modern, small boats that is commonly called for in many
designers’ plans. During this week students will build two hulls
for one of John’s well-known designs that features light weight,
resilient strength, permanent watertightness, and graceful lines.
The Merlin rowboat and the Compass Harbor Pram are great
introductory projects for this one-week class, having narrow,
flat bottoms and curved, lapstrake topsides. Both hulls will
offer interesting, instructive challenges for the class and make
useful boats for a wide variety of activities after class.
During this captivating course, students will start by learning how to prepare and scarf the marine-grade mahogany plywood planking stock. You’ll then learn how to make and
assemble the backbone parts: transoms, inner stem, keelson,
and bottom. John will also show students the similarities and
differences of the backbone parts for a round-bilged hull. He’ll
explain how the building jigs are created, then show students
how to attach the backbones over them and how to bevel the
keelson and bottom in preparation for planking. With two
hulls to work on, everyone will have plenty of opportunity to
learn how to spile, make and attach planks, and how to bevel
the laps.
The goal of this course is to give everyone the skills they will
need to take a set of plans with full-sized patterns and build a
beautiful boat – especially the hardest first step, turning lines
on raw paper and raw lumber into a solid, real hull. Plans for
Merlin and the Compass Harbor Pram will be available from
John at a discount to his students. Please keep in mind that
woodworking experience is required for this busy and varied class.
Tuition: $800
Here’s a week that promises to be a fulfilling and challenging one, with plenty
of opportunity to learn--with brains and hands--how to build the intricate
parts and finish out small open boats. The joinerwork of a small boat is particularly exacting because there is nowhere to hide slipshod work--no burying
rough joints under decks or in cabinetry. John will teach you how to make elegant parts and gorgeous, tight-fitting joints for a boat you’ll be proud to varnish.
The course is designed to be a follow-up to some of our plywood/epoxy hull
building classes and very useful to anyone completing a small boat. Many of
the skills and techniques you acquire can be transferred to big boats as well.
Your instructor will start the week describing how to organize a project as complicated as a boat. Students will learn how to work from boat plans, drawings,
or the lofting board. John will explain the versatility of various types of patterns and show you how to make them, as well as how to use them.
You’ll learn about making curved parts such as a laminated outer stem and
steam-bent floorboard frames. John will demonstrate methods for measuring
and layout in the hull to accurately position interior parts and pieces. He’ll also
explain how to accurately scribe and fit parts such as the breasthook, quarter
knees, and bulkheads. And you’ll learn how to use epoxy and other glues and bedding compound; and to become familiar with woodworking in three dimensions with no right angles in sight.
Working both at the bench and in the boat, you’ll refine your skills with a
wide array of boatbuilding tools, from planes, spokeshaves, scrapers, and chisels to the tablesaw, bandsaw, and router.
Throughout the week, John will be showing you many tricks, tips, and jigs
that make each job easier and faster, as well as look better and help you make a
boat beautiful and truly yours. Please keep in mind that woodworking experience is required for this busy and varied class.
Tuition: $800
20
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2016 C O U R S E S
REBUILDING A HERRESHOFF 12 1/2
NEW
Taking stock, building a new keel assembly,
followed by the planking process.
Eric Dow — July 17-30, August 14 -27
WOODEN BOAT RESTORATION
METHODS
The rebuilding process finalized.
Walt Ansel — July 17-30
In the summer of 2013, the Herreshoff 12½ SEAL was brought to
WoodenBoat School by a student to incorporate into our two-week
Small Boat Repairs course. The boat, hull #1007, was built in 1926 at
the Herreshoff Manufacturing Co. in Bristol, Rhode Island. She suffered
serious damage in a 2009 storm in Connecticut and has been out of the
water since. After a thorough survey conducted at WoodenBoat School,
it was decided that a more practical strategy for the boat would be a complete rebuild instead of a complex series of repairs. This season we are
excited to offer students the unique opportunity to join boatbuilder Eric
Dow as we bring SEAL back to life.
In the July session, we’ll use station molds from Eric’s shop, set up
prior to the beginning of the course. There is a mold for every frame
for all Herreshoff-built boats. After checking these for fairness, students will begin replacing all of the original oak frames by milling,
steaming, and bending new frames of straight-grained white oak onto
each mold. At the same time, other students will proceed in cutting
out, building, and rabbeting a new keel/stem assembly, replacing floor
timbers, and creating a new transom. This building system, in which
many of the components are finished before the boat goes together,
requires precise work and results in an efficient building evolution
and a very exact rebuild. Throughout these two weeks, everyone will
get an in-depth look at the many details and decisions involved in the
rebuild of a traditional wooden boat.
In our August session, students will be engaged in the entire planking process, from spiling to striking a waterline. Of all the different
planking methods, carvel or “plank-on-frame” is the most common,
and this is the manner in which SEAL was planked. Using northern white
cedar, students will replank her in the same style that was used in 1926.
There are 10 planks per side on the Herreshoff 12½, so you’ll get plenty
of practice at hanging strakes. Eric will discuss and demonstrate resawing plank stock, hollowing and rounding, stealer planks, the various types
of fastenings on today’s market, fitting butt blocks, stopwaters, and a
proper caulking bevel. After SEAL is planked up, students will smooth
and fair the entire hull.
We’ll return to the boat in our 2017 season to continue the rebuild
of SEAL by replacing bulkheads; installing new deck frames, fore and
aft; building new decks, coamings, and cockpit sole; and reinstalling the
fin/ballast assembly.
Both of these two-week sessions will be challenging, but with Eric’s
knowing supervision and years of experience, each student will learn
a great deal about first-class boatbuilding and how to take on a rebuild
or restoration on their own.
The upcoming 2016 steam launch restoration class will conclude five
years of tremendous effort by instructor Walt Ansel and numerous
WoodenBoat School students. The 24' fan-tailed launch will retain
only her original skin of cedar strip planking, part of her stem, and
her overall sublime shape. Woven in and around this original fabric are
a new backbone comprised of keel, stem knee, shaft log, floors, frames
and sheer clamps. Additionally, she has a new fantail rim timber, deck
beams, and, last but not least, beautiful new beaded Alaskan yellow
cedar ceiling.
Using a very fine launch at Bath Maritime Museum for inspiration,
the class has brought some subtle changes to our original Michigan
launch. Three mahogany floor grates and pre-made deck planks with
rabbeted yellow cedar edge banding have been built. The interior side
seats will be panel-faced lift-ups and students will replace the original heavily-nailed staved coaming with a new one of quarter sawn
steam-bent oak.
Additional projects for the 2016 session will include the completion of the cockpit sole installation, the design and construction of
the side seats, completion of decking and covering boards, and coaming construction. The big project will be the construction of a classic
launch canopy to fit the boat that will have sheer and bow ends much
like a snowshoe frame. There will also be plenty of small and large
hardware installation jobs that will be completed.
Come join us for two weeks of challenges that will be sure to increase
your skill levels. It’s a demanding project – almost like finishing out a
piece of furniture – but our students, under the expertise of shipwright Walt Ansel, always pull together and help each other out to
restore to the highest standard. It’s going to be an emotional goodbye
to this fine old launch at the end of this final session. Many individuals have put their hearts and souls into the work they’ve contributed
to her and if they’re lucky, they’ll get to ride in her someday on a quiet
lake back in Michigan.
Note: Previous woodworking and/or boatbuilding experience
is required for this course.
21
INTRODUCTION TO
COLD-MOLDED CONSTRUCTION
STITCH-AND-GLUE
BOATBUILDING
Everything from approaching the project to
techniques and materials.
Learn introductory and advanced
modern plywood boatbuilding
techniques suitable for simple or
heavy-duty boats.
Mike Moros — June 26-July 2
For years cold-molded wood construction
has been used successfully in building small
sailing dinghies, competitive rowing shells,
cruising sailboats, rugged multihulls, and
swift powerboats. The technique involves
laminating together layers of wood veneers
or very thin planks to create a hull that is
watertight, extremely strong, and lightweight. Blend these noteworthy features
together with a relative ease of boatbuilding, and you have a method of construction
that is a very popular choice among professional and amateur builders alike.
The object of this course will be to see
and learn firsthand exactly how the professionals take on a cold-molded project
and how smaller builders can incorporate
professional systems into their own styles.
Mike Moros, WoodenBoat School’s Shop
Manager, will lead this course, one that
has been requested time and time again
by a large number of alumni and interested public. Mike brings plenty of experience to the class, including being a
member of Brooklin Boat Yard’s building
crew, where he worked on a number of
their large cold-molded sailing vessels.
We have chosen Bill Garden’s 12'6"
catboat TOM CAT design as the main class project, which should provide students
with a close look at much of what you need to know in building laminated wooden boats. Daily discussions will cover material choice, handling, tooling, costs and
time, and application techniques. Topics that will receive individual attention
include epoxy resins, health and safety, fastening systems, spiling, planking, vacuum-bagging, trimming, and fiberglassing. A small side project will look at repair
methods.
Mike promises that this will be an energetic week with plenty to do, so come
prepared to roll up your sleeves and put in six full days. For anyone contemplating the cold-molded approach for their own boat or, perhaps, to add to their
boatbuilding business services, this course will be invaluable.
Tuition: $800
John Harris — August 7-13
The “stitch-and-glue” construction method is the easiest way to build a boat, as tens of thousands of amateur boatbuilders will testify. The approach, which
emphasizes the use of epoxy adhesives and strategic
fiberglass reinforcement combined with marine plywood, is ideal for first-timers. But like so many things,
it’s easy to do but hard to do well. This class is about how
to do it well.
The stitch-and-glue techniques date back to the
advent of modern adhesives in the 1960s. The basic
process involves prefabricated plywood parts, which
are stitched together with loops of wire, then glued
with epoxy to create rigid and seaworthy hulls. The
process dispenses with lofting, elaborate molds, and
much of the complex joinery of traditional wooden
boat building.
While the method is beloved of amateurs, in recent
decades professionals have seized on this type of construction as a way to create beautiful free-form hull
shapes with amazing strength and light weight. While
still benefiting from the speed and ease of stitch-andglue boatbuilding, pros deploy sophisticated techniques
that result in optimized structures and glittering finishes.
As the owner of Chesapeake Light Craft, John Harris has shipped 26,000 stitch-and-glue kits and built
hundreds of boats in classes and in his own shop. In
this class, students will build an attractive, sophisticated camp-cruiser of Harris’s design called NANASHIP. Water-ballasted, yawl-rigged, self-righting, and
unsinkable, this seaworthy 12'6" sailboat offers many
opportunities to focus on the finer points of stitchand-glue, including perfectly hand-drawn fillets that
look like they were molded in place; fast and clean
fiberglass sheathing and reinforcement; the use of
advanced materials like peel-ply, high-performance
foil construction; and hollow wood-epoxy spars.
Whether you’re building your first boat, or looking
to learn the advanced tricks that the professionals use
to get “showboat” finishes, this one-week class will
advance your abilities to work with wood, epoxy, and
fiberglass. And the boat we build together will be raffled off at the end of the week to one very lucky student!
Tuition: $800
22
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2016 C O U R S E S
FINE STRIP-PLANKED BOAT
CONSTRUCTION
A guide to building small boats with wood
strips and epoxy.
Nick Schade — June 12-18, September 11-17
If you want to build a lightweight, rugged, and beautiful small boat, combining thin strips of wood with epoxy and fiberglass will make a cartoppable, low-maintenance, and gorgeous vessel. Nick Schade has been building
strip-built boats for over 25 years. He has written two of the standard texts
on the subject, Building Strip-Planked Boats and The Strip-Built Sea Kayak,
and his efforts have guided thousands of people through building their own
boats using the popular stripplanked method.
In this six-day course, students will explore this method of construction
while building two very different boat designs created by Nick. In the June
course students will build the Mystic River tandem canoe and the microBootlegger recreational kayak. In the September course students will build
the Nymph pack canoe and the Night Heron sea kayak. Nymph is a small,
extremely lightweight, easy to handle double-paddle canoe. Night Heron
is an elegant, high performance sea kayak design that has found a place in
the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The Mystic River 17' tandem canoe is a wonderful example of a classic
woodstrip canoe with graceful lines and a beautiful recurved stem. The
microBootlegger 17 is an open-cockpit tandem kayak with lines reminiscent of a 1920s mahogany runabout. All four of these boats will provide an
excellent overview of the strip-planking process.
Students will gain experience in a wide variety of techniques involved in
this modern boatbuilding process. Strip-planking small boats uses thin
cedar strips reinforced inside and out with fiberglass and epoxy. The finished boat is lightweight, strong, and beautiful. The fiberglass fabric is
absolutely transparent and allows the beauty of the wood to shine through.
Students will learn how to work with the wood strips and fiberglass fabric
and epoxy. With the open canoes we will mount inwales and outwales,
breasthooks, thwarts and seats. On the kayaks we will make the deck and
hull, join the two together, and make the cockpit, coaming, and hatches.
Day One will have students fairing up the forms, shaping the inner stems,
fabricating the kayak coaming and canoe backrest, and getting a start on
the planking. Tuesday will have us continuing with planking, installing
stems, and working on hatches and gunwales. Before you know it, we will start
sanding the hull and deck and applying fiberglass on Wednesday. On Thursday, the kayak and canoe will come off the forms. After fairing the insides of
the hulls, carbon-Kevlar hybrid fabric will be laid-up on the interiors. Come
Friday, students will start finishing up the canoe while the hull and deck of
the kayak are joined together. The class wraps up midday on Saturday with
final fiberglass work and completion of details on both boats. Throughout
this course, Nick will take time to discuss the many variations on the stripbuilding process that students can use on their own boatbuilding projects.
After a week of fine craftsmanship and fun, we’ll step back to admire two stunning boats that will raffled off to two lucky students.
Mystic River Tandem
microBootlegger
Nymph
Tuition: $800
Night Heron
23
TRADITIONAL
WOOD-AND-CANVAS
CANOE CONSTRUCTION
The art of the canoe with a master builder.
BUILDING A NORDIC PRAM
The traditional approach to
lapstrake construction.
F. Jay Smith — July 24-30
Rollin Thurlow — July 10-16
Cedar-and-canvas canoes are coming back. Not only are they
wonderful to look at and a pleasure to build, they also perform quite
well. This construction method permits a clean, sharp entry and a
subtle shape that is difficult to achieve with aluminum or fiberglass.
The century-old technology of clenching thin planks to steamed
frames and then covering the hull with a tight canvas skin yields an
amazingly flexible and rugged craft. And the ingenious forms
developed years ago by companies like Old Town and E.M. White
make the building process relatively quick and easy.
Rollin Thurlow has been building and using, writing and
teaching about wood-and-canvas canoes for years. In this course,
he will lead you through the complete construction of one
traditional Maine Guide canoe, the 17' Atkinson Traveler, and one
traditional Maine fishing canoe, the 15' square-sterned Kingfisher.
You’ll start by steambending the clear cedar ribs onto the two forms.
While they cure, you’ll make up ash thwarts and prebend the stems
and gunwales. Then comes the fitting and fastening of the planking—
a good chance to practice hand-tool skills in a very satisfying process.
Working this thin cedar is a real pleasure.
At week’s end, you will canvas the canoes in the traditional manner,
using the “envelope” method, stretching the canvas drum-tight,
tacking it in place, and filling the outside weave with a special
compound. Between steps, there may be time to carve your own
paddle—a fascinating project unto itself. Three students will leave this
course with a new canoe nearly ready for paint and varnish; all will
leave with knowledge and experience of what is probably the most
indigenous of American boatbuilding techniques, a process directly
evolved from birchbark canoes and still very much alive today.
Tuition: $800
The Norwegian pram was the workhorse between ship and quay along
the coast of Norway for centuries. Norwegian designs, in this case the
pram, are also well ensconced on the rigorous proving grounds of the
North Atlantic. The pram was a source of inspiration for many of this
country’s most highly regarded designers, including L. Francis Herreshoff.
In this course, students will build the classic “ferry” or pram in the
traditional manner of “hand and eye” construction – that is, without
a set of molds. No lofting or spiling is required. Building “by eye” has
been the cornerstone of Nordic lapstrake construction since the Viking
age. You’ll quickly see that the Norwegian tradition for building prams
is so simple and elegant that this really makes the pram what it is.
Classic construction of the pram is lapstrake using cedar planking,
copper rivets, and treenails, and students will rely on a few basic hand
tools. Jay will give considerable attention and time to proper choosing,
tuning, sharpening, and use of traditional edge tools without a reliance
on power tools. Economy and simplicity will be wedded with durability and function.
From beginning to end, students will play a major role in the daily
decisions with regards to the construction of the pram. If you’re imagining a week of nonstop, hands-on activity, you have the right idea.
Come prepared to work, not watch! Jay Smith will provide the advice
and inspiration; you’ll supply the energy, the newfound abilities, and
the confidence. So come join us for a delightful week making shavings and building boats in the Norwegian tradition.
Tuition: $850
Note: This is a special seven-day course that begins on Sunday morning
and ends the following Saturday afternoon.
24
2015 WoodenBoat School
2016 C O U R S E S
THE ART OF WOODCUTS
WOODCARVING
An intriguing woodworking project for the
beginning or intermediate woodworker.
Introductory techniques for first-time carvers.
Reed Hayden — July 17-23
Gene Shaw — August 21-27
Woodcut printmaking is a relief-printing artistic technique in
which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood,
with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while
the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges, knives,
and chisels. It was created in about 1400 in Europe and, throughout time, has gone through various levels of technical and artistic development among woodworkers around the world.
Gene Shaw, artist and master woodworker, has designed this
captivating course for individuals interested in learning how to create black-and-white woodcut prints. On Monday morning, Gene
will introduce students to the proper use of carving tools, methods to sharpen them, and how to make a straight knife from a
simple hacksaw blade. During the week, work will be done on
both soft and hard woods, plywood, and linoleum blocks. There
will also be an introduction to various papers, inks, and brayers.
Printing will be by hand using a traditional Japanese barren (of
several types) or a bamboo paddle, the instructors favorite.
A trip to a nearby gallery that exhibits woodcuts and wood
engravings by a number of local artists will be planned early in the
week to expose students to a wide variety of styles. A visit to a
handmade paper gallery will include a demonstration and a
chance for each student to make a couple sheets of paper. After the
paper dries, students will use it to print their own woodcuts.
Anyone interested in woodcarving and woodworking will be
fascinated by this week with Gene, a very talented craftsman and
artist. By the end of the course, everyone will have achieved a
solid foundation for designing and producing high-quality woodcut prints in a small space using quality tools and materials.
Professional boatbuilder and
woodcarver Reed Hayden offers
students new to carving a stimulating look at decorative woodcarving during this week. Whether
you are a casual hobbyist or a
devoted craftsman, this week
promises each participant very satisfying results using basic carving
tools and woodworking skills.
Reed will introduce a variety of carving and woodworking techniques
including design and drawing, incised lettering, low and high relief carving, overlays, three-dimensional projects, router work, and gold-leafing.
All of these procedures will enable students to produce elaborate carvings as well as integrate them into marine and residential applications.
One of the first projects will be a motif sign. Coupled with this exercise will be a decorative carved shell. Both of these projects will help the
student develop a “good eye” toward visualizing various shapes and forms.
As one’s carving skill and experience develop, so does that “good eye.”
Having brought the motif sign to a point where it is ready for paint, students will be encouraged to explore other techniques. These may be incorporated into a project of their own design. Reed will provide plenty of
examples of his own work and others for reference.
If you’ve ever had the ambition to design and carve, this week might
be just what you’ve been waiting for. Complete with design advice, tool and
wood selection, carving instruction, and finishing techniques, Reed’s
helpful course should provide immense satisfaction and inspiration.
ADVANCED WOODCARVING
NEW
Ambitious projects designed to challenge
experienced carvers.
Reed Hayden — August 7-13
This week is designed for those individuals who have previously taken
Reed’s introductory course or a similar woodcarving course and have
gained considerable carving experience. The main class project will be a
2’ stylized dolphin of Reed’s design. Three-dimensional carving, profile relief
carving, carving a logo, rope border, small figurehead, or stern eagle are
some examples of the work that will be covered. Students are also encouraged to bring any of their own carving projects they may want to work on.
Tuition: $750 | Materials: determined based on project
25
BUILDING HALF MODELS
SCRATCH MODELMAKING
The practice and pleasure of carving
half models.
Ship model building for beginners to
advanced as taught by a master.
Eric Dow — September 25-October 1
Steve Rogers — August 28-September 3
There are few products of woodworking as exciting to
behold as a well-done half model. It reveals the character of the boat it represents at a scale that can be
admired at a glance and appreciated for a lifetime. Half
models are a wonderful way to remember a boat of
the past or dream about one of the future.
Half-hull modeling is both a practical way to
enjoy woodworking with limited time and tools, and a
tangible way to grasp the intricacies of boat plans. To
carve for yourself and mount a half model is to forever capture a design in three dimensions.
We have built models of ships throughout history
for many reasons, but the simplest is that it brings
great pleasure. It doesn’t matter if your interests lie
in a Beetle Cat or the BONHOMME RICHARD,
you can learn how these boats were constructed and
build a model yourself. Whether your interest is ethnological, historical, technical, or just curiosity, modelmaking will prove to be fascinating and an excellent
learning exercise.
Steve’s course has been designed to appeal to the
advanced builder, as well as the beginner. First-time
modelmakers will be able to work on a purposefully
chosen traditional small craft that not only teaches
model building, but the techniques of full-sized traditional wooden boat construction. You will touch
on all the basics of scratch modelmaking, along with
advanced procedures and finishing techniques. Advanced students will be able to work on a
model of their choice or choose from a large selection of master molds for traditional roundbottomed sailing and working craft. Each master mold builds a specific boat in a specific
scale, using plank-on-frame construction. The necessary plans for each boat will be provided by the instructor. All of these boats are traditional, historic, interesting, and challenging. Since there is only one building master for each boat, they will be reserved on a first-come,
first-serve basis after the student registers for the course and contacts Steve. A complete list
of the molds is available from the instructor by e-mailing him at [email protected].
In this week of hands-on participation, you’ll
explore the tools, techniques, and materials for halfmodel making from lines plans; the woods; the glues;
the tools; the paints and varnishes. Students will have
access to the extensive model plans collection at the
WoodenBoat Store. Eric also encourages folks to bring
lines drawings of their own boat or favorite designs.
Besides creating one or two models of your own,
you will learn a lot about boat plans and gain a feeling for the long tradition of half-hull modeling—and
go home with the ability to build more on your own.
Some of the available building master molds include:
RAINBOW, a Stonington dragger in ¾" scale
Barnegat Bay sneakbox in 1" scale
Stone Horse in ¾" scale
Delaware Ducker in 1" scale
GEORGE W. BEALE, a menhaden steamer in 3/8" or ¼" scale
Beals Island lobsterboat in ¾" scale
ADA C. LORE, Delaware Bay oyster schooner in ¼"scale
Cape Cod catboat in ½" scale
Herreshoff 12½ in 1" scale
Wianno Senior in ½" scale
EDNA LOCKWOOD, a bugeye in 3/8" scale
VICTORY CHIMES (Edwin & Maude), a three-masted
ram schooner in ¼" scale
wood and one set of plans
At the end of the week, you will have an excellent foundation to build on and quite a
bit of valuable information to take home. You will have some of the skill and knowledge
necessary, but more important, all of the enthusiasm you can imagine to pursue the hobby
of a lifetime!
26
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
BUILD A FRIENDSHIP
SLOOP MODEL
VINTAGE POND YACHTS – PART II
NEW
Choose from several different designs
including Mystic Seaport’s ESTELLA A,
WoodenBoat School’s BELFORD GRAY, and
others.
Mark Wilkins — July 3-9
Join professional ship model maker Mark Wilkins for a captivating
week learning how to create a 3/8" = 1" scale model of this celebrated and iconic sloop that has become synonymous with Maine’s
maritime past.
Further work toward completion of your
previously started pond yacht.
Thom Mclaughlin — July 24-30
This week is intended to provide the environment and guidance for you
to return to Brooklin and resume work on the pond yacht you started
here at WoodenBoat School. Students from Thom’s building courses
from the past 15 years working on the 36" Acadia or Brooklin hulls, or
any of the 50" Vintage Marblehead pond boats Naskeag, Peony, Rusticator, Iduna or Norumbega are invited to participate.
Construction methods and tasks covered in this course will include
epoxy sheathing of the hull, completion of the fin and rudder, fabrication of internal support beams, decking, electronics installation, sail
control device, manufacture of mast and booms, mounting fittings,
and final rigging. Perhaps not every class member will accomplish all
of these steps, but at a minimum you will depart this week inspired
with specific production knowledge and with the confidence to finish
your model at home and get it out sailing.
The course materials fee will cover the cost of the wooden materials for all of your boat’s deckbeams, mast, booms, deck, and electronic board. With Thom’s assistance and list of resources, students
will be expected to bring along the electronics, appropriate fittings,
and rigging items. As always with our pond yacht courses, students
will have the opportunity to sail completed pond yachts on our waterfront or in local ponds throughout the week.
This course is designed for those who are looking to build a full
model, and it should appeal to the advanced builder as well as the
intermediate. You’ll need to be familiar with lift-style construction
(such as half models). Mark will touch on some of the basics of scratch
modelmaking, along with advanced techniques and some finishing
methods. He’ll cover assembly and shaping of the hull, decks and cockpit soles, cabins, sparmaking, and rigging. In addition, students will
be exposed to different approaches to making their own fittings and deck
structures. More-experienced students will have the opportunity to
embellish their model by adding a hollowed-out cuddy cabin or even
parts of the hull.
At the end of this week, students will be very familiar with all aspects
of the Friendship sloop, as well as having an excellent foundation for
building future models. And you will have spent a week with a very
gifted artist and modelmaker who is more than willing to share all
that he has learned in the trade.
Note: This is a six-day course ending Saturday afternoon
27
NEW
BUILD YOUR OWN
WILLOW/QUICKBEAM SEA KAYAK
BUILD YOUR OWN GREENLAND
SKIN-ON-FRAME KAYAK
Two easy-to-build, all-purpose
stitch-and-glue sea kayaks.
A busy week that results in a wonderfully
simple and affordable boatbuilding project,
ideal to do with a partner.
Bill Thomas — September 18-24
NEW
Mark Kaufman — June 19-25
Boatbuilder and designer Bill Thomas has spent the last 35 years working with wood; the last 20 years paddling and building boats. He’s
been teaching boatbuilding classes since 1998. During this time he
has tried out numerous kayaks, each of them someone’s idea of the
perfect boat. Like many folks who spend considerable time on the
water, Bill started dreaming, drawing, engineering, and constructing
designs and models of his own and eventually arrived at the Willow sea
kayak, a great boat to paddle. Students will have the choice of building the 17'7" Willow sea kayak or another of Bill’s designs - the 17'9"
Quickbeam. Willow is suitable for paddlers and gear loads up to 300
lbs.; Quickbeam will accommodate taller paddlers and carry larger
payloads. Feel free to contact Bill if you have any questions about the
boats. Both are built by the stitch-and-glue method, using 4mm
okoume plywood and epoxy. The kayaks feature cambered decks for
strength, ease of construction, and beauty. Laminated deckbeams grace
both interiors. The hulls are sheathed inside and out with 6-oz fiberglass cloth. Each boat has a keyhole cockpit sized to take a standard
sprayskirt. Adjustable footbraces and proper seats come with the kits.
There are bulkheads and deck hatches, with the option of a day hatch.
The weight of the finished boats is approximately 45 lbs., much lighter
than similar fiberglass or plastic kayaks.
Bill has introduced enough rocker to allow control in big seas
and surf, with a long waterline providing straight tracking. Hard chines
assure easy, safe turns. A rudder will not be needed but can be added
if the builder would like to have one. In touring kayaks such as these,
Bill feels it is ease of control and stability that guarantee safe and enjoyable paddling. Boats with low wetted surfaces may have a high topend speed, but keeping them upright and tracking straight can make
for a long day.
You don’t necessarily need to be an accomplished woodworker
to build a kayak. With a few basic carpentry skills, you’ll be up for the
challenge. With a little patience, lots of enthusiasm, and expert guidance from your instructor, you can build a beautiful boat.
Tuition: $800 (partner: $400)
Materials: Willow Kit– $1,414 | Quickbeam Kits – $1,440
28
www.woodenboat.com
During this rewarding seven-day course, students will have the opportunity to build an elegant replica of a traditional West Greenlandstyle skin-on-frame kayak based on museum surveys. Participants
will have a choice of building one of two different Greenland kayaks.
These kayaks have a flat, low aft deck with gracefully upsweeping
ends, a pronounced V-bottom, and hard chines. Participants will
have a choice of building a reproduction of the Fram Museum #176
kayak from 1888 which measures 17'10" in length by 20½" in width,
or a replica of the Ken Taylor Illorsuit kayak from 1959 which is 16'6"
long x 20¾" wide. Both of these kayaks can be fitted with the standard egg-shaped cockpit rim (16" x 23") or the longer egg-shaped
cockpit (16" x 31").
Minor sizing adjustments will allow the builder to custom-fit
both of these kayaks. Traditional construction techniques will be
blended with modern materials to create a kayak that is fast and light.
The finished kayaks, constructed from Western red cedar with steambent white ash ribs and a stitched-on nylon skin, will weigh between
25 and 28 lbs.
Instructor Mark Kaufman will create a materials/kit package that
includes pre-machined and mortised Western red cedar gunwales,
stringers, deckbeams, stems, white ash rib stock, laminated white ash
masik deckbeams, finished cockpit rim, seat slats, latigo leather deck
lines, nylon skin, urethane coating, and a partially pre-shaped Western red cedar paddle blank.
Skills Mark will teach include procedures for accurately replicating the original profile of the kayak from line drawings, layout
procedures, mortise-and-tenon construction, steam-bending, hull
shaping, sewing on a skin, and carving a Greenland paddle.
Mark promises a fun, fast-paced, intensive week as each kayak
takes shape. Students can expect some long, very productive days
so that each day’s goals can be met, and by the end of the week each
participant will have a stunning kayak that is ready for the water.
Materials: 16'6" West Greenland Kayak – $1,335
17'10" West Greenland Kayak – $1,387
Note: This is a special seven-day course that begins on Sunday morning
and ends the following Saturday afternoon.
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
BUILD YOUR OWN
STITCH-AND-GLUE KAYAK
Versatile, durable, easy-to-build
designs for both the recreational
and serious kayaker.
Eric Schade — July 3-9
Is there a perfect kayak? You can’t have all in one kayak. For
speed, you want a hull that is long and narrow. For comfort, you
want broad beam and a big cockpit. For maneuverability and
ease of handling, a short kayak is desirable. Artful compromise is the mark of good design, and Eric Schade has a number of beautiful kayaks that may just fit your bill. Students who
register for this very popular course will be able to choose
among the following designs: the 14' 6" Shearwater Sport, the
Shearwater 16 or 17, and the Wood Duck series.
The Shearwater Sport is Eric’s most versatile traditional
kayak. It offers the perfect compromise of light weight, sharp
West Greenland handling, effortless cruising speed, and an
extra-large cockpit for comfort. And it’s more than fast enough
to accelerate onto waves for surfing. The Shearwater 16 and
17 are great-looking, performance oriented touring kayaks,
perfectly suited to the experienced paddler. The Shearwater
designs feature a cambered deck and a West Greenland-style
hard-chined hull. The Wood Duck 10, 12, and 14 are all compact, easy-to-launch, recreational kayaks built for comfort and
speed. With big cockpits and ample stability, they are ideal for
exploring inland waterways, fishing, or just having fun with
your kids.
All of these designs are built from a Chesapeake Light Craft
kit using the most advanced wood-composite techniques.
Stitch-and-glue plywood construction of computer-cut panels
makes the assembly very user-friendly. The structure is carefully
and neatly reinforced with epoxy and fiberglass for use on
rocky beaches. During construction, Eric will explain options
for outfitting the boats with seats, backrests, foot braces, hatch
covers, and deck rigging. At the end of the week each kayak
will be ready for sanding and paint or varnish. On Saturday
afternoon you’ll be taking home a beautiful, new boat along
with plenty of new skills and shop tips you can use on many
future wood-epoxy composite boatbuilding projects.
Materials: Shearwater:
Sport – $1,318
16' – $1,318
17' – $1,318
Wood Duck:
10' – $1,213
12' – $1,213
14' – $1,265
Double – $1,318
Wood Ducks
Shearwater Sport
Shearwater 17'
29
BUILD YOUR OWN
ANNAPOLIS WHERRY
BUILD YOUR OWN
NORTHEASTER DORY
Experience the ultimate in a
recreational, open-water pulling boat.
The elegance of a traditional workboat
in stitch-and-glue construction.
Geoff Kerr — June 12-18
George Krewson — September 4-10
In this six-day course, each student will build an Annapolis Wherry from
a Chesapeake Light Craft kit. The Wherry is designed after the graceful 19th
century livery boats used on the River Thames. She is, however, lighter and
slimmer, combining breathtaking grace with thoroughbred performance
under oars. Solid stability, sea-kindly lines, a buoyant bow, and ample
flare make the Wherry a natural choice for rowing in choppy water. It is
designed around a sliding seat and, in the hands of an experienced oarsman, cruising speeds easily reach 5 to 7 knots. The Annapolis Wherry
(see Small Boats 2007) may be unsurpassed as a rowing trainer, exercise boat,
long-distance cruiser, or open-water racer.
The boat is made of 6mm okoume plywood with 9mm okoume plywood frames, thwarts and flotation tanks. Outwales, breasthook and quarter knees are solid mahogany. The Annapolis Wherry is built using the
LapStitch™ construction technique. Traditional lapstrake boatbuilding
employs molds over which planks are nailed or riveted together. By using
precision-rabbeted, computer-cut plank shapes and frames which double
as molds, a CLC Lapstitch™ kit boat is wired together just like a stitch-andglue kayak. When glued with small epoxy fillets, the planks create a stiff and
strong hull that will last for fifty years.
A dory is a lot of boat for the
money, which explains the
enduring popularity of the
type over the last 150 years
or more. Graceful roundsided
lapstrake dories like this 17footer were once the primary
recreational craft on the New
England coast. In this six-day
course, you’ll assemble a
faithful reproduction in just a
week, using marine plywood
and epoxy. Capacity is three
adults, and you can add a
sailing rig if you choose.
Enjoy fast rowing with one
oarsman or two, or add a slidingseat unit.
This very popular John C. Harris design uses Chesapeake Light
Craft’s patented LapStitch™ process, which yields boats of 19th-century appearance but 21st-century weight and durability. More
than 11 years after the first CLC LapStitch™ models, the Northeaster
Dory enjoys numerous refinements for faster, easier, prettier, and
stronger construction. Just as in the original dories, we begin with
a sturdy flat bottom, erect frames, and then add planks in a single day. A handsome timber rail adds stiffness, and the structure is
further reinforced with epoxy and fiberglass. Solid timber seats
feature alternating Spanish cedar and cypress strips, which will
look great under varnish. All plywood is marine-grade okoume.
The impulse for this new design was the desire for a fast but safe
and dry rowing craft, for exercise during Maryland winters on the
creeks near John’s Kent Island home. Simple and sturdy, the dory
can live in or out of the water, ready to go in any condition of wind
and wave. Dories are great load-carriers, and the Northeaster Dory
is no exception. The maximum payload is 800 lbs.
By the end of this exciting week, hulls will be assembled, ready
for sanding and painting at home. If there’s time during the class,
those who elect to add the traditional dory sailing rig may get
started on that option. Come join John, a leading designer in the
wooden boat community, and experience the satisfaction of building your very own beautiful dory.
The pre-cut hull planks are scarfed together, and then connected to the
frames and each other with copper wire stitches, then fixed in place with
epoxy fillets. Next come thwarts, knees, wales, and air tanks. Fiberglass
cloth on the bottom, inside and out, provides abrasion resistance. The
instructor will also discuss the proper way to sand and paint or varnish your
boat, and will explain sliding seat installation.
At the end of an absorbing week, students will have learned about
stitch-and-glue basics, including epoxy work, fiberglassing, and laminating. Building a LapStitch™ boat is easy, but assembling an 18' boat in a week
means a tight schedule, and you’ll be spending plenty of time in our shop.
It will be an exciting week with an outstanding boatbuilder to guide you
through your project!
Tuition: $800 (partner: $400) | Materials: (single) – $1,582
(tandem) – $1,687
30
www.woodenboat.com
Materials: Row – $1,687
Sail (sloop) – $3,111
Sail (lug) – $2,952
| (207) 359-4651
RELATED CRAFTS
TRADITIONAL AND MODERN
OAR MAKING
NEW
Creating beautiful oars that turn minimum
effort into maximum power.
Clint Chase — August 14-20
There are few projects more thoroughly satisfying than oar making. Making your own oars engages all the senses—the sweet smell
of spruce, the feel of the plane peeling off a perfect shaving, and
the sound of hand tools at work. The “tricks of the trade” that make
crafting an oar truly enjoyable are not easy to pick up on your own,
but will be generously shared in this course. After a week in a pile of
shavings, you will leave this course with a new knowledge about
oars and rowing, along with your very own set of beautiful oars.
Clint Chase brings years of experience as a boatbuilder and oar
maker, and has designed this exciting course to guide students
through the fundamental steps of making and finishing oars: milling
the blanks, choosing a pattern, tapering, rounding the looms, shaping the blades, and tuning the oar. Clint will teach his techniques for
counterbalancing each set of oars with cast-lead “slugs.” Each student will choose the spruce oars they want to create. Some will
choose flat-blades or spoons. Others can choose laminated-plywood blades or carbon fiber. Whether you choose traditional or
modern, you will learn the crucial methods and knowledge required
to craft a lightweight, strong, and balanced oar, making rowing a
great pleasure.
On Saturday morning, Clint will teach you how to leather your
oars and make the collars, and you will go home with a fancy leathering kit, finishing instructions, and resources for further learning.
Most of all, you will head home with a beautiful, functional set of
oars to prove it.
THE ARTS OF THE SAILOR
NEW
Practical marlinespike and hand-sewn canvas
projects for small boats.
Eric Stockinger — August 7-13
Hervey Garrett Smith’s classic 1953 book, The Arts of the Sailor, is the
inspiration for Eric Stockinger’s introductory course on traditional rope
and canvas work. While many people have an interest in learning how
to sew canvas with a sailmaker’s palm and needle, there is little practical
instruction available, and even less information on where to find good,
modern substitutes for tools and materials once used by sailors aboard tall
ship. Here’s a great opportunity to gain some of those skills and plenty of
information on knots and ropework, as well.
The week will begin with the fundamentals of palm and needle sewing,
discussions of tools and various materials, and basic marlinespike rope work.
Students will work on several projects throughout the course. Everyone
will make their own ditty bag with a fancy marlinespike handle and a
canvas bucket made with wooden mast hoops, brass thimbles, and copper tacks.
Most “fancy” knots have humble and practical origins aboard ships.
Eric will show you how to create useful items that will look good and
feel at home on a small wooden boat. Students will make a rope fender,
a Monkey’s Fist heaving line, and other small undertakings such as lanyards, mats, Turk’s Heads, bracelets, etc. Eric will also discuss ropestropped blocks, as well as other options for rigging small boats.
At the conclusion of the week, each student will come away with a
good set of basic tools, the knowledge to use them, and, hopefully, the
inspiration to take on other projects for their boat or around the house.
Tuition: $750
Materials: $105
Tuition: $800
Materials: $106
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RELATED CRAFTS
MARINE PAINTING
AND VARNISHING
BRONZE CASTING FOR
BOATBUILDERS
The art and science of finishing
prep work to final coat.
The process of patternmaking and casting
custom hardware.
Gary Lowell — August 21-27
Mike Saari — August 7-13
Painting a boat is not simply a matter of opening a can and dipping in a
brush—especially if you want the job to look decent and last well. Marine
finishing requires a lot of careful preparation, good technique, and an
understanding of a bewildering array of products.
Gary Lowell packs a great deal into this one-week course. He starts
with the preparation of the surface—the key to a fine finish. Too many
good coats of paint do little more than emphasize a rough hull, and too
many fine hulls have been damaged by the misuse of power tools. You’ll
work with a variety of grinders, sanders, and scrapers on a variety of wooden
boat parts. You’ll develop the feel needed to make these tools work for you,
not against you.
You’ll examine the whole smorgasbord of currently available finishing
products—strippers and primers, additives and thinners, enamels and
epoxies, antifouling paints (both traditional and high-tech), varnishes and
oils, etc. You’ll discuss how to pick the right product, and how to apply it.
You’ll learn about different types of brushes and rollers, and the techniques
of masking and cutting in, striking a boot top, and keeping a wet edge.
And you’ll practice how to artfully coordinate the tools and techniques as
you paint and varnish the boats on hand, or possibly your own.
You’ll also learn how to protect yourself from the potentially harmful
dusts and chemicals involved in this work. Gary will show you how to get
a beautiful finish and stay healthy at the same time.
This is a very worthwhile course for boat owners or anyone else who
would like to make a good boat shine.
If you are a professional or amateur boatbuilder, in a small or
large operation, working on traditional or modern craft, power
or sail, wood or even plastic, one thing you always have to consider is the matter of hardware. Boatbuilders are often in need of
special bronze fittings that are either not available off the shelf or
must be cast at great expense.
This course with Mike Saari will introduce the basics of patternmaking, sand molding, and bronze casting. Students will
learn how to build an inexpensive furnace and all the tools necessary to cast hot metal using sandcasting technology. Even if
you don’t want to do your own casting, you will learn enough
about design and patternmaking to minimize the cost of having a commercial foundry make your castings.
Tuition: $750
In this hands-on, introductory course, each student will
make a pattern of his or her design to cast original hardware
from start to finish. Anyone who has ever lost an oarlock will
appreciate learning how to make copies of original hardware.
Students will learn foundry safety practices and resources for
supplies. Last, but not least, students will learn how to finish off
their castings.
32
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
METALWORKING FOR THE
BOATBUILDER AND WOODWORKER
BLACKSMITHING
FOR BOATBUILDERS
A survey of tools and techniques.
An introduction to traditionally forged
ironwork for marine projects.
Erica Moody — August 28-September 3
Doug Wilson — June 12-18
This highly useful course designed by professional metalworker Erica
Moody will provide students the unique opportunity to review and practice various metalworking techniques geared toward assisting the professional or amateur woodworker and/or boatbuilder in fabricating or
repairing metal parts for their projects. We will start by looking at the
various types of metal used in the marine environment and their properties
and uses, and review the tools and techniques to work them in simple
ways without the need to set up an expensive, fancy metal shop at home.
Focus all week will be on working mostly with different bronze alloys
and copper. Techniques covered will include drilling and tapping, forming, silver brazing, soldering, and finishing methods, as well as heat treating for toolmaking. Suggested class projects will be to start and finish
your own bronze and tool-steel scribe/marking tool to use in class, and
a pair of custom bronze chart dividers, and/or a small bevel gauge. Students can also bring parts to repair or fabricate, or just practice skills.
No previous experience is necessary. This week with a very talented
metalworker will give each individual the opportunity to clarify metalworking questions and start building the skills and confidence that brings
satisfaction from being able to repair, replace, or customize your own
deck and hull fittings, cabin hardware, tools, or beautiful accessories and
gizmos. It will be a great way to get started!
The time-honored craft of blacksmithing is alive and well. This
captivating, five-day course, taught by master craftsman Doug
Wilson, will expose students to the principles of the craft, focusing on hot-forging steel. Students will learn fundamental handforging processes and then have the opportunity to create useful
items. No power tools will interfere with your understanding
of the forging process.
Do you need a special tool or would you like to restore an old
one? Can it be fixed, or will you need to replace the original?
How about steel hardware? The lessons learned here will apply
to both ornamental forge work and tool making with high-carbon steels. The mysteries of hardening and tempering will be
addressed, and students will learn to properly heat high-carbon
tools of their own making.
As students become more confident in basic blacksmithing
skills during this course, they’ll move on to designing and making individual pieces to take home. The promise of success in
this course will be limited only by the talent and enterprise of the
beginner, and not by the lack of expensive or elaborate equipment
and materials. And as students find themselves becoming more
confident in their blacksmithing skills over time, they will discover, with pleasure and satisfaction, that they have become
their own teacher.
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening. This course
will be held at Doug Wilson’s shop located in Little Deer Isle,
a short drive from WoodenBoat School.
33
RELATED CRAFTS
MAKING FRIENDS WITH
YOUR MARINE DIESEL ENGINE
INTRODUCTION
TO CANVASWORK
An introduction to evaluating
small marine diesels.
Project design, tools of the trade,
industrial machine stitching, materials,
and lots more.
Jon Bardo — June 5-11, September 25-October 1
Realizing that the diesel engine
powers the world, we are offering
this course to provide you an indepth view of the small marine
diesel engine. Despite their apparent complexity, diesels are quite
simple machines that can be given
an almost indefinite lifespan by
painless preventive maintenance
techniques and proper operation.
Jon Bardo has had over 30 years
of experience troubleshooting and
rebuilding diesel engines from 16
hp to 2,400 hp, and has tailored a
course that will meet the immediate needs of each student and
his/her own engine.
During the week, students will
be presented with a wide array of
hands-on demonstrations and
lectures designed to cover the
care and repair of the small
marine engine. Fuel systems,
cooling systems, lubricating systems, electrical systems, exhaust and intake systems, and more will all be
explored and thoroughly explained in layman’s terms. Mechanical problems are almost always the result of some human weakness or deficiency, and
Jon will create a “survival guide” for owners of diesel-powered watercraft to
properly maintain their own power plants and extend the lives of the
engines.
You’ll get plenty of grease under your fingernails in this course as your
instructor details correct operation of your engine from start-up to shutdown. Students will have a great chance to find out what to look for in troubleshooting common problems, and which repairs you can do yourself and
which should be done by a professional mechanic. And if you should need
repairs, Jon will teach you how to find and deal with a mechanic, and how
to tell if you’re being taken care of or being taken for a ride. If you are one
of the many boat owners who are interested in improving your understanding and ability and gaining confidence in dealing with your motor,
then come join Jon Bardo for a fascinating look at the marine diesel.
Tuition: $750
A copy of Peter Compton’s book Troubleshooting Marine Diesels
will be provided to each student at the start of the course.
34
www.woodenboat.com
Ann Brayton — September 11-17
Ann has been running her very successful canvaswork business out of the family barn in Brooklin, Maine, for close to 20
years. Her reputation as an exceptional canvasworker (specializing in custom interior and exterior boat cushions) leads
many of the area boatyards and boat owners to her doorstep each
year with orders in hand. We are fortunate to be able to offer students the chance to work alongside Ann learning the basics of
this valuable skill.
Canvaswork is one of those traditional crafts that have been
part of the boat owner’s world for centuries. Sails, protective
covers, seabags, even clothes were once made out of canvas by
a ship’s bosun. These days, the availability of new synthetic
fibers has drastically changed the landscape for those producing marine canvaswork, though many techniques remain the
same. Students in this course will learn the ins and outs of
working with a wide range of these materials that are on the
market today.
Students will begin the week learning to use the industrial
sewing machines we’ll have on hand for this course, followed
by an introduction to all the various fabrics and foams available
to the canvasworker. We’ll then look at the other tools of the
trade, and learn how to install grommets, zippers, and other
fastenings. The course will cover how to make various styles
of boat cushions ranging from simple cockpit cushions to
beveled V-berth cushions, and as time permits, students will
learn to make other useful canvas projects, such as bags, tool rolls,
etc. Everyone will discover the step-by-step procedures in
designing a project, choosing materials, and proper cutting
and assembling to produce quality work that you will take
pride in. Most canvaswork projects involve simple sewing techniques that are easy to master with plenty of practice, even if
you’ve never done any sewing before. Students are welcome to
bring their own projects to work on during class but must discuss their ideas with Ann prior to this week.
There is much satisfaction to be achieved from producing
your own canvaswork, not to mention the financial savings
involved. After this week in the loft with Ann, you’ll head home
with confidence, a new awareness in working with fabrics, a
completed project or two, and a seabag full of new skills.
Note: This is a five-day course ending Friday evening. This course
takes place at the Center Harbor Sail Loft in Brooklin.
| (207) 359-4651
2016 C O U R S E S
PAINTING THE DOWNEAST
COAST IN OILS
SEASCAPE/LANDSCAPE
IN WATERCOLOR
A comprehensive approach to understanding
how to see and paint the Maine coast.
Capturing nature’s inspiration in watercolors.
Jerry Rose — July 24-30
You are invited to join
local artist Jerry Rose for
a fascinating week
painting in oil. Each day
will find students working both in group settings and out on their
own. Jerry will cover a
variety of topics, including seeing and composing a sketch, tools and
techniques to achieve
wet-on-wet oil painting,
mixing paint and brush techniques, capturing morning light, the elements of composing and arranging the visual elements to form a better
design, experimenting with design and technique, and lots more. Morning and afternoon demonstrations and discussions by the instructor will
cover a different facet of landscape painting/sketching and help students
understand the process of painting in oils. Following Jerry’s presentations, students will work on their daily assignments followed by a class critique. The week promises to be challenging, fun, and inspiring. Previous
painting experience is recommended.
Tuition: $750
Paul Trowbridge — July 10-16
The inspiration for this course with artist Paul Trowbridge will be
nearby landscapes, tidal zones, the ocean, boats, and people. This class
will be flexible enough to accommodate all levels of watercolor experience, allowing for group instruction, demonstrations, critiques, lots
of individual instruction and feedback.
There is nothing like setting aside the time to paint at WoodenBoat
School’s campus on Eggemoggin Reach to expand your skills and
generate excitement about your work. With the support of fellow
classmates and instructor, you should experience greater confidence
in your work, learning to recognize your own strengths and make
the most of them. The schedule
will allow students to put in the
hours needed to make progress,
and to address the question, “How
can we make paintings that capture our subject in a fresh, direct,
and inspirational way?”
You will become familiar with (or review) negative- and positiveshape painting; painting in puddles; using the white of the paper as a
design element; as well as other general concepts of drawing and
painting, including composition and color theory.
This class is for people who love the visual excitement of nature and
want to capture some of that thrill in watercolor painting.
Tuition: $750
MAINE COAST: WATERCOLOR TRAVEL SKETCHBOOK
NEW
Maritime details near and far.
Amy Hosa — September 4-10
Fill a sketchbook with colorful memories while learning how to draw quick studies
that capture the essence of coastal Maine. Each day we travel to new locations – boatyards, harbors, lobster wharves, quaint towns, islands, fields of wildflowers, and the rocky
shore. Drawing from life not only gives you time to discover details, but also creates a
sensory record of that place and time.
The goal of this course is for you to master the art of “quick-study color sketches.”
Instruction includes pen and pencil techniques; how to draw architecture and trees, the
shoreline, piers, boats and people; composition; perspective; and watercolor. Amy
offers multiple step-by-step demonstrations each day that address a range of skills
from basic drawing, composition, and color for the novice to more challenging techniques for the advanced. Daily group and individual critiques will nurture the novice
and challenge the experienced artist. All levels of experience ae welcome.
Tuition: $750
35
RELATED CRAFTS
MARINE PHOTOGRAPHY I & II
NEW
Alumni
WorkWeeks
Techniques and tips for getting that perfect
digital shot on and around the water.
Jon Strout and Jane Peterson —
September 4-10 (Marine Photography I)
September 11-17 (Marine Photography II)
Photographing on, in, or
around the ocean is very
challenging. The coast of
Maine is certainly no exception. Lighting conditions are
constantly changing, offering unique opportunities for
the most experienced photographer. How to make the
most of these opportunities
is the test every photographer faces.
As we’ve seen, digital
cameras have changed the
world of photography
overnight. Well-known photographer Jon Strout and his
able assistant Jane Peterson come to our campus to offer two unique
photography courses. MARINE PHOTOGRAPHY I will be an introduction to camera technique, the chemistry of light, and capturing firstclass images. During the week, Jon will conduct daily sessions in shooting
with available light. By using proper exposures and correct shutter speeds,
you will learn the techniques needed to capture a multitude of conditions.
MARINE PHOTOGRAPHY II is for the photographer who has
already taken an introductory course, or is equivalently prepared and
looking for the challenge of improving his or her style and technique,
and moving on to the next level. Individual and group assignments will
be given, and are designed to further develop one’s ability to see and create an image of what you experience and feel. Jon and Jane will offer
advanced work on exposure and metering, lens selection and use, the
three-dimensional photograph, the element of time, and, of course, composition.
Students will use their own digital cameras, whether point-and-shoot
models or SLR. With the convenience of digital photography, the instructors will critique students’ work daily. Each morning each class will meet
in our Boathouse to review the previous day’s work and prepare to cover
new ground. But the real essence of both courses will be taking pictures
with your instructors and on your own. The WoodenBoat School waterfront and boatbuilding shops, the many harbors and local boatyards, the
town of Brooklin, and nearby Acadia National Park will provide a wealth
of photogenic material. The challenge and pleasure of both of these weeks
will be to capture it all on film!
MAY 22–28 / MAY 29–JUNE 4
Each year we traditionally mark the opening of our
summer season with two weeks in the spring in which
a number of our alumni come to Brooklin to help us
open our doors. Alumni give us a week or two of their
time and talent, and we return the favor with a week’s
room and board, plenty of appreciation, and a few surprises thrown in to boot. There’s plenty to do on our
waterfront, in our shops, and at our dorms.
It is also a wonderful week of camaraderie with
folks getting back together in this beautiful setting to
relax, talk boats, and share stories. Call after January
3rd if you’d like to be added to the lottery list. We’ll
pull names in March for these two popular weeks.
Tuition: $750
36
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
2016 OFF-SITE COURSES
Can’t make it to Brooklin, Maine?
We’re very pleased to be working with John Harris and the good folks at
CHESAPEAKE LIGHT CRAFT in Annapolis, Maryland, and, once again,
to be able to offer courses at their excellent facility. www.clcboats.com
ANNAPOLIS WHERRY
Tuition for each of these courses is $800 (partner $400)
Check our website for our entire 2016 program www.woodenboat.com
Gift certificates available for all WoodenBoat courses.
CHESAPEAKE LIGHT CRAFT SHOP
Annapolis, Maryland
MARCH 21-26
BUILD YOUR OWN ANNAPOLIS WHERRY
With Geoff Kerr
Materials: Single – $1,429
Tandem – $1,529
APRIL 4-9 BUILD YOUR OWN STITCH-AND-GLUE KAYAK
With Eric Schade
Materials: Shearwater Sport
Materials: Wood Duck
sport – $1,179
10' – $1,079
16' – $1,179
12' – $1,079
17' – $1,179
14' – $1,129
Double – $1,179
APRIL 11-16 BUILD YOUR OWN NORTHEASTER DORY
With George Krewson
Sail (lug) – $2,728
MAY 2-7 BUILD YOUR OWN LAPSTRAKE DINGHY
With Bill Cave
Materials: Eastport Pram
Materials: Passagemaker
Row – $1,029
Row – $1,379
Sail (lug) – $1,958
Sail (lug) – $2,578
NORTHEASTER DORY
LAPSTRAKE DINGHY
STITCH-AND-GLUE KAYAK
SEPTEMBER 5-10 BUILD YOUR OWN SASSAFRAS
With Bill Cave
Materials: 12' – $1,029
16' – $1,205
SEPTEMBER 26-OCTOBER 1 BUILD YOUR OWN NORTHEASTER DORY
With Bill Cave
Sail (lug) – $2,728
OCTOBER 24-29 BUILD YOUR OWN ANNAPOLIS WHERRY
With Geoff Kerr
Materials:
Single – $1,429
Tandem – $1,529
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 5 BUILD YOUR OWN STITCH-AND-GLUE KAYAK
With Eric Schade
Materials: Shearwater Sport
Materials: Wood Duck
sport – $1,179
10' – $1,079
16' – $1,179
12' – $1,079
17' – $1,179
14' – $1,129
Double – $1,179
SKERRY DAYSAILER
SASSAFRAS CANOE
37
FAMILY WEEK
J O I N U S AT WO O D E N B OAT S C H O O L F O R FA M I LY W E E K !
More and more families these days want to add a learning component to their vacations. We are
excited to offer this special opportunity for you to share a unique experience with your children
and/or grandchildren. All the courses are fun, educational, and great family projects. And your
family will have memories for a lifetime. Contact us for details.
Classes run from July 31 to August 6. CHOOSE AMONG THE FOLLOWING:
BUILD YOUR OWN BEVIN SKIFF
BUILD YOUR OWN
WOOD DUCK KAYAK
Christian Smith
Designed by Joe Youcha, the 11' 8" Bevin Skiff has been built by hundreds of families at various Family Boatbuilding events around the
world. This simple, good-looking marine plywood skiff comes in a
kit and can be built for oar or sail. Ideal for first-time builders!
Materials: Row: $1,107
Eric Schade
Bring your tools and work clothes, and build your very own 10' or 12'
Wood Duck recreational kayak, a very cool boat suitable for novice
paddlers and fun for those with more experience. Starting with computer-cut marine plywood parts, your kayak will be glued together
using epoxy, and sheathed with fiberglass for strength. Bring your
enthusiasm and your desire to try something new and exciting!
Materials: 10' – $1,213
12' – $1,213
14' – $1,265
Double – $1,318
“Thank you for a wonderful week and
being open to me bringing my teenage
daughter and son. This will be a
week we will never forget!”
M.C., WORCESTER, VERMONT
38
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
JULY 31-AUGUST 6
LEARN TO SAIL
BUILD YOUR OWN
ECHO BAY DORY SKIFF
With Jane Ahlfeld and Gretchen Snyder
Introduce your family to a sport they can enjoy for the rest of their
lives! Under the calm and knowing guidance of Jane and Gretchen,
students will quickly learn that sailing is safe, fun, and builds selfreliance, encourages respect for the environment, and offers numerous
rewards that come from being challenged out on the water. Your classroom for the week will be our safe and exciting fleet of Nutshell prams,
Shellback dinghies, and Haven 12½s. This will be an awesome five
days on the water!
Clint Chase
Tuition: $550
The Echo Bay Dory Skiff is a beautiful and stable 12' rowing or sailing
skiff that is a delight to enjoy out on the water. Designed by boatbuilder/instructor Clint Chase, the skiff is easily built from a kit consisting of marine plywood and solid wood parts, a construction manual,
and a full set of plans. A great family boatbuilding project!
Materials: Row - $1,477; Sailing components
can be purchased from the instructor
FA M I LY W E E K C O U R S E S
FAMILY WEEK courses are designed for families
with school-aged children between 9 and 15.
Adults and children must participate
in the same course.
NOTE: Room & Board is half price
for children this week.
39
FACULTY
“It was a blast! You have the perfect setting for a
sailing class. The Boathouse, pier, boats, staff, and sailing
instructors are absolutely great. We’re already
thinking about next year!”
S.B., SIDNEY, TEXAS
The sailing bug caught JANE AHLFELD
while vacationing on one of the Maine windjammer schooners. She decided to take a
leave from elementary school teaching…and
has yet to return. She shipped out on the
MARY HARRIGAN, a 50' schooner, as
mate to teach Cruising Boat Seamanship
for WoodenBoat School in the Caribbean
and Maine. In ’93 and ’94 she taught a
course in Small Boat Sailing on the local
boats of Bequia. Since 1989 she has
returned to Brooklin each summer to teach
and work on our waterfront. When not on
boats, Jane is a computer consultant. She
has a masters in Education and holds a
U.S. Coast Guard License. Students often
comment on Jane’s patience, knowledge,
sense of humor, and attention to both the
group and individual needs. She teaches the
skills and gives all the support needed to
gain confidence on the water.
WALTER ANSEL is a long-time native of
Mystic, Connecticut. He grew up running
40
wild at Mystic Seaport Museum Shipyard
and is still there after 35 years. Walt began
sweeping out the Shipyard shop when he was
14; while he still does pick up a broom, he has
graduated on to doing other jobs as well. One
of his very favorite projects was building a
Beetle whaleboat with his retired boatbuilder
father, Willits Ansel, in 2002. Walt supervised
the restoration of the Eastern rigged dragger
ROANN and was able to go to sea on her for
the Museum. Walt also worked on the whale
ship CHARLES W. MORGAN on both her
1980’s and 2013 restorations and got the
opportunity to sail with the whales on
Stellwagan Bank on the MORGAN’s 38th
voyage. Walt is married to Carol, a school
librarian who is passionate about photographing birds and the seacoast. Together
they enjoy birding, cruising in boats, and
English country dancing as done in the time
of Jane Austen. They are proud parents of
Douglas, a filmmaker, and Evelyn, an author
and ship caulker. Walt has built and restored
boats at WoodenBoat School for 16 years.
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
After graduating from the Marine Science
Department at Southern Maine Vocational
Technical Institute in 1972, JON BARDO
was employed on the schooner yacht
AMERICA as an engineer. Having survived
14 months of bluewater cruising, Jon came
ashore and spent the next seven years repairing diesel engines in everything from commercial fishing vessels to logging equipment.
Eventually drawn back to the sea, Jon worked
on commercial tugboats for four years and
then started his own business working on
diesel engines, which he enjoys to this day.
WARREN BARKER built his first boat,
a Culler skiff, in 1976 after earning his B.A.
at Williams College. He then studied at
Hoosuck Design and Woodworking School
before joining Murray Peterson Associates
in Maine, where he helped to build a number of prams and spars, as well as the 42'
ketch NIA. For the next four years he worked
as a project foreman at Eric Goetz Custom
Sailboat Company, mostly building hightech, one-off, cold-molded racing boats.
Along the way, Warren has built or rebuilt
a variety of small craft on his own. A twoand-a-half-year stint restoring the yawl
COTTON BLOSSOM ended with his first
commission in his new shop, a Haven 12½'.
A Bridges Point 24 kept the doors open,
followed by CURLEW, a reproduction of the
Herreshoff Alerion. Immersed in the
2016
Herreshoff technique, he used their methods to produce a 26' gig for Portsmouth
Abbey School and a Columbia dinghy.
Having completed the 30'6" William
Garden–designed “Camilla” and the
Herreshoff 12½' “Crow Dancer” in his
Westport, Massachusetts, shop, he took the
position of senior instructor at IYRS mentoring the construction of Herreshoff
designs from 12' to 35' and a smattering of
other designers’ work. Trying to stay ahead
of the students, he is learning the ins and
outs of GarWood and Chris-Craft boats.
DANIEL BENNETT built his first boat
out of recycled materials when he was 10
years old and first taught sailing at 13. At 15,
he took LOFTING and FUNDAMENTALS
OF BOATBUILDING courses at
WoodenBoat School. Next came work in
boatyards and then a life at sea, sailing
48,000 nautical miles aboard square-riggers and schooners in the Atlantic and
Pacific. At 19, Daniel purchased
PLUMBELLY, a 26’ Bequia-built engineless
double-ended gaff cutter, and while serving
as Assistant Shop Manager at WoodenBoat
School, he readied for a singlehanded voyage to Bermuda that fall. After a rough trip
and the necessary repairs, he became a highly
motivated student of the weather and sailed
on to the Caribbean and beyond, using both
traditional and modern navigational means.
Daniel logged 47,000 nautical miles over
the next six years during several Caribbean
winters, New England summers, and
transatlantics to the U.K. and back, including a 4,000-nautical-mile nonstop voyage
westbound. Sailing mostly singlehanded,
he found work as a shipwright/carpenter/rigger to support his boat and simple
lifestyle. For the past 20 years, Daniel has
been sailing the coast of Maine as
owner/captain of Bufflehead Sailing
Charters in which he shares the beauty and
challenge of sailing Maine’s island dappled
waters. He recently logged 2,200 nautical
miles a year within 50 miles of Rockland.
local lodge. At a young age she realized the
rewards of making useful things with her
own hands, and after several years working
in a local sail loft over 20 years ago, she began
her own canvas business in her barn, allowing her to work more easily around her family’s schedule. Initially, Ann focused mostly
on yacht interiors (cushions and curtains) for
boats being built or rebuilt by local boatyards or individual boat owners, but has
since expanded into doing a wide range of
exterior canvas projects as well.
At 15, JOHN BROOKS joined his grandparents and other family members on a
two-year sailing trip from the Pacific
Northwest to South Africa. In college he
studied engineering and journalism, then he
went to work building boats, took a boat
design course, and built a Chesapeake Bay
skipjack for himself. In the 1980s, John
moved to Maine with boat in tow, and
worked for a number of Mount Desert
Island boatyards plus a keyboard maker, a
cabinetmaker, and a custom furniture
builder; he also designed and built his first
glued-lapstrake boat, a 15’ fast pulling boat.
In 1992 he and his wife, Ruth Ann Hill,
started their own business designing and
building glued-lapstrake boats, and together
they wrote How to Build Glued-Lapstrake
Wooden Boats, published by WoodenBoat
Books in 2004. After moving to Brooklin in
2003, John continued designing boats and
developing plans while also taking advantage of an opportunity to work at Doug
Hylan’s shop and Brooklin Boat Yard as a
master carpenter. Since 2009, he and Ruth
have worked together as Brooks Boats
Designs full-time, developing plans and kits
for boats they built on MDI and for new
designs. They live in Brooklin with their
“John Brooks is a very professional boatbuilder and
teacher. He brought passion, energy, skill, and a sense
of humor. A superb course!”
A.B., TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN
ANN BRAYTON has lived here in Brooklin
for years raising kids, animals, and vegetable
gardens, as well as guiding kayak trips for a
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FACULTY
four children, a flock of chickens, and
assorted boats. John has taught classes at
WoodenBoat School for over 20 years.
HARRY BRYAN built his first boat at
age 10, his first boat that floated at age
12, and his first boat with almost no
leaks at age 15. After successfully resisting attempts to be formally educated at
the University of Vermont, he worked
on fishing boats at Fairhaven Marine in
Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and on yachts
at Concordia Company in South
Dartmouth, Massachusetts, before moving to New Brunswick, Canada, in 1972.
Since that time he has repaired commercial craft and built dories, skiffs, and
sailboats form 7' to 36'. His shop, which
relies on a small diesel engine and solar
panels for its power, emphasizes a growing commitment to pedal power and
hand tools (see WoodenBoat No. 132).
BILL CAVE spent 28 years as a firefighter
in Washington, D.C. An avid sailor and
small boat enthusiast, he’s also worked as a
mate on a schooner. Bill built his first boat
in a WoodenBoat School class. The
Chesapeake Light Craft staff recognized his
talent and hired him, along with his son,
Matt, for good measure. As Chesapeake
Light Craft’s primary staff boatbuilder, Bill
has built dozens of boats of all sizes and
taught many boatbuilding classes on his
own. He lives in Bryantown, Maryland and
when not building boats for a living, he
builds them as a hobby.
THAD DANIELSON felt a strong attraction to the ocean and boats at the age of nine
on a liner voyage to East Africa with his
family in 1954, reinforced over the next four
years by having the Dar es Salaam waterfront
as his playground. After high school in
Rhode Island followed by college and grad-
“Harry Bryan is a master….watching his hands
working is more than learning technique, it’s like
listening to really beautiful music. BOATBUILDER’S
HAND TOOLS far exceeded all my expectations.
I would take any course Harry taught!”
F.C., BEACH HAVEN, NEW JERSEY
uate school, Thad got into sailing. Some
years later, a chance look at one of the first
sets of plans sold by WoodenBoat turned his
interest from general woodworking and
house building to wooden boats. He moved
to Marblehead, Massachusetts, set up Redd’s
Pond Boatworks, and was soon busy building and restoring a wide variety of traditional wooden boats. He recently retired
from the shop but is still building boats.
Thad is the North American Secretary of the
Albert Strange Association.
BRAD DIMOCK combines a family proclivity for carpentry with his discovery of
Grand Canyon boating when he was 18
years old. He has spent nearly every summer and a few winters since then running
the Colorado and other rivers in a wide
variety of vessels, from historic lapstrake
replicas to modern river dories; from kayaks
to paddle rafts to large motorized pontoons;
and a few things that weren’t really boats at
all. Brad rowed wooden boats for dory pioneer Martin Litton for 10 years, and has
run dories extensively on whitewater rivers
throughout the West. He has also written
award-winning biographies of several lesserknown but mythic boaters of the Colorado
River. Brad has built dories from Maine to
New Zealand, but does most of his boatbuilding at his shop in Flagstaff, high in the
Arizona desert. He combines techniques
from traditional and modern methods, and
occasionally invents new approaches as the
need arises. Many of his boatbuilding techniques were born of necessity for lack of
tools or time in wilderness settings.
ERIC DOW was brought up a Maine fisherman, but pursued boatbuilding “as a means
of being able to sleep later in the morning.”
He graduated from the marine department
at Washington County Vocational Technical
Institute, and for over 38 years he has been
building boats in Brooklin, Maine. He built
many of the WoodenBoat half models for
display, has been intimately involved with the
development of the Nutshell Pram kits, and,
these days specializes in the construction of
the Haven 12½.
OCEAN POINTER
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QUEENE HOOPER FOSTER taught
herself how to sail by reading books and
studying the photographs of Morris and
Stanley Rosenfeld. Right out of college she
purchased a boat and learned to sail the
hard way. She continued her education by
sailing annually to Maine from the
Chesapeake Bay, participating in the early
classic yacht events in Newport, Rhode
Island and in Maine. She has sailed in
numerous Newport to Bermuda Races,
always in classic wooden boats, and was the
first woman to skipper her own boat in the
that famous ocean race. Sailing for the New
York Yacht Club in her Aage Nielsen Ketch
SAPHAEDRA, Queene sailed across the
Atlantic to Cowes, England and was the
only woman skipper to race in the America’s
Cup Jubilee. She and her international crew
received a Third Place Trophy from Princess
Anne for the week of competition. Her
career has been in publishing in New York
City, specializing in marine titles, including
Chapman’s Guide to Boating Etiquette, a
detailed guide to boating traditions. Queene
is an experienced sailing instructor and
these days enjoys being out under sail on her
Concordia yawl MISTY.
BOB FULLER, a third-generation boatbuilder and patternmaker with a commercial fishing background, grew up in Halifax,
Massachusetts. He apprenticed with his father
and grandfather, working in the family shop
where he also learned the trade of designing
and building traditional wooden ship’s steering wheels. Bob built his first in 1976 at age
15. On occasion, when fishing on the bays and
inlets on the South Shore of Massachusetts
and Cape Cod, he would see Simmons Sea
Skiffs being used in the rough waters and took
note as to how seaworthy and perfectly
matched they were for the strong southerly
winds and following seas that prevail on
summer afternoons. Bob has built numerous Simmons Sea Skiffs for fishermen and
duck hunters in his Halifax shop.
MARTIN GARDNER, born on the
Chesapeake Bay, and with two grandfathers
who were professional seamen, should have
had a life in boats. It started well enough,
“There is an incredible culture here at WoodenBoat
School where good people are allowed and encouraged to
pursue and perfect their passions in the company of
other like-minded individuals. Everyone seems to enjoy
being here! Thanks to you and your entire staff for
creating such a culture.”
C.J., SEVERNA PARK, MARYLAND
with numerous fishing trips out on the bay
and various model boats. Then something
went wrong, and for a few decades, Martin
pursued a career that included more time
in airports than in anchorages. In the 1980s
he came to his senses and began sailing seriously, eventually leaving his day job to cruise
for four years aboard a 28' Lyle Hess cutter.
He has sailed over 25,000 miles on a variety of bluewater boats. He holds a U.S. Coast
Guard Master’s license and an assortment
of U.S. sailing and ASA instructor qualifications. He now teaches sailing year round
and keeps a cruising catboat back on the
Chesapeake Bay.
JOHN C. HARRIS owns Chesapeake
Light Craft, the Annapolis-based purveyor
of wooden boat kits and plans. His long
tenure at CLC was preceded by a passion for
boatbuilding and small craft that stretches
back to earliest childhood. His first successful design was launched at age 14. More
paddling, rowing, and sailing craft followed
quickly, though he paused to get a degree
in music—his second passion. After college
he was determined to make a career as a
boatbuilder and designer in the esoteric
world of wooden boats. Eighteen years later,
he’s shipped 26,000 boat kits and seen his
designs built in more than 70 countries.
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FACULTY
His work as a designer and builder ranges
from dinghies to large multihulls and from
kayaks to powerboats. He lives on the shores
of Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis with his
wife, daughter, and an always-changing fleet
of curious small boats.
HAVILAH HAWKINS, a second-generation captain, was raised in the windjammer business on the schooners STEPHEN
TABER, ALICE WENTWORTH, and MARY
DAY, which was designed by his father, Capt.
Havilah Hawkins, Sr. Havilah, also a fourthgeneration boatbuilder on his mother’s side,
designed and built his 50’ gaff-headed sloop
VELA, with help from the Wooden Boat
Co. in Rockport, Maine. He has been running a day-sailing business out of Martha’s
Vineyard for the past 11 years. He presently
runs, in conjunction with Windward
Passage, a program dedicated to giving kids
a chance to experience the Maine coast
under sail. Havilah has had a 100-ton auxiliary sail license for carrying passengers for
30 years.
REED HAYDEN was introduced to boats
at the age of 12 when he got his first summer job on the Hyannis, Massachusetts,
waterfront. He earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts
degree in Sculpture from the University of
Massachusetts and settled in the seaside town
of Sandwich where he was a leading woodcarver. In 2000 Reed started his own successful sign carving business while he was
working part-time at Ballentine’s Boat Shop
in Cataumet. It was at this boatyard where
he became interested in boatbuilding. In
2003 he and his family headed up to Maine
where he joined the crew at The Hinckley
Company. These days Reed keeps busy working as a carpenter at Brooklin Boat Yard and
doing custom commercial and residential
signwork at his own shop in Surry.
AMY HOSA hails from San Francisco.
Her love of things maritime took hold in the
early ’90s when she volunteered in the Small
Boat Shop on San Francisco’s historic Hyde
Street Pier to restore old boats and learned
to sail. She began filling “travel sketchbooks”
with quick studies of boats in action on the
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Small Boat Shop’s annual small-craft sailing and rowing excursions across San
Francisco Bay. Amy is currently selfemployed as an illustrator and graphic
designer (www.amyhosa.com), and has also
been the exhibit designer for the Maritime
Museum at San Francisco Maritime
National Historic Park for the past 14 years.
Her fine art watercolors have been in numerous gallery shows, and she is a member of
the California Watercolor Society.
JOHN KARBOTT spent most of his
childhood along the beaches and waterfront of Plymouth, Massachusetts, watching commercial lobsterboats and
occasionally catching a ride on one. He
dreamt that someday he would have his
own. During high school he purchased an
old wooden skiff and a few traps, and joined
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the crowd. While in school, he lobstered
and raked sea moss during the summer season and worked odd jobs throughout the
winter. He graduated from Boston’s
Wentworth Institute with an Associate
Degree in Architectural Engineering, but
boats and the water were his first loves. John
spent the next 30 or so years, lobstering
commercially in the Plymouth/Cape Cod
area. After owning and maintaining wooden
boats all his life, he decided to pursue that
career full time and sold his successful lobstering business. John now keeps busy building boats and doing boat repairs in
southeastern Massachusetts, mostly of the
lobsterboat style/design.
MARK KAUFMAN has been fascinated
with boats and boatbuilding since his childhood days of growing up boating with his
2016
family on Pennsylvania’s Allegheny River.
As a teenager, he built his first boats, a
wood-and-canvas Trailcraft canoe and a
Minimost hydroplane. Later, he acquired a
passion for flying and home-built aircraft,
and built a two-seat, high-performance
composite aircraft. After college, Mark
became interested in aircraft restoration
and restored an award-winning “tube-andfabric” 1948 Piper Vagabond aircraft. He
holds instrument, commercial, and flight
instructor ratings. During the last 14 years
he has become an avid bicyclist and kayaker,
and builds his own custom fillet-brazed
bicycle frames and skin-on-frame kayaks.
Mark is a technology educator at Garden
Spot High School in New Holland,
Pennsylvania, teaching beginner and
advanced woodworking, as well as computer-aided drafting and prototyping. Many
of his advanced woodworking students
have built skin-on-frame canoes, stitchand-glue kayaks, wood-strip canoes, and
skin-on-frame Aleutian and Greenlandstyle kayaks in addition to their regular
course work. He also teaches a number of
adult education classes on skin-on-frame
kayak construction. Mark always looks forward to the classes he teaches at
WoodenBoat School.
GEOFF KERR does business as Two
Daughters Boatworks in Westford, Vermont,
on New England’s “west coast.” A boater
since taking a Hurricane Island Outward
Bound School course at age16, and later a
Coast Guard officer, Geoff learned the trade
at the Alexandria Seaport Foundation with
Joe Youcha. He served as shop foreman and
instructor in that dynamic environment.
In his oneman, full-service Vermont shop,
Geoff does small-craft repairs and restorations, as well as new construction, specializing in Iain Oughtred’s Caledonia Yawl.
He has been affiliated with Chesapeake Light
Craft since the company’s infancy, and is a
licensed builder of their many designs, as
well as an authorized and experienced
instructor.
BARRY KING has been sailing all his life.
Along with his wife Jennifer Martin and
their children, this family has been sharing
their schooner MARY DAY with guests since
1998. In addition, to being a USCG licensed
master, Barry has an M.S. in Experiential
education and is a Wilderness EMT. “I love
seeing the strong teamwork and sense of
self that can be gained by the endless variety of skills that make up the world of traditional sailing vessels.”
Sailing Association, Susan instructs yearly
seminars directed toward women. She is
the author and illustrator of Sailing Safely
and How to Get Home, a sailing book for
beginners and intermediates. Holding a U.S.
Coast Guard license, Susan enthusiastically
shares her passion for sailing, teaching the
skills needed for enjoyment and confidence
on the water, and just messing around on
boats with others.
“Mark Kaufman is an
excellent teacher. Highly
organized and very well
prepared. A great class!”
ROBIN LINCOLN grew up sailing on
Cape Cod. She says the greatest gift her family ever gave her was exposure to water and
boats at an early age. Sailing has been a constant thread throughout her life. Racing as
a young girl in wooden Mercurys, Beetle
Cats, Lightnings, and Wianno Seniors, she
won many championships. Robin also
taught sailing seminars, organized races,
and helped establish summer sailing programs for children and adults at yacht clubs
and summer camps. She sailed to Europe
W.A., CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND
GEORGE KREWSON is a rocket scientist based in Cocoa, Florida, where he has
spent the past 30 years working on the
Space Shuttle program. George grew up
sailing and surfing and began building
boats after visiting WoodenBoat School
during a Maine vacation. After building a
few kayaks on his own, he became a “beta”
builder for Chesapeake Light Craft and
has assembled the prototypes of many new
designs over the years. As an instructor,
he particularly enjoys sharing the sense of
amazement he felt with his own first build
when flat pieces of plywood came together
into a beautifully curved hull. George began
experimenting with exotic wood veneers
with his second boat, and has become a “goto” guy in classes and on the CLC forum
for technical tips on the subject. When he’s
not on the water, you can find him in his
shop working on the next project.
A passionate sailor, SUSAN LaVOIE has
extensive cruising experience in coastal as
well as offshore waters, in addition to many
years of dinghy and one-design racing. As
past Commodore of the Blue Water Sailing
Club in Boston, Massachusetts, she was
responsible for organizing cruise activities,
developing seminars based on safety, navigation, and electronics and racing techniques. A member of the National Women’s
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FACULTY
aboard the schooner WESTWARD and
cruised the west coasts of the U.S., Mexico,
and Central America aboard a 38-foot cutter. Over the years, Robin’s sailing experiences have taken her up and down both
coasts of the U.S. from Canada to Florida,
Mexico, and the Carribean. She was a partner in a sail loft in Costa Rica for four years,
where she had the opportunity to examine
sails and rigging while sailing on different
boats from all over the world. For over 20
years she owned and operated Center
Harbor Sails in Brooklin, Maine. Robin’s
life both in the loft and on the water gives
her an intimate and well-rounded knowl-
edge of boats and sailing. She has enjoyed
teaching at the WoodenBoat School for
almost every year since its inception. She
continues to spend every spare minute she
can sailing the beautiful coast of Maine.
GARY LOWELL was born and raised in
a small town in Maine. After living in
Wisconsin for six years, he moved with his
first wooden boat to Greensboro, North
Carolina. While studying broadcasting in
college, Gary worked at the local TV station
as a director and lighting director. While the
job paid the bills, boatbuilding fed his soul.
He began rescuing and repairing old, clas-
“Graham McKay was enthusiastic, full of energy with a
continuous presence yet totally empowering as far as
allowing us to work, learn, make mistakes and correct
our errors. As a woodworker with some small craft
experience, it was my first experience with traditional
dory construction and I had a fantastic time working
on various projects/pieces that all came together as a
beautiful finished dory.”
J.W., JACKSON, WYOMING
sic sailboats and sailing them along the
North Carolina coast. A descendant of the
well-known New England boatbuilding
Lowell family, Gary couldn’t ignore his heritage any longer. In 1993, Gary left television to open his own boatbuilding shop.
Starting in his backyard, the business has
since grown to one of the largest wooden
boatbuilding shops in the country. Lowell
Boats Inc. is an award-winning boatshop
specializing in classic runabout restoration. To supplement his painting and varnishing course at WoodenBoat School, Gary
has produced a high-quality DVD on
Finishing Techniques for Wooden Boats.
Gary often takes summers off to travel back
to Maine with his family and enjoys sailing
the coastal waters.
GRAHAM McKAY grew up in Amesbury,
Massachusetts, on the banks of the
Merrimack River. His early fascination with
boats and maritime history drew him to
sailing tall ships. After attending Harvard for
economics and baseball, he sought to experience the maritime industry from all angles.
Graham spent time as a commercial fisherman, professional sailor, fisheries scientist, and commercial diver. In 2006, he
attended the University of Bristol, England,
for a masters degree in Maritime History and
Archaeology. Upon his return to the states,
Graham split his time building boats at
Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury and as a
captain for the Ocean Classroom
Foundation. He is the emerging Executive
Director of Lowell’s Boat Shop which, in
addition to being a wooden boat shop, is also
a fully functioning museum and education
center. Graham lives in Newburyport,
Massachusetts, with his lovely and patient
girlfriend Abbie and their dog Niki.
Landlocked in the Midwest, THOM
McLAUGHLIN grew up working on
farms and having the cycles of nature deeply
rooted under his skin. After finishing a
graduate degree in visual arts (sculpture),
he found himself surrounded by water as
an art professor at the University of South
Florida. In 1993, while searching for an art
form that could more directly inspire an awe
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of nature, he stumbled onto pond yachts.
Since then he has written articles on, investigated the history of, and made many vintage pond yachts. He is currently the
Southeast regional vice-president of the
Vintage Model Yacht Group. In the last
seven Vintage Marblehead National Regattas
boats of Thom’s design, and their construction initiated in courses at WoodenBoat
School, had third or better placing in final
standings. In the 2011 National Regatta he
placed First Overall in class and also received
the Craftsmanship Award.
ERICA MOODY was born in landlocked
upstate New York and schooled in western
Massachusetts, but finally made it to the
coast in 1991 for a summer working on
Martha’s Vineyard. Since then she has not
been far from the sea. Upon moving to
Boston in 1992, she was fortunate to sail on
a friend’s 1940s Alden sloop for a few years,
getting to know the Massachusetts coast
first from the sea rather than from the road.
Her passion for sailing and the beautiful
craftsmanship and design of the wooden
sailboat has never left. She was inspired to
find a career in the building trades, and
found an apprenticeship with a custom
metalworker in Boston. She has now been
working professionally as a metal craftsman in and around Boston for 19 years, the
last 14 running her business Magma
Metalworks, Inc. Erica has taught classes
and workshops at Wentworth Institute of
Technology and Massachusetts College of
Art & Design in Boston, Harvard’s Graduate
School of Design, and WoodenBoat School.
She and her husband Paul finally made the
move from Boston to the wonderful coast
of Maine in 2014, and are currently living
and working in Waldoboro.
A longtime interest in woodworking led
MIKE MOROS to open his own successful cabinet shop not far from where he grew
up in Pine Brook, New Jersey. Over time, he
found himself attracted to wooden boats and
this eventually brought Mike to
WoodenBoat School as a student in 2001.
After a few courses in successive years and
joining in on Alumni Work Weeks, the boat
bug bit hard and Mike signed on as the
school’s Assistant Shop Manager in 2006. In
’08 Mike took over the reins as Shop
Manager. During the off-season Mike has
worked on the carpentry crew at Brooklin
Boat Yard. In 2009 Mike opened his own
business, Michael Moros Woodworking,
providing wooden boat work, custom woodworking and general contracting. When not
working, Mike enjoys being outdoors, especially boating and fishing. He recently completed a handsome Glen-L Marine 16' center
console skiff for himself and is now restoring a 1952 Chris Craft.
RICH NAPLE has been sailing since 1967.
His first port of call was where the Severn
River meets the Chesapeake Bay as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. Before
leaving for his assignment as a bridge officer on the USS Kitty Hawk, he remained in
Annapolis to teach the fundamentals of sailing to incoming freshman on Rainbow 24s.
After lecturing Naval officers in vessel stability in San Francisco, where he also taught
sailing on Rhodes 19s, Rich brought his talents back to upstate New York to teach high
school physics. He also became a fan of
multi-hulls, sailing and racing Hobie 16s on
various Adirondack lakes. Re-careering in
his 40s, Rich apprenticed with a Shaker furniture company in New Hampshire, after
which he struck out on his own, making fine
furniture inspired by his favorite quiet and
elegant woodworking traditions. When not
in his shop in Saratoga Springs, New York,
Rich likes to windsurf on mountain lakes
and ocean bays. With an easy-going nature,
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FACULTY
schooners MARY DAY and AMERICAN
EAGLE. In 2006 and ’07 she was mate and
educator for WoodenBoat School’s course
on the MARY DAY. Annie currently holds
a USCG 100-ton license.
At the age of three, MIKE O’BRIEN first
climbed aboard a skiff, and at seven he
taught himself how to sail by reading
instructions found in the family encyclopedia. As a college student he rowed in
“eights” and went undefeated during three
years of surfboat rowing competition along
the New Jersey shore. After earning a degree
in physics, Mike pursued graduate work in
oceanography. Later, while serving as
Chairman of Marine Sciences at a small
college, he filled his vacations by designing
and building boats in his one-man shop.
Mike has been Associate Editor for Sailor and
Technical Editor for Soundings. He was
Senior Editor here at WoodenBoat for more
than 20 years. Now in semi-retirement, he
works as Boat Design Editor for the magazine. He also writes and publishes Boat
Design Quarterly. Mike takes much of his
waterborne pleasure aboard sea kayaks. He
is a registered Maine Guide.
encouraging teaching style, and love for the
adventure of life, Rich brings a unique blend
of experiences in sailing, teaching, and
knowledge of woodworking to WoodenBoat
School.
ANNIE NIXON fell in love with the ocean
and sailing right after college when she went
to work for Thompson Island Outward
Bound in Boston, Massachusetts. She
learned to sail and teach aboard their traditional 30’ open rowing and sailing vessels.
Annie then spent four years at the Chewonki
Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine, leading
21-day sailing wilderness trips for high
school and college-age students. On these
expeditions Annie captained both a 26'
Crotch Island Pinky and a 28' Mackinaw
Lake design. She taught elements of seamanship, wilderness “leave no trace” ethics,
and marine ecology as part of these expeditions. For five summers Annie worked on
two larger traditional vessels in Maine, the
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ANDY OLDMAN has had a passion for
boats since age five. By seventh grade, he
had read nearly every seagoing book in the
school library and was soon preoccupied
with building a working gaffrigged model
remarkably like PATIENCE. Three memorable summers ensued near Castine, Maine,
where teenagers sailed on a 45' schooner as
far as Monhegan Island in the days of hand
lead and compass. Andy discovered
PATIENCE on a coffee break at a midwinter boat show; the child’s model had come
alive. Andy and his family recently completed a wondrous, year-and-a-half voyage
on their ketch that took them across the
North Atlantic to France, down to South
America, over to the Galápagos Islands, and
many points in between. Meanwhile, Andy
is dedicated to sharing the knowledge of
wooden boats and sailing that he is so fortunate to have acquired from a beloved cadre
of old-time sailors, friends, and adventurers.
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MADELEINE OTANI OLDMAN spent
her early childhood summers along the
coastal beaches of Kobe, Japan, learning to
swim, row small wooden boats, and navigate strong currents. Island-hopping and
exploration on launch excursions were
always the highlight of those summers.
Moving to New England renewed her love
and respect for the ocean. Through her husband Andy’s passion for boating, she was
introduced to the joys of sailing and coastal
cruising, and an opportunity for a 14-month
sea voyage. For the past several years,
Madeleine has practiced yoga and Korean
martial arts. More recently, she began teaching in outreach programs including chair
yoga for senior citizens. She will receive
her Master’s Certificate this year. Madeleine
also works as the Education Coordinator at
Families First, building partnerships with
educational and transitional housing organizations, and supporting underserved families in their effort to build strong
parent-child relationships.
From an early age, JANE PETERSON has
been interested in photography. After years
of using 35mm film, she has gone digital SLR
and has not looked back. Her interests are
nature and macro photography, but she has
been venturing into documentary work as
well. Growing up in Maine, Jane has a strong
affinity for the coast and a love of the soul
of Maine and her people. Photography is a
way of capturing moments of wonder for
her. She has studied photography with Neal
Parent, Rick Sammon, Jon Strout, and others. Her work has been exhibited locally as
well as in WoodenBoat magazine.
STEVE ROGERS has loved boats and
water all his life. Not only does he paint
boats, he builds them as well in ship model
form. He is a nationally recognized ship
model builder, has written five books on
the subject, and won a certificate of commendation at the 2000 Modelbuilders
Competition at the Mariners’ Museum in
Newport News, Virginia. Steve is also a signature member of the American Society of
Marine Artists. Although model building
and fine art would seem unrelated, each
2016
supports and enhances the other.
Understanding construction methods,
thinking in three dimensions, and working
from blueprints, reference books, and photographs allows Steve to visualize the boats
and ships that become the subjects of his
paintings. He works primarily in acrylics and
paints traditional working craft. These are
not pampered fiberglass yachts, but hardbitten and overworked oystermen, crabbers, and menhaden steamers. His paintings
capture the toughness and durability of
everyday working boats, and the sheer
beauty and stark terror of the weather and
waters they work in. Steve is the recipient
of the 2005 Established Artist Fellowship
from the Delaware Division of the Arts. He
is represented by the Peninsula Gallery in
Lewes, Delaware, and the Art of the Sea
Gallery in South Thomaston, Maine.
Although most of his models are in the
hands of private collectors, several pieces are
in local museums, including the St. Clements
Island Potomac River Museum and the
Havre de Grace Decoy Museum.
JERRY ROSE believes that great paintings
are a product of love and respect for the subject. Drawn to coastal communities where
people make their living from the sea and
land, Jerry divides his painting time between
coastal Maine and the Bahamas. He paints
on site, which strengthens his understanding of the landscapes and people in these
locations. His paintings cover a variety of
techniques, which are done in watercolor,
oil, acrylic, and egg tempera. Jerry received
his formal training in Fine Arts from Ohio
University and Graphic Design from the
University of Cincinnati, but his interest in
realism came together 30 years ago when
he felt it was important to paint a way of
life that was quickly disappearing in the
outlying islands of the Bahamas. That need
created the search for methods of painting
that would best describe the vanishing life
before him and has helped him understand
some of the old-world techniques to which
he subscribes. Jerry is a member of the
International Society of Marine Painters
and a signature member of the Florida
Watercolor Society. His work has been pub-
lished in The Best of Watercolor by Rockport
Publishers, Coast to Coast: The Contemporary
Landscape in Florida, A Gallery of Maritime
Art, Painting Light and Shadow, and numerous other art publications and magazines
including Maritime Life and Traditions, published in Great Britain. He has received
numerous awards and has had many oneman gallery, museum, and private exhibitions. His work is in public and private
collections in the U.S., Europe, the Bahamas,
and the Caribbean. Jerry maintains a studio and home in Sedgwick, Maine, with
extended trips to the Bahamas on his sailboat. www. jerryrosepaintings.com.
GREG RÖSSEL grew up cruising on the
waters of New York Harbor and spending
time in the boat yards on the south shore
of Staten Island where economics (more
than anything else) made wooden boats the
craft of choice. He makes his home in Maine
where he specializes in the construction
and repair of small wooden boats. Since
graduating at the top of his class in boatbuilding technology from Washington
County Vocational Technical Institute, Greg
has had a multifaceted career. For several
years, he was an assistance restorer for a
major private collection of antique runabouts and airplanes. Then he spent another
couple of years as an instructor and assistant director at Maine Maritime Museum’s
Apprenticeshop program. All the while, he
was building his own shop at home in Troy,
Maine, and tackling a wide variety of smallboat construction and restoration projects.
For over 25 years, Greg has been able to
work for himself full-time, aside from a few
odd jobs like setting up a wooden Whitehall
“Your LOFTING course was exactly what I needed. After
the week with Greg, I now feel confident to loft on my
own. He was able to break the process down and showed
us lots of steps and tricks to make it simpler. I’d take any
class Greg Rossel taught!”
C.S., MARTINEZ, GEORGIA
49
FACULTY
factory in Mexico, custom lines taking and
documentation for museums and other customers, and writing over 200 articles for
WoodenBoat, and other publications. He
has also written and illustrated Building
Small Boats, a book on carvel and traditional lapstrake boatbuilding, published by
WoodenBoat Publications and The
Boatbuilder’s Apprentice, which explores
other styles of construction and techniques.
Since 1987, Greg has been an instructor at
WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, Maine,
teaching lofting, skiff building and the
“Fundamentals of Boatbuilding”. Also, for
the past 21 years he has been producing a
weekly two-hour radio program about
world music (which mercifully) has nothing to do with boats.
Captain JOEL ROWLAND has been sailing since 1994. First as a student on a
Hurricane Island Outward Bound expedition aboard a 30' open Pulling Boat, and
then as deckhand and mate to his uncle
Mike Rowland, for two transatlantic voyages
50
aboard the 40' sloop TAMMY NORIE. Joel
has since returned to Outward Bound to
instruct courses in Maine, Florida, and
Puerto Rico. He is now the owner of
TAMMY NORIE, living aboard, sailing and
chartering her from the island of North
“Joel Rowland was an
outstanding instructor!
The week on TAMMY
NORIE was great.
Thanks!”
C.H., PARIS, FRANCE
Haven in Penobscot Bay. Having learned as
an adult from the most patient instructors
and having taught sailing to many people
of all ages and backgrounds, Joel is very
comfortable sharing his knowledge and sailing skills, and enjoys helping others to find
the beauty and simplicity in what can be a
complex learning process.
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MICHAEL SAARI is a master metalsmith, having studied and taught in the
U.S. and abroad for 40 years. His restoration and commission work can be seen in
many major museums and public parks.
Currently, Michael is part of the restoration team for the historic whaleship
CHARLES MORGAN at Mystic Seaport,
Connecticut, where he is replacing and
restoring metal ship parts in wrought iron,
steel, copper, and bronze, as well as making whalecraft. An experienced sailor,
Michael has competed in the Star class and
has restored his own 1957 wooden Firefly.
His home and studio are in Woodstock,
Connecticut. Michael is an adjunct professor of art at Nichols College in Dudley,
Massachusetts.
ERIC SCHADE was trained as a mechanical engineer, and has practiced that profession for 20 years. In 1983 he built his
first boat, a small strip-built canoe. Since
then he has built more than 50 small boats,
including kayaks, canoes, rowing boats, and
2016
small sailboats. In 1996 he founded
Shearwater Boats to offer custom strip-built
canoes and kayaks. Gradually Shearwater has
developed to the point where it offers an
extensive line of stitch-and-glue watercraft
- kayaks, canoes, rowing boats, and sailboats. In 2005 Eric started designing boats
for Chesapeake Light Craft. These new boats
include Shearwater, Wood Duck, and
Shearwater Tandem, which have all proven
quite popular. Eric has taught boatbuilding
at a number of shops and has mentored the
construction of nearly 200 boats. This experience, and the feedback he gets from supervising the construction of his designs, not
only has improved his skills as a builder, but
has honed his skills as a designer. Eric’s
greatest area of expertise is the computergenerated engineering of complicated and
precise plywood boat kits that, when cut by
computer-controlled machinery, can be
assembled by amateurs.
NICK SCHADE grew up around canoes
and kayaks. After beginning a career as an
electrical engineer for the U.S. Navy specializing in low-frequency electro-magnetics, he realized he wanted to get back on
the water himself. Not able to afford the
kind of boat he wanted, Nick decided to
design and build a “strip-built” kayak. While
this type of construction was popular with
canoes, it was not commonly adapted for
kayaks. Nick worked together with his
brother to develop the process, and over the
years has branched out and developed innovative kayak designs using the plywood
stitch-and-glue method. As his skill as a
kayak paddler and boatbuilder evolved,
Nick’s designs evolved to match his changing aims. The driving goal has been to maximize on-the-water performance while
respecting the natural materials used to
create the boat. Out of these efforts, Nick
has created Guillemot Kayaks, centered on
designing high-performance sea kayaks for
other craftsmen interested in building their
own boats. He wrote The Strip-Built Sea
Kayak, an instruction book describing the
stripbuilt method, which has helped foster
a revival in the construction of wooden
kayaks. Nick’s shop is currently located in
Glastonbury, Connecticut, where he builds
prototypes of new designs and makes a
select number of custom-built kayaks. He
has taught kayak construction at Mystic
Seaport and the Connecticut Valley School
of Woodworking. His work has been exhibited at the American Craft Museum, and
one of his boats is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York City.
GENE SHAW moved to Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, in 1972 after receiving a Fine
Arts degree from the Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree
from the Philadelphia College of Art. While
at PAFA, he received numerous awards,
prizes, and grants. In Lancaster, Gene combined his fine art/design training and his love
of woodworking, a skill he learned from
his father, to establish The Wooden Plane,
a custom cabinetry and home restoration
business. He and his wife Tanis built a new
home in town, featured in Fine
Homebuilding magazine in 2006. The
Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster
County twice awarded him the C. Emlen
Urban Award, for preservation leadership
and new-home construction in an historic
district. Since 2005 he has traveled to
Brooklin, Maine, to attend boatbuilding
courses at WoodenBoat School. While here,
Gene has made numerous sketches that are
the basis for the woodcuts he creates upon
his return to Lancaster. He has exhibited
his work at the following Pennsylvania galleries: the Benjamin Mangel Gallery in Bala
Cynwyd, the Gallery Doshi in Harrisburg,
the Chestnut Gallery in Lancaster, the
Lancaster County Day School, and the
Lancaster Art Walk. He is also represented
by The Turtle Gallery in Deer Isle, Maine,
as well as Lancaster Galleries, Lancaster,
Pennsylvania.
As a child, CHRISTIAN SMITH explored
the coves and marshes of Buzzards Bay in
his father’s 12’, home-built plywood skiff. In
“Eric Schade was fantastic! What an opportunity to work
with the man who designed the kayak and who has the
ultimate knowledge in the kayak’s assembly.”
J.K., KANSAS CITY, MISOURI
51
FACULTY
“Wade Smith was top notch! He’s knowledgeable and
kept the course well-paced. He shared lots of
information! As a bonus, he also exposed his students to
new ideas. Wade is very enthusiastic about wooden
boats and the entire construction process.”
R.T., POWELL, OHIO
his twenties, he circumnavigated the globe
on a 41’ ketch that he and his friends restored
from a hurricane wreck. At the age of 30, he
built his first small boat, all by eye. In his
more than 20 years in the marine industry,
Christian has repaired yachts large and
small, and taught sailing, windsurfing, and
boatbuilding to both children and adults. He
is the most recent family member of a long
line of boatbuilders, woodworkers, and
woodcarvers. Christian currently makes his
living along the shore of Buzzards Bay as a
boatbuilder, chainsaw artist, purveyor of
gourmet bacon, and writer.
F. JAY SMITH apprenticed to master
builders in Norway and the Faroe Islands
52
and has specialized in Nordic lapstrake construction for over 30 years (see WoodenBoat
#234). Regular trips to Scandinavia over the
years have enabled Jay to expand his research
on Scandinavian-related boatbuilding techniques. At his Aspoya Boats yard in Anacortes,
Washington, he keeps busy with new construction, repairs, and interior refits. His main
focus, however, is on traditional Scandinavian
designs including prams, faerings, Folkboats,
and, currently, a 56’ replica of a Viking ship.
As a way of passing on the knowledge that was
passed on to him, Jay teaches boatbuilding in
his own shop, and has lectured at The Center
for Wooden Boats in Seattle and taught at the
Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building
in Port Hadlock, Washington.
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
Despite an education and otherwise promising start in electronics manufacturing in
Vermont, WADE SMITH couldn’t ignore
the subversive call of the wooden boat in the
back of his mind, and so left everything
behind to study boatbuilding at the
Apprenticeshop in Nobleboro, Maine.
Rather than returning to the safety of a 9to-5, Wade decided to follow his passion
and continues to this day as a boatbuilder
and boatbuilding instructor. Wade worked
for Barry Thomas in the boatshop at Mystic
Seaport, researching, documenting, and
replicating historic watercraft from the
museum’s collection, and learning every
word of John Gardner’s famed Boatbuilding
for Amateurs course. After Barry’s retirement, Wade continued on as the Director
of the John Gardner Boat Shop for 11 years,
during which time he helped to create, and
subsequently oversaw, an exponential
increase in boatbuilding related courses,
and assisted in setting up new boatbuilding
programs from Maine to Honduras. After
15 years of working primarily as a teacher,
Wade wanted to get back to building boats
and was invited to join the crew at Taylor
and Snediker Boatbuilding in Pawtucket,
Rhode Island, whom he considers to be the
most insanely multi-talented group of boatbuilders working anywhere today. Since
then, he has been teaching boatbuilding for
four weeks per year at WoodenBoat School
and engaged in highend commercial boatbuilding the rest of the year.
The love of sailing has kept GRETCHEN
SNYDER on or near the water for most of
her life. For over 20 years Gretchen has
delivered boats up and down the East Coast,
across the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean,
and throughout the Caribbean islands where
she spent three years in the charter business.
Her enthusiasm for sailing and boats is not
only confined to the sea, but has also led to
her own land-based business. Gretchen has
owned and operated “The Loft” in Vineyard
Haven, Massachusetts, a sail loft specializing in gaff-rigged working sails, as well as
the canvas needs of the entire boat. She sold
The Loft in July 2005 and decided to cruise
new horizons, the sea of education. She is
2016
now a licensed elementary school teacher
presently enjoying her Kindergarten
/Firstgraders on Martha’s Vineyard.
ERIC STOCKINGER grew up in suburban Detroit, Michigan, and spent summers
at a family cottage on Lake Huron when he
got bitten by the water bug. He went on to
get a degree in freshwater fisheries management from Michigan State University.
After college Eric got involved with woodworking as a hobby, building stuff on the
side, including several kayaks. He had been
aware of The Apprenticeshop in Rockland,
Maine, since his freshman year at college,
and after jobs in Detroit, San Diego, and
Dallas, he packed his bags and headed to
Rockland. After completing a two-year
apprenticeship at The Apprenticeshop, Eric
became the Shop Director. Several years
later, he took over as Executive Director,
and held that position for three-and-a-half
years. In the winter of 2012, Eric and his wife
moved to Blue Hill, Maine, and began working at Brooklin Boat Yard where he is currently employed. Eric is a member of the
International Guild of Knot Tyers.
JON STROUT grew up on the coast of
Maine, specifically Casco Bay. He has always
been impressed by the natural beauty of
Maine, but the beauty of the coast is most
special, as it is constantly changing. For
Jon, photography is an avenue to try to
capture what he feels and to reflect the
beauty and emotions of this pristine
environment. Whether it is the power of a
coastal storm or the simple beauty of
barnacles captured in the light of a sunset,
there is always something to be seen.
Preferring to work in black and white, Jon
is able to reduce an image to its basics of
patterns, shapes, lines, and textures. By
using these basics and their interplay with
light, he searches for the extraordinary in
the ordinary scene. Jon enjoys this
challenge; it’s a passion. He has studied
with well-known photographers Neal
Parent, John Sexton, Brenda Tharp, and
George DeWolfe among others. His
photography has been exhibited throughout
Maine, including Bowdoin College.
SAM TEMPLE has family connections to
two of Maine’s premier wooden boat
building businesses, Rockport Marine and
Brooklin Boat Yard. He worked part-time
at the Rockport facility from age 11 through
college. Sam then spent four years as one
of the full-time Brooklin Boat Yard
construction crew. He then set out on his
own and started Barnyard Boat Shop,
building traditional small wooden craft for
customers. In 2008, Sam returned to
Rockport Marine and has enjoyed leading
traditional rebuilds and the construction
of new cold-molded yachts working
alongside world-class craftsmen. Outside
of work, Sam and family spend time on a
growing fleet of small boats including, most
recently, the Beals Island lobsterboat
ROXANNE.
BILL THOMAS grew up paddling the rivers
and coast of North and South Carolina,
playing in the mountains and trying find
meaningful work while avoiding a real job.
He has been a self-employed woodworker,
cabinetmaker, furniture builder and boatbuilder for nearly 35 years. Being an avid sea
kayaker and boater, Bill also designs sea
kayaks, canoes, and other small boats. Bill
teaches woodworking and boatbuilding in
his own shop, at the WoodenBoat School and
in other venues across the United States. Bill
is a Registered Maine Guide, and holds a
Wilderness First Responder certification. In
addition to his shop classes Bill also leads on
water kayaking and sailing classes. The variety of work Bill does: building, designing and
teaching both in the shop and on the water,
when coupled with his passion for the outdoors, helps to keep his skills rooted in real
world experiences. And, it keeps him from
getting bored. Bill lives, works, and plays in
Maine.
Patching Boy Scout canoes on Maine’s
Allagash River in the mid-1960s was
ROLLIN THURLOW’s first successful
canoe-building experience--successful, but
not very graceful! After graduating from
Maine Maritime Academy and a tour in the
Navy, Rollin attended the wooden boat building program at Maine’s Washington County
Vocational Technical Institute. His interest
lead him to collaborate with Jerry Stelmok
to start their own wooden canoe building
company. While wooden canoes have had a
long history, Rollin and Jerry discovered that
there was precious little written about the
actual how-to construction of the canoes.
The canoe company became a real reinventing- the-wheel type of project--long on
desire but short on capital and business skills,
leading to the demise of the original company.
But it was not long before with renewed
53
FACULTY
“Paul Trowbridge was very good at explaining
techniques. He’s so patient and supportive to each
student, from beginner to experienced. We had fun as a
group, encouraging each other and learning from one
another. A very enjoyable course!”
J.W., BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS
interest and skills, Rollin started his own
company, the Northwoods Canoe Company.
Co-authoring with Jerry the book The Wood
and Canvas Canoe ensured that the how-to
and historic information they had collected
would become available to the public at large.
Since its publication in 1987, it has become
the bible for wood-and-canvas canoe building. Rollin has taught canoe building and
restoration at a variety of locations throughout the U.S. and at WoodenBoat School since
the late 1980s. Building a variety of his own
designs plus historic reproductions, Rollin’s
shop in the small town of Atkinson, Maine,
the Northwoods Canoe Company, has
become known as one of the premier wooden
canoe shops for both restoration and new
wooden canoes.
PAUL TROWBRIDGE has painted in
watercolor since the early 1970s. He studied
fine arts at Principia College, the Museum
School of Boston, the University of Maine at
Orono, and received a Masters of Fine Arts
in Painting from the University of Memphis.
He settled in Maine because of his exposure
to the area growing up, its strong visual appeal,
and his love of the outdoors and the Downeast
way of life. Paul built his home in Sedgwick
where he and his wife, Jennifer, maintain a
dance and art studio, and from which he
takes painting excursions. He worked in animation at the Neworld Studios in South Blue
Hill, Maine, participates in a figure drawing
group, is a member of the Deer Isle Artists
Association, and has taken part in plein air
events in Blue Hill and Castine. Paul teaches
watercolor at the Deer Isle Art Association and
in regular classes during the summer. He has
been artist-in-residence at Camp Newfound
in Harrison, Maine.
54
Descended from grandparents who logged
over 100,000 nautical miles, HANS
VIERTHALER has spent over 20 years
sailing the coast of Maine. His love affair
with boats started when he spent six years
working for a sailboat rental company in
Deer Isle, where he took care of a small
fleet and taught sailing to vacationing
summer residents. He then became interested in larger vessels and crewed on the
schooners NATHANIEL BOWDITCH,
AMERICAN EAGLE, BILL OF RIGHTS,
and NEW WAY, as well as other, smaller
boats. Ten years ago he joined the crew at
Brooklin Boat Yard as a rigger and carpenter, and in 1992 he earned his 100-Ton
U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s license. In
1994 Hans fulfilled a longheld dream and
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
purchased the John Alden ketch ABIGAIL, and he looks forward to sharing his
love of sailing with all those who step
aboard.
MARK WILKINS has been a professional ship model maker for over 25 years.
He and his wife Karen live on Cape Cod
where they have a model studio that
focuses on ship and aircraft models.
Mark’s models are represented by the
American Marine Model gallery in
Gloucester, Massachusetts. Over his ship
modeling career, Mark has built a range
of vessels, utilizing various scales, but specializes now in the area of 18th-, 19th-, and
early 20th-century New England small
craft, classic yachts, or clipper ships. He
built two models of the clipper SNOW
SQUALL, and more recently, a model of
the WYOMING for the Maine Maritime
Museum’s permanent collection.
Although most of his models belong to
private collections, several have been
exhibited or belong to permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts in
Boston; Mystic Seaport Museum; The
Mariners’ Museum in Newport News,
Virginia; Ships of the Sea Museum in
Savannah, Georgia; and the Chesapeake
Bat Maritime Museum.
DOUGLAS E. WILSON has been a
practicing metalsmith since 1973. He
has commissioned work in forged steel
from his shop on Little Deer Isle, Maine,
since his move there in 1981. Doug’s
work is included in numerous national
exhibitions and publications including
The Contemporary Blacksmith, Fireplace
Accessories, Anvil’s Ring, and Metalsmith
Magazine. He has demonstrated his craft
at many national blacksmithing conferences and has taught over 100 workshops about design and forge practice for
blacksmithing organizations, school, colleges, and universities throughout the
United States.
WOODENBOAT SCHOOL STAFF
Our staff members generally hail from all over the country and from many walks of life. Many of them are
seasoned veterans of the joys and travails of boats, boating, and boatbuilding, while others are warm, friendly
faces doing their very best to make your stay with us a pleasant, comfortable one. From the School Director to
our energetic kitchen, waterfront, shop, and office staff, each member possesses a strong commitment to a firstclass program and the creation of a positive, safe environment for students and visitors alike. Above all, they
enjoy sharing this “little piece of paradise” with all who stop by.
School Director in 1990 and has enjoyed bringing insight, energy, and
full-time dedication to WoodenBoat School. When he is not involved with
work at the School, he enjoys hanging out with family and friends, gardening, sailing, skiing, hosting a weekly music program on WERU-FM
Community Radio, and cheering for the Philadelphia Phillies.
KIM PATTEN continues as Business Manager for the 14th year. Prior
to joining WoodenBoat School, Kim spent five years as part of the
WoodenBoat Store “team.” Originally from New York, she has spent
every summer of her life in Maine, before making the move permanently after college. While summering in Maine, she spent her days
sailing on Penobscot Bay. Kim and her husband Marvin keep busy
working on their home and raising their daughter Riley. She enjoys the
outdoors, sailing, skiing, and spending time with family and friends.
A D M I N I S T RAT I O N
The folks who administer WoodenBoat School believe that
each student’s experience is of the utmost importance. From
your very first communication with the School office to the
completion of your course(s), they will work hard at meeting
your needs and expectations.
RICH HILSINGER first arrived at WoodenBoat School as a student
back in 1983, and he’s been in Brooklin ever since. Rich managed the
School shop for seven years, working under former directors Peter
Anderheggen and Ben Ellison. He also taught courses in kayak and
pram construction, experiences that he cherishes to this day. Woodworking became a part of his life after attending college in Pennsylvania, and he’s dabbled in everything from house carpentry to restaurant
and bar renovation, barn restoration, and cabinetry. The “boat bug”
bit while Rich wintered in the Caribbean in the 1970s, and, obviously,
he’s still hooked! After sailing for two years with the four-masted bark
SEA CLOUD as ship’s carpenter, he assisted on yacht deliveries; did
boat repair; worked at two of Maine’s premier boatyards, North End
Shipyard in Rockland and Brooklin Boat Yard; and purchased his own
Crocker pocket cruiser, MARTHA. Rich stepped into the position of
A longtime interest in woodworking led MIKE MOROS to open his
own successful cabinet shop not far from where he grew up in Pine
Brook, New Jersey. Over time, he found himself attracted to wooden
boats and this eventually brought Mike to WoodenBoat School as a
student in 2001. After a few courses in successive years and joining in on
Alumni Work Weeks, the boat bug bit hard and Mike signed on as the
school’s Assistant Shop Manager in 2006. In ’08 Mike took over the
reins as Shop Manager. During the off-season Mike has worked on the
carpentry crew at Brooklin Boat Yard. In 2009 Mike opened his own
business, Michael Moros Woodworking, providing wooden boat work,
custom woodworking and general contracting. When not working,
Mike enjoys being outdoors, especially boating and fishing. He recently
completed a handsome Glen-L Marine 16' center console skiff for himself and is now restoring a 1952 Chris Craft.
Born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, GREG BAUER came to
boatbuilding as a third career later in life. Before the boatbuilding bug
bit hard, he worked for six years as a design draftsman for a metal fabrication shop and for ten years as an accounting manager of an auto
parts manufacturer. A couple of sailing experiences on the Maine windjammer ROSEWAY led Greg to the world of wooden boats, and he soon
enrolled at The Landing School in Kennebunkport, Maine. After graduating from their boatbuilding program, Greg joined the school’s staff
as a graduate teaching assistant. He then spent three years as a joiner
with Bruckmann Yachts in Mississauga, Ontario. Greg moved to midcoast Maine in the spring of 2002 and spent nine years with the boatbuilding crew at French & Webb in Belfast, Maine. In the spring of 2011
he joined the staff at WoodenBoat School as Waterfront Manager. In
the fall of 2011 he started his own business, NB Woodworking, specializing in yacht joinery, custom cabinetry and fine woodworking.
55
REGISTRATION | INFORMATION
STUDENT QUALIFICATIONS
The main requirement for participation in
WoodenBoat School courses is the desire to learn.
Our students range from novices to seasoned
professionals. Our classes are small, and there
is a lot of opportunity for one-on-one teaching,
so that usually a wide range of students can enjoy
and profit from the same class.
However, there are a few courses for which
we expect a certain minimum skill level, and
that is stated in the individual course descriptions. Also, we encourage students, particularly
novices, to do a little prep work for their courses.
We will send tool lists and reading lists along
with your course confirmation. The more familiar you are with the subject and the tools, and
the more questions you have, the more you’ll
get out of the course. If you have any questions
about the suitability of a course for you, please
call Rich Hilsinger.
Finally, it is a real help to the instructor to
know something about his/her students ahead of
time. Please enclose with your application a
description of your relevant experience and
expectations.
REGISTRATION
Registration is complete upon receipt by WoodenBoat School of an application form and the
necessary deposit(s), and our confirmation of
same. If a course is already full, you will be put
on a waiting list and immediately notified when
there is an opening.
You may wish to call WoodenBoat first to
make sure that there is room in the course you
want. Call 207–359–4651 Monday through Friday,
8:00 to 5:00; ask for Rich Hilsinger or Kim Patten. If we have an opening, we can reserve it for
you while you get your application in. This is an
especially good idea in late spring and summer.
Note: WoodenBoat School is GI Bill® approved.
TUITION, DEPOSITS, REFUNDS,
WITHDRAWALS, and
CANCELLATIONS
We ask you to deposit one-half of your total
costs along with your application. The balance
due must be paid one month before class
begins. Your deposit, less a $100 fee per course,
will be refunded in the event that you must cancel and do so at least one month prior to the
beginning of the course. Deposits will be
refunded in full to students who cancel three
business days after registering for a course.
If your notice of cancellation is received
between 15 and 30 days prior to the course, your
tuition is not refundable, but can be credited
toward future courses later in the season. If you
must cancel less than 15 days before the course,
we cannot refund or credit your money.
In case of emergency or insufficient number
of registrations, WoodenBoat School reserves the
right to cancel a course and return all deposit
money. Because of this policy, we strongly urge
56
you to buy refundable airline tickets or flight
insurance. WoodenBoat School will not be responsible for any loss on nonrefundable airline tickets.
There is a 10% discount on tuition for all alumni.
HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE
STUDENT DISCOUNT
Current high school and college students are eligible for a discount of 50% off the listed course
tuition for classes in Brooklin.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The school has a one-third tuition scholarship
available for all courses in Brooklin. These are
awarded to people who could not otherwise
afford to participate in our courses, with preference given to people who are working in the
marine trades and to students contemplating a
career in the marine industry. Scholarship recipients will be assigned periodic tasks in the shop,
in the kitchen, and on the waterfront.
TRANSPORTATION
WoodenBoat School is approximately 250 miles
from Boston by car, and 150 miles down east by
boat. Airline service is available to Bangor, and
WoodenBoat can provide transportation from
there for an additional fee. Please notify us two
weeks in advance if you need to be picked up at
the airport. Details of this will be sent to you
with your course confirmation.
runs from the Sunday on which the course
commences until the Saturday morning following the last day of the course. Weekend
meals are light and continental.
Maine can be on the chilly side during late
spring and early fall. We recommend that you
pack warm clothing and throw an extra blanket
or sleeping bag in the car. Bring a bike if you
have one—it’s a great way to get around
Brooklin.
Double Room: $297/week (per person)
Single Room: $405/week (limited availability)
Board: $221/week
Campsites: $108/week (limit 4 people)
Mooring: $100/week
Note: If you reserve a room with us and decide
to cancel this reservation, you must notify us
two weeks prior to the start of the course to
receive a full refund. Lodging/meal prices
include 8% tax where applicable.
COURSE MATERIALS AND TOOLS
Any materials that go home with a student will
be charged at our cost. In the several classes
where every student works on his/her own project, we have noted the usual material costs in
the course description. Material prices include
5.5% tax where applicable.
You will be sent a list of the hand tools you will
need for your course as specified by the instructor, as well as suggested preparatory reading. Winners of boat raffles will be responsible for paying
material costs before leaving Brooklin.
ACCOMMODATIONS AND COSTS
Staying at the WoodenBoat accommodations is
recommended by us and by former students.
Evening socializing and boating become, in effect,
an extension of the courses, and add immeasurably to the School experience.
We have a number of rooms in both the
Farmhouse (next to the Shop) and in the Student House on Naskeag Road. The rooms are
doubles, not fancy, but clean and airy. Bathrooms are shared by several rooms, and students
bring their own sheets, soap, and towels. We
also have a number of local cottages that we use
on a regular basis. Family members are welcome
as space permits, but pets are not. Guests may
take room and board with us depending on space
availability.
We also have campsites available on the
WoodenBoat property. Again, these are quite
basic, with no electrical outlets or tent platforms,
but in a pleasant location. Campers have their
own toilets and shower facilities. Pets are not
allowed in the campground.
Our kitchen and dining hall are located in
the Student House (originally the Mountain Ash
Inn). The cuisine is American with some gourmet treats. Ingredients are fresh, portions are
hearty, and service is buffet style.
For students taking a single week course,
room and board extends from Sunday dinner
through the following Saturday’s breakfast.
For students in longer courses, room and board
www.woodenboat.com
| (207) 359-4651
ARRIVAL TIME AT WOODENBOAT
Your course begins with dinner at 6:00 p.m. on
Sunday, followed by a general meeting and an
introductory session with your instructor. The
Sunday dinner is for all students, whether or not
they are taking board with the School. You may
arrive at the School anytime you wish on Sunday.
You will find room assignments and other information posted in the entryway of the Student
House. The School Director will be at the Student
House at 5:00 p.m. to meet you. Most classes
end on Friday evening. Students are asked to
depart on Saturday morning. If your course ends
on Saturday, you have your room/campsite for
Saturday night.
First day of registration is
January 4, 2016 at 8 a.m. EST.
Phone lines and faxes will be
very busy—we ask for your patience.
When calling, please be ready with
info regarding course selection,
accommodations, and a credit card
for your deposit. We recommend
that you think of alternative
weeks/courses in the event
your first choice is not available.
WoodenBoat School
P.O. Box 78, 41 WoodenBoat Ln., Brooklin, Maine 04616 USA
For over 42 years WoodenBoat magazine has inspired its readers with boatbuilding
projects, tips and techniques, technologies, history, product and book reviews,
design commentary, and more. The magazine’s editorial and business offices are
located on the same grounds as WoodenBoat School, allowing an easy exchange
between the magazine’s editors, the school’s students and instructors. In fact,
many instructors take time from their busy schedules to write for the magazine,
and occasionally a school project is featured in WoodenBoat as a how-to-build
article. A one year subscription (six issues) to WoodenBoat cost $32.00 in the U.S.
TO ORDER, CALL 1-800-877-5284
or visit our website where you can subscribe online.
WWW.WOODENBOAT.COM
The WoodenBoat
STORE
While you’re taking classes
here in Brooklin, stop in at
The WoodenBoat Store
right across from the Shop.
Open Monday-Friday 7:30am to 6:00pm, and Saturdays 9:00am to
5:00pm. We carry books, boatbuilding plans, half-hull model plans,
WoodenBoat caps, T-shirts, tools, and great gift-type items… should
you want to bring home something for your significant other who was
so nice about you playing with boats for a couple of weeks. AND, even
though we are in the wilds of Maine, you can stay connected, as we are
THE hot-spot, so bring your lap top with wireless access, and you can
email pictures home of your class. It's HOT all night long so you can
sit out on the Store porch after dinner, and surf to your heart’s content.
MYSTIC SEAPORT in Mystic, Connecticut
June 24-26, 2016
Be sure to join us again in Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut
for our 25th Annual WoodenBoat Show. Step aboard beautiful
wooden boats large and small, watch demonstrations by expert
craftsmen, dream about your next boat. In the words of one
show attendee: “The boats were so beautiful I almost walked off
the end of the dock!”
IT’S GOING TO BE OUR BEST
BOAT SHOW YET!
Presented and produced by WoodenBoat Magazine
and hosted by Mystic Seapor

the 2016 Course Catalog

Transcription

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