current projects
Check out what we’re working on in the ‘Shop.
We typically build traditional plank on frame (carvel) boats or clinker (lapstrake) boats. New builds account for the majority of the work we do, but restorations are incorporated into the apprentice program as well. Since we rely on customers to commission boats, there are often several different designs being constructed side-by-side on the shop floor at any given time.
New boat projects can begin and end at any time of the year, depending on the contract and commission, or the availability of apprentices to build the boat. Our shortest projects last only several months while our longest can take several years. All apprentices begin their tenure by building a Susan skiff. Our 9-month and 2-year apprentices then move on to work on more complex boat projects. Apprentices are guided by instructors through every stage of the boatbuilding process to ensure each vessel is built to a high standard.
Would you like to commission a boat? Read more here→
Susan Skiff
Current Builders: New Susan Skiffs by current Apprentices are being built, estimated availability is early 2025! Check out our current listings here.
Overall Length: 11 ft, 3 in (3.4 m)
Beam: 3 ft, 10 in (1.2 m)
Almost every apprentice here begins his/her/their education in boatbuilding by building a Susan Skiff. These 11’ 3” flat bottom boats, originally designed by Robert M. Steward in 1952, are perfect for learning the basics. The Susan we currently build is a variation on the original design. It includes two major alterations; it has three side planks instead of two, and the height of the sheer has been raised 1 inch at the bow and 2 inches at the transom to increase the boat’s capacity.
The boat is built upside down on a construction jig until the hull is complete and the skeg has been installed. Then, the boat can be detached from the jig, flipped over, framed, and finished. These boats are built clinker style, which means that the planks overlap and are fastened together with copper rivets. The structural components of the boat (keel, chines, stem, transom, etc.) are made of white oak, the side planking is pine, and the bottom planking is cedar.
Portuguese Sardine Carrier
Builders: João Strout-Bentes and Daniel Creisher, with local high school students and teachers (through our Junior Apprenticeship Program)
Overall Length: 40ft, 8in (12 m)
Beam: 12 ft, 9 in (3.9 m)
The Canoa de Picada is a traditional Sailing Sardine Carrier from Portugal, heavily used in the 1800s and 1900s. The name comes from salting ("Picar") the sardines on deck in order to preserve the cargo and bring it to shore markets. The backbone will be made from white oak and locust. The boat will be planked carvel-style with Northeastern pine and fastened using treenails. The masts will be spruce. Currently, there are no floating examples of this boat.
Once the boat is complete, the ultimate goal of this project is to sail it across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Azores to Portugal to start a traditional boatbuilding school there. You can learn more about the project here.