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Our instructors

Our team of motivated and skilled instructors is our most important resource. All our instructors are master boatbuilders with decades of experience to provide you with expert instruction in all realms of wooden boatbuilding.

We maintained at a ratio of at least one instructor for every twelve students in the shop environment. Our teaching methodology is based on the master/apprentice role. As a student you will work directly with master builders while constructing beautiful boats that are built to last a lifetime.

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• Bruce Blatchley
• boatbuilder • instructor
  
  
• Bruce attended the boat school in 1996 and has subsequently worked in various boat yards in both Bellingham and Port Townsend, Washington. His experience in repair and restoration, the building of a variety of contemporary vessels, as well as his experience as a teacher give Bruce a well rounded background for instructing at the school.

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• Jeff Hammond
• master boatbuilder • chief instructor
  
  
• Jeff apprenticed to Bob Prothero, preeminent Northwest boatbuilder and founder of the NSWSB. As chief instructor, Jeff has led hundreds of students through the lofting and building of more than seventy-five vessels ranging in size from eight to fifty feet. An excellent instructor both in the classroom and on the boatbuilding floor, Jeff has continually modified and improved his building techniques and his teaching methodology. Jeff plays the concertina and works at his forge in his time off.

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• Ben Kahn
• instructor
  
  
• Ben studied fine woodworking while majoring in Industrial Technology at Berea College. In 2000, he attended the NWSWB and has been an active shipwright in the Port of Port Townsend for the last four years. Ben also taught Lapstrake Boatbuilding to a high school shop class in North Carolina and has worked at the Arques Boat Yard in Sausalito.

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• Tim Lee
• boatbuilder • instructor • education coordinator
  
  
• Since graduating from the boat school in 1990, Tim has worked in boat yards in Alaska and Washington, working mostly on wooden vessels. As Tim says, it took ten years, but eventually he got to replace or repair just about every generic piece in a wooden boat. Tim's interest in wooden boats has led him to become a board officer for the Wooden Boat Foundation, where he volunteers his time and creates opportunities for others to enjoy wooden boats both in the shop and on the water.

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• Dan Packard
• master woodworker • instructor
  
  
• Dan has been a university professor of sculpture and woodworking for more than thirty years. His artistry and craftsmanship have found expression in scores of sculptures, carvings, furniture pieces and wooden boats. A meticulous craftsman, Dan shares with his students his interest in boatbuilding as art. He is an accomplished educator dedicated to the school's mission to develop the individual student as a craftsperson.

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• Ray Speck
• master boatbuilder • instructor
  
  
• Ray Speck is a recognized authority on traditional boatbuilding. Ray learned his craft from a variety of builders both in the United States and in England. He was fortunate to have worked with the School's founder, renowned master shipwright Bob Prothero, learning invaluable techniques and boatbuilding skills. He began making his reputation for lapstrake craft from his shop in Sausalito, where he first developed his ideas for the Sid Skiff. Ray has built up to 90 wooden boats in his career, and has promised not to put away the paring chisel until he finishes the 100th boat. Meanwhile, students continue to gain an unparalleled education working with one of the real masters of the trade.

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• Richard Wilmore
• master boatbuilder • instructor
  
  
• Richard has been a shipwright most of his working life. His depth of experience in the commercial boatyards repairing and building wooden fish boats, tugs and other commercial craft gives him a background uniquely suited to the school's repair and restoration curriculum. Richard has received high marks from his students for his depth of knowledge, easy-going style and patience.

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Supplemental course instructors

• Jon Soini - Blacksmithing. Jon is active with youth groups as an instructor of seamanship. He builds custom iron work from his farm-based forge.
• Sean Rankins - Sailmaking. Sean owns and operates Northwest Sails and specializes in handcrafted sails of all sizes from skiffs to schooners.
• Carl Chamberlin - Design. An independent designer in Port Townsend, Carl is adept with both modern and traditional construction details and has taught for years at the boat school.
• Wayne Chimenti - Rigging. Wayne is a skipper of tall ships as well as rigger and sailmaker.
• Larry Blais - Marine Systems. Larry is well known in the Pacific Northwest for his work in marine related systems.