School built boats

Instilling the pride of craftsmanship

For more than 20 years we have been building quality wooden boats of all types and sizes. Every conceivable form from traditional Gaff rigged sailboats to modern cold molded speed boats have passed through our doors.

The common theme in all our efforts is instilling the pride of craftsmanship; from our founder, Bob Prothero, to our instructors and our students the driving force at our school has always been teaching the traditional values and methods of quality Wooden Boatbuilding. Each project is carefully monitored by our staff of Master Boatbuilders and experienced shipwrights to ensure that our student built boats are of the highest quality for their type.

Every boat we build is carefully chosen to meet the needs of our students. Our diverse programs and small class size make the choice of projects a critical element in the educational process. Each of our preferred designs meets those needs and we encourage you to choose from among them when considering your wooden boat.

We use the best available materials in our vessels. With soaring material prices and the inability even to obtain certain traditional species we constantly look for new sources and types to meet the complex challenge of providing beauty, longevity and durability in the boats we build.

Some materials and methods used

Fastenings

Silicon bronze, copper or stainless steel

Screws

Rivets

Clench nails

Planking

Western Red Cedar

Honduras Mahogany

Eastern Larch

Hull types

Carvel

Lapstrake

Cold Molded

Strip Planked

Plywood/Epoxy on frame

Frames

White Oak for steam bent

Locust or White Oak for sawn frames

Iroko