Nine-Day Boatbuilding Class

Each student builds a traditional flat-bottomed skiff or a small round-bottomed boat over a one-week period. Class participants will build their own flat-bottomed skiff or small round-bottomed boat, either carvel or lapstrake planked, up to 15 feet in length, with an expert’s guidance. Students must discuss the boat they wish to build with the instructor before the class begins and receive his approval. They take home their boats, which will be ready for primer, at the end of the class. The class price includes the cost of all materials. Tools are supplied, but participants are encouraged to bring their own battery-operated drills (including charger) and palm or orbital sanders. 64 hours (9 day class).

The next class will be held February 1-9, 2014 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Class Fee: $1,770. Friends of the Maritime Museum receive a discount. Reservations required. A Boatbuilding Carpentry class is a prerequisite for this class (either traditional or contemporary). The extra materials (excluding sails) required for a sailing craft add $750.00 to the class fee. (By pre-arrangement only, a discount of $1,000 is available for those wishing to take the class but not take home a boat.)

Additional 2014 class dates include: June 14-22 and Sept 27-Oct 5

The class takes place on the Beaufort, North Carolina waterfront at the Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center located across the street from the North Carolina Maritime Museum.

The Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center (shown above) carries on the rich boatbuilding heritage of North Carolina coast through wooden boat building classes. The classes bring together students of all ages from different parts of the country with a common thread of creativity. The Watercraft Center is part of the North Carolina Maritime Museum.

The North Carolina Maritime Museum reflects coastal life and interprets lighthouses and lifesaving stations, the seafood industry, motorboats, and more. Studies in marine life, science, and ecology are available for all ages. The Beaufort museum is the repository for artifacts from Blackbeard’s wrecked flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, among them cannons, grenades, belt buckles and beads. The Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center teaches boatbuilding for all ages.