Workshop: Building a Schooner at Essex Shipbuilding Museum

Join us for the Art of Wooden Boatbuiding series exploring the principles behind the design and construction of traditional wooden boats. Participants will have the opportunity to experience hands-on practices at several traditional boatyards within the Essex National Heritage Area.

At the Workshop: Building a Schooner at Essex Shipbuilding Museum, you will: Learn about the site and its history from local expert Justin Demetri; fit a plank using traditional steaming methods; experiment with buoyancy in the test tank; learn about assembling and raising the ribs of a vessel; make a trunnel (or tree nail) like the ones used to hold a vessel together; and more!

Each individual workshop session is $75 per person; tickets may be purchased here. Optional activities for each session will be $20 and available for purchase on-site the day of the session. The optional activity on March 28th is a tour of Harold Burnham’s boatyard at 1:30 p.m.

The dates and subjects of the remaining workshops follow. Saturday, April 25th: The “Haul Out.” Saturday, May 9th: Rigging a Tall Ship. Saturday, May 23rd: Building The Dory