wooden boat building apprenticeship

The Carpenter’s Boat Shop Apprenticeship is a 9-month commitment from mid-March through mid-November. The program is tuition-free: we provide on-campus room and board with the expectation that participants will work hard building boats, share in meal preparation, and participate in campus chores. We seek applicants of all backgrounds, age 18 and older.

The Carpenter’s Boat Shop provides a rare opportunity to pause in the midst of life’s challenges and take stock. Boatbuilding is a key vehicle for our work of building greater understanding and compassion for ourselves and others. Our hope is that by taking care in our work, we become more caring as individuals, and thus better community members. Community is as central to our program as boats. By living together and through regularly providing service to each other and our greater community, we explore our impacts on the world around us.

Whether your ambition is to work in the trades, start again after a setback, take time to heal from the loss of a loved one, transition into retirement, or simply evaluate the trajectory of your life, the Carpenter’s Boat Shop offers a supportive community within which to learn and grow. No previous woodworking, sailing, or community living experience is required to be accepted as an apprentice.

Over the course of nine months, each apprentice will learn basic power and hand tool use and participate in the build of many boats and multiple restoration projects. Off campus we will have monthly service projects planned as well as field trips to explore the Maine coasts rich maritime culture and natural resources. Also integrated into the curriculum will be weekly seamanship classes and two 9 day sailing expeditions!

The Boat Shop and the apprenticeship experience are supported by the sale of boats built by apprentices and by the gifts of many generous donors. The Boat Shop also provides care for a regular clientele of boats, offering storage and maintenance services, and some repairs.