Current Projects:
June 29, 2008
Nine Kayaks On One Truck!
I’m heading up to Camp Chewonki for another week of teaching. I’ll be working with a group of young men and women building eight Willow Sea Kayaks. It’s a five week program and we hope to have the boats finished and painted by the end of the second week. Then, they’re off for three weeks of paddling along the coast of Maine. I’m really excited about the program and a chance to work with the Chewonki Foundation.
My first class of the season was at The Woodenboat School, we built 7 boats with 12 students. I am blown away by the fascinating people who take these classes.
As one of the students said “interesting people take boatbuilding vacations”. I agree and I am always humbled by the lives and stories of my students.
June 14, 2008
Finished Bath!
The bath renovation is almost finished.The mirror is being
set it the frame this week, then
just a bit of paint and varnish punch
work and it’s done!
I am really pleased with the space
and the feel of the room. The richness
of the mahogany and the brightness of
the white paint really make the small
6’8” X 6’8” space comfortable. The
skylight also helps and gives me
standing headroom under the eves
of the roof. The space is really more akin to a boat head then to a house bathroom.
Next, off to Woodendboat School for a
week of teaching boatbuilding. It’ll be
great to see old friends and enjoy a few
evening paddles out on the Reach.
May 31, 2008
New Design For A High Volume Kayak
The custom kayak is out of the shop and
bound for a new home on the shores of
Lake Superior. I am very pleased with the
design but more importantly, the boat fits the new owner like the proverbial glove. It’s a big boat, just over 18’ long and 24 ½” wide. The designed displacement is 375 pounds so when I tested the boat I did not bring it down to its lines; still it moved
nicely in the water. This is a unique high volume kayak, nice lines and a good performer but it’s sized to fit the taller heaver paddler. I’ll be offering the design as a finished boat and should have more information up on this site in a week or so. Dave has promised to bring the boat back to Maine next summer so we can paddle together.
May 23, 2008
Lots Of Irons In The Fire
Several projects are wrapping up and 
a few exciting ones are just getting started.
The custom kayak will be done and delivered
next week. I’ve finished what might be the
worlds first ‘stitch & glue' shower and the spring
customer boat repair projects are all done and
out the door. What’s next? A new boat design,
a bath vanity and an 9 class teaching season,
for starters. For now though we’re off for 4 days
of work/play aboard the Schooner Mary Day.
March 4, 2008
Late Winter Projects
I’m making progress on the custom kayak. It’s a big boat for a big paddler. He is one of my former Elements of Coastal Kayaking students. It’s a fun project and I am looking forward to paddling the boat once or twice myself this spring. We call that sort of thing “sea trials” to justify the time on the water. This week it feels like spring might be just around the corner. Last week? Lots of snow and a few sub 0 nights so who knows what is in store for March. Work on our new bath room is coming along slowly but I’m about to ramp up that project. Pretty excited about building a vanity with a radiuses corner to match the round sink. All the cabinet work, the shower and the trim will be mahogany. I’m using stock I’ve been hording for years. Stay tuned for more details. Also check out the Cabinets and Furniture page here on the site for a few new furniture shots.
January 22, 2008
Winter Work
It has been a fine winter so far. We have had snow on the ground since early December and the temperature has, for the most part, remained pretty cold. We’ve had our share of crisp blue-sky days as well. Perfect conditions for nordic skiing and snowshoeing.
In the shop, the woodstove has been chortling away and I have had some fun out there these past few weeks. Just before Christmas I did a small run of shaker boxes. This month I am working on a couple
of nice paint grade cabinet jobs. In February
I’ll start work on a custom kayak and, at long last,
start on our upstairs bath.
Oh and I’ll go skiing.
October 23, 2007
Fall Days
It's fall here and the trees with their brilliant colors make it seem like we are well into autumn but the weather is very warm. Almost 70 today! I am behind on my winter preparations so I guess a reprieve from the coming cold and snow is a good thing; still… I spent today getting Willow kits out the door and scarfing a few extra panels for the next orders and or my December
building class. With such glorious days it's
hard to spend too much time in the shop.
Thank goodness for the above mentioned
winter preparations which is all good fun 
outside work!
October 5, 2007
Summer is winding down.
In mid September I taught a Willow class at the WoodenBoat School. It was a great week and the class turned out 6 masterfully crafted kayaks! Last Saturday, the 29th, I paddled in the Gerrish Island race. It was a beautiful day, warm, sunny and we had a stiff 20 knot wind out of the NW. I’m guessing there where more then 50 kayaks and another 20 plus pulling boats and canoes that showed up for the event. The wooden kayak in the top photo is a Willow built with hatches incorporated into the bulkheads. A nice job all around. The race finished up on a small island near the entrance of Portsmouth harbor where we enjoyed good food and great conversation.
September 5, 2007
Intro. Class
The last week of August I taught an 
IntroductionTo Boatbuilding class at the
Woodenboat School. This was my 6 time
teaching at the school this summer.
What a treat. Working with 11 students
we built a Karl Stambaugh designed
Bay Skiff 15. Two of the students, a father
and son from here in Maine will take the
boat home and finish her up over the winter.
August 7, 2007
Full-on summer
Summers in Maine are about playing; because a big part of my work centers around
helping folks play I’m full on right now. In the past 5 weeks I’ve taught a canoe building class, an on-water kayaking class, worked as a deckhand on the Schooner Mary Day
during a WoodenBoat School class and built 5 Willow 
kayaks with students at Squam Lake New Hampshire.
Next up is the Maine Boats, Home and Harbors Show in Rockland August 10-13. Then it’s back to WoodenBoat for an Elements of Coastal kayaking class. It's all great work and great fun!
March 5, 2007
Kayak Frame
I have always wanted to build a ‘skin on frame kayak’. This is as far as I have gotten, it's a
great little boat, sweet lines, but only 20 inches
long. Maybe someday I’ll build a bigger version.
The mahogany saw horses where made by
Tyler Sauter the Woodenboat School shop
intern for the past couple of summers.
February 4, 2007
Superbowl Sunday
Real winter weather now. Sunday I drove up to Camden Maine to pick up some boat parts. While I was in the area I scooted up into the Camden Hills for the afternoon. The hiking and views where spectacular! I love borders, the places where elements come together. Where a meadow meets the forest or a rocky coastline meets saltwater there is always some magic at work. On Sunday, at sunset, snow and gray rock and spruce combined to create what felt like the border between earth and sky.
January 25, 2007
Redwood Benches
It’s finally cold with a bit of snow on the ground. I built these Redwood benches for a client’s steam shower. Sounds like a nice treat at the end of a cold day.
December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve
There are some nice hills on the east coast as well. I spent Christmas Eve day wondering around the Flume and Mt. Lafayette, in the Whites. Not much snow yet unless you get up high. Sometimes a good sunset is about being in the right place at the right time.
October 14, 2006
Polar Bear?
One of the things I love about kayaking 
is the wildlife you get to see from your
boat. While paddling with Brian Neeley
we stumbled onto this polar bear. I am
not going to say where; I don’t want to
give all the good spots away.
October 4, 2006
North Sister
Life has taken me to the west coast for a few days. The peak is the North Sister one of my favorite mountains in the Cascades. Oregon is a spectacular state with an incredible diversity of landscapes.
September 11, 2006
Kayaking Class
I just finished teaching a one week Elements of Coastal Kayaking class at the Woodenboat School. We enjoyed beautiful weather, a typical Maine mix of sun and fog and even a bit of rain. The group was quite adventurous so we covered a lot of ground. On Friday, the day this photo was taken we paddled from Brooklin to the Benjamin River and back. Not a bad way to end a work week.