**Updated 12/7/22
Traditional Boatbuilding with Local Master Builders
Join us at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday December 14th at North Country Cider Company in Dover NH [38 Littleworth Road] as we welcome three of the area’s Master Boatbuilders.
Nate Piper: Boatbuilder Nate Piper is the owner of Piper Boatworks in Rye and the Director of the Boatshop at Strawbery Banke. In 2016, Nate founded The Boatshop at Strawbery Banke as a way to explore and celebrate maritime skills, experiences and traditions through hands-on boat building, workshops, lectures and other activities.
Graham McKay: As Lowell’s Boat Shop’s Executive Director/Master Boatbuilder, Graham is responsible for overseeing museum operations, program offerings, as well as the shop’s boatbuilding operations. In addition, Graham teaches several boatbuilding classes as well as instructs the museum’s high school Apprentice Program, which he created as part of Lowell’s Boat Shop’s involvement with the whaleboat project for Mystic Seaport’s restoration of the Charles W. Morgan in 2012.
*NEW ADDITION! Susan Johnson and Traip Academy Boatshop Students: Kittery students in the Wood Island Boat Building program are gaining experience with wooden boat building skills, and simultaneously building an appreciation for the history of the surfmen who served at Wood Island Life Saving Station. Over the course of a semester, students build a three-person six oared 19 ft U.S. Coast Guard dory working with community volunteers and boat builders from Lowell’s Boat Shop. These rowing boats were built at Lowell’s 100 years ago and used by the surfmen of Wood Island Life Saving Station before their boats had engines to help mariners in distress or simply go to the general store for mail and supplies. Through this unique partnership, students gain a sense of pride in the boat produced, their newly developed skills as well as their community.
