[Advanced] Boatbuilding School (1)

This unique school exemplifies the best of ‘education vacations’
By Brian J. Cantwell

If you’re one of those nautical types who mystify the medical community every time a blood test discovers saltwater in your veins, here’s an “education vacation” for you.

It includes soul-soothing vistas of gunmetal-blue waters; protected lagoons for kayaking; water-view hiking trails. And an opportunity to learn how to properly varnish your boat, or even build a new one.

Port Hadlock is home to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, one of the most respected academies of its kind.

The boat school started in 1981 in nearby Port Townsend, home to one of the world’s leading annual wooden-boat festivals. In pursuit of more space and a waterfront location, the school moved in 2004 to Port Hadlock, at the south end of Port Townsend’s long bay.

Between the two communities, “I think we’re unique in the United States,” said school director Pete Leenhouts, a retired U.S. Navy officer. “Nowhere else is there such a concentrated pool of talent in the marine trades.”

The school typically hosts from 35 to 50 full-time students in long-term studies. But it also offers a range of shorter courses, from weekends to a couple of weeks, that can fit into vacations for couples or families.

When Dale Simonson, a college instructor from Burnaby, B.C., came for a two-week class to build a 12-foot sailboat, he camped at scenic Fort Worden and Fort Townsend state parks.

“My first contact with the school was a phone call, and I think it was Pete (Leenhouts) who actually answered the phone,” Simonson said. “It was a very good experience from that moment.”

Kathy Liu, of Port Townsend, has a 24-foot wooden sailboat that “has issues now and then,” so she took the school’s five-day Painting and Varnishing course.

She praised instructor Diane Salguero’s knowledge and flexibility with her students.


nautical adj.
/ˈnɑ:tɪkəl/
relating to ships and sailing


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