Historic restoration, traditional new builds, and hands-on programs keep the shop active—and keep maritime skills in motion.
Projects often overlap in the boat shop, giving volunteers the chance to work on different vessels, materials, and techniques while learning directly from professional shipwrights.
Volunteers are assisting shipwright Josh Herman in restoring another historic vessel. Built in 1914 in Mobile, Alabama, Prohibition is a classic river launch with a windowed pilothouse.
Her frames have been mended and strengthened, and her planks are currently being refastened.
Our volunteers helped build a new mast for PRISCILLA, an 1884 oyster sloop associated with a maritime museum in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
They also created a new boom and mast hoops for ELVIRA, a 1906 P-Class sloop based in Bellport.
Work began this spring on a 19-foot St. Lawrence Skiff closely resembling one once owned by Theodore Roosevelt. Lines taken from a classic boat two decades ago were lofted on the tables in our shop.
The molds, keel, and stems have been cut and rabbeted. The cedar purchased for the lapstrake planking is now drying sufficiently for the next phase.
Josh Herman again oversees the project, teaching traditional methods and maintaining exacting quality standards.
During the summers of 2025 and 2026, in cooperation with The WaterFront Center, the Wooden Boatshop held its first workshops for young builders.
Master shop teacher Scott Carro guided eight fifth- through seventh-grade students as they built pond yachts resembling CHRISTEEN. Working entirely with hand tools—including drills, saws, planes, and spokeshaves—they launched their craft from Beekman Beach at the end of the two-week session.
To inspire younger generations to build boats and get out on the water, we are developing a team-based program centered on Bevin’s Skiffs—simple plywood rowboats that can be built with basic tools and adapted for sail or motor.
The goal is for groups of middle- and high-school students, or families, to work together, apply math skills, and learn to use manual and electric hand tools safely. Volunteers who built IDA MAY are constructing a prototype to determine the best methods and timeframe for future programs.
Once completed, the skiffs are intended to remain in the Boatshop yard so participants can check them out through The WaterFront Center for rowing, fishing, or sailing. Using the boats is as important as building them.
Our volunteers arrive with many different backgrounds. Some are experienced woodworkers or sailors; others are picking up a plane, spokeshave, or caulking iron for the first time.
Inside the working boat shop