The Apprentice, a time honored tradition that has been practiced through the centuries, is the education model practiced in our shop today. Learning boat building is a demanding natural discipline involving decision-making, care, patience, forethought and time. Apprentices receiving a traditional boat building education at our school in Rockland, Maine, learn as much about themselves as they learn about the actual technology of construction.
The philosophy behind our two-year apprenticeship is simple: learning to do anything is best accomplished through direct experience. When an apprentice starts with the mere concept of a boat on the lofting floor and carries it through all the subsequent stages of mold-making, framing, planking, decking and finish work to a fully rigged boat ready for launching, a great deal of learning happens in a relatively short period of time. It is a process that not only fosters a high level of craftsmanship, but also sharpens one’s problem solving skills and sense of aesthetic proportion and detail.
Apprentices are guided by instructors through all stages of traditional wooden boat building and each student can expect to build 2 to 4 boats during their time here. New build commissions account for the majority of Apprenticeshop work, but we do occasionally incorporate restorations into the program. All boat restorations that are taken on as apprentice projects have been carefully considered by the staff for their educational value.
Our boats are typically traditional carvel or lapstrake construction, but because we are commission dependent, we occasionally work on projects that require modern boatbuilding technology. We are equipped to do this but this is not our focus. We also do not repeatedly build specific boats, but build to suit the contract with our customers. Our reliance on commissioned projects and selective restorations leads to many different designs being constructed side-by-side and the opportunity to learn a great deal from each apprentice crew.
This exchange of experience is reinforced during walk-around, a weekly opportunity for the shop community to observe, ask questions and share information about every shop project. Additionally, during their time in the shop, every apprentice is responsible for a certain realm of the community, called a beagleship. For example, the fastenings beagle orders and checks inventory to ensure that each boat project has all the rivets and screws they need, while the truck beagle keeps the shop truck running smoothly. Walk-around and beagleships reinforce the hands-on learning experience of every apprentice.
Incoming apprentices generally range in age from 18 to 40. Currently the average age of the apprentice population is 29. Some people come with extensive woodworking experience, while others have none. This 2-year program is designed to give the graduating apprentice knowledge and understanding of a wide variety of building techniques, and confidence in unique situations that require thorough problem solving.
If you would like to pursue the time-honored tradition of wooden boat building in Maine please call Eric Stockinger at 207-594-1800 or download our application packet (.pdf) here: Apprenticeshop Application 2012
