Help me to fulfill a dream

[Carson]

Most my life i have dreamt about moving away to study the art of traditional wooden boat building for the purpose of some day being able to call myself a wooden boat builder. I have researched a number of schools to attend. Lyme Regis, in England. The Arques school, Sausolito Cal. Maine, Washington, Florida, Rhode Island, Canada, Australia... the list goes on. My plan was to move far away and start this amazing life of boat building. Location didn't matter so much when i was younger without a family to think about. I live in Southern California, Orange County with a burning desire to work toward my ultimate dream. I Have zero wood working experience, I wonder if anyone has advise for me to help my dream become a reality without having to move to a distant land. There are no boat building schools in southern Cal. that i know of although i could take some basic wood working courses, But what kind? And How could i then get the experience to build boats. Please some One help me. Anyone live in Southern California?

[hansp77]

just found this little lonely post,
I guess he must be gone now but, damn,
if he was as serious as he sounds, Its a pity (with nearly 500 views) he couldn't get a little advice (not that I would know where to point him...)

[Figgy]

Move to Maine to attent The Landing School. Thats what I did/am doing. I lived in San Diego and told my wife to pack her stuff, we're going to Maine! I've been here three weeks and I'm loving every second. Hopefully I'll be in next year (for design). It's not a far off land, but its worlds apart. There are jobs out here for boat building, so even if you don't go to school right away you can still work in the industry. Maby not traditional at first, but get the experiance in and move up.

[Eric Sponberg]

Yes, the Landing school in Kennebunkport, ME, is very good (I was on the advisory board for the design program for about 7 years). You can learn tradtional and modern boatbuilding, system installation, and design.

I am also very familiar with the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, RI. You can learn all the woodworking skills and boatbuilding skills for traditionally built wood boats there.

Both are great schools.

Eric

[yipster]

or dream on with zero woodwork or boat experience

[CaptainTweak]

Dont listen to anyone negative.

Im building a raft right now, ive never done it before, but its the most fun thing that ive done in a while, and it makes me happy. go for your dream. dont let any negative words make you change your mind. you can do anything you are hard headed enough to do

[Cleetus]

isn't there a yacht restoration school up in Washington as well? It's a little closer to home just in case the dream falls flat

[duluthboats]

http://www.cwb.org/
http://www.boatschool.com/
2 good resources in my area

Gary

[Seafra]

Originally Posted by yipster

or dream on with zero woodwork or boat experience

You have to start somewhere.

Landing school sounds like a good route- but how would you support yourself/family during the 1-2 years of the program?

[Eric Sponberg]

Obviously, you have to have enough money saved to live on. The coursework is very intense, and most of the design students burn a lot of midnight oil in the classroom on the drawing boards or at the computer. You have to devote your full time and then some to the classes and coursework, so you'll have to live on savings in the meantime. If you have a family, perhaps your spouse can work to help you through.

Eric

[longliner45]

maybe he or she can get some govt. grants for the schooling?

[Seafra]

Pell Grant provides up to $4050/yr. if you're eligible for the aid which you'll likely be.

[djwkd]

Originally Posted by CaptainTweak

Dont listen to anyone negative.

Im building a raft right now, ive never done it before, but its the most fun thing that ive done in a while, and it makes me happy. go for your dream. dont let any negative words make you change your mind. you can do anything you are hard headed enough to do

thats quite inspired me about my raft,i dont suppose you have a general post about yours?

[mobjack68]

This is going to sound very simplistic....start with models. You can learn a great deal about woodworking using a small scale. True the characteristics aren't necessarily scale. Twist/bend/flex/stretch are hard to scale but there are some very real lessons to be learned with regards to wood species characteristics/ glue response/ finish characteristics. Using modelling techniques every component that needs to be in a boat can be included and the relationships of the components can be studied as necessary.
Another topic that comes into play is scale, not hard to understand, but greatly underused...what exactly does 1/24 scale mean??? to take a set of plans for a 36' sloop and scale them down to create a 36" model doesn't take a great deal of skill, money, tools or time, but the model can be built EXACTLY as the full size boat is constructed, learning not just boat construction, but wood materials and wood working tools at the same time. In the old days of wooden ships and iron-willed sailors, the model came first. The ship builders of the days constructed the model to present to the customer for approval. The ship was then built by scaling up the model!! I am currently seeking line drawings for a boat named Whitehawk, I have some prima vera (blonde mahogany) that I am just itching to turn into a classy model!! If you have a desire to work on wooden boats ??? find a way, make it happen....email me if you think I may be able to help??

Locate some good quality hand planes and learn some sharpening techniques as well...
mobjack68@yahoo.com

[Quicksilver]

^^^^ very true, I've never build a full scale wooden boat, but building this chris craft has taught me a great deal. I feel as though I built a real one after all the work. Oh yeah, she's not done yet, but I'm sure you can tell, I've gone through the hardest part.btw pics were taken between sandings. Using west system to seal the boat, I'm on my 3rd coat, so much sanding and more sanding