Thoughts about Boat Building Schools 2023

Hello Everyone-

I am considering some formal education as a start to a second career in boat building.
Does anyone have experience (student, alumni, faculty, employer) with the schools in Maine (Landing, Wooden Boat, Apprenticeshop), the one in Rhode Island (IYRS,) Michigan (Great Lakes), and/or the one in Washington (Northwest)?
Is a 9 month or year-long 'comprehensive' boatbuilding course enough (granted that one needs experience and a willingness to keep learning too)?
I know this is a bit open-ended but curious if the group has thoughts on any of this.
Thanks!

PS I also had the thought to just take a couple course in a row at Wooden Boat School as a trial run before committing to more coursework. I have also posted on Wooden Boat Forum.

 

Im not overly familiar with those, there are others on this Forum that may know their current status.

However, depending upon how much you wish to learn, as a starter these online courses may be of use for you:

https://navalapp.com/courses/

 

Apologies for so many questions Tops.....
What is your current career?
What experience have you had of boatbuilding so far?
Are you primarily interested in the methods of wooden boatbuilding, or are you also keen on the different ways of fibreglass boat building?
And what about steel and aluminium?

Once you have done a course or two, and have some experience, what direction are you hoping that your second career in boatbuilding will follow?
It would probably be worthwhile to do a 'taster' course at a school with a good reputation (and I think that all of the schools you mention above have impressive credentials) to see if this is really what you want to do, before committing yourself to a much longer course.

 

Interesting question, will be interested in the responses.

Right now the labor shortage in my area is so significant it would be tempting to try and hire on in the specific subsection you prefer. Have been surprised how willing the trades are to train on the job people with a work ethic who can pass a pee test.

 

You need to first discuss the type of boats you are interested in...

There are also boat building businesses that may be interested in making an arrangement where you work for pay and learn.

 

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the ideas/feedback/questions.
Most of the places have emailed me in reply, one called and chatted, one has been radio silent.

1. Engineer, former painter/mild steel steel fabricator/CNC operator/draftsman
2. A small plywood taped seam sailboat, a 1930's paddleboard made from solid wood (planks over stations), about a dozen surfboard/SUP projects. Working on a couple fiberglass sailboats in my yard
3. Interested in both wood and composite, design and building...picking one over the other is difficult
4. I have a thing for steel work boats (fish tugs like my avatar). Never worked with aluminum beyond melting and casting my own parts. I have not thought so much about these materials and related vessel types.

A short course to see if it a good fit after all makes sense.

That is a good idea, thanks. The hope would be to find something that is more building and not all pumping waste tanks and sanding bottom paint...

50 feet on down, wood and fiberglass. Not really interested in 'supersized' anything. I have looked at a couple wooden runabout places but have not made inquiries.

Looks interesting, thanks.

 

Hi @Tops ,

As pointed out above in this thread, you may find Navalapp online courses interesting:
https://navalapp.com/courses/

Our current courses focus more on the designing part instead of building (although we may also have courses dedicated to building in the future). Still, a successful design is a condition for a successful build and successful craft.

In that regard, you may find the following courses interesting:

• Sailing Yacht Design 1 (https://navalapp.com/courses/sailing-yacht-design-1/)
• Structural Design & Scantling with ISO 12215 (https://navalapp.com/courses/structural-design-and-scantling-with-iso-12215/)
• Composite Materials 1 (https://navalapp.com/courses/composite-materials-1/)
• Stability & Evaluation with ISO 12217 (https://navalapp.com/courses/stability-evaluation-with-iso-12217/)

We are currently working on new courses, and we will be able to disclose more about them soon.

If you are interested in 3D modeling, this course may also be for you:

• Yacht 3D Modeling with Rhino. Level 1 (https://navalapp.com/courses/yacht-3d-modeling-with-rhino-level-1/)

The Level 2 and a course on rendering with Twinmotion are currently under preparation, in case modeling and rendering would also be a path you want to explore.

Moreover, related to design and analysis software, we are currently preparing a course on Maxsurf (we offer academic licenses: https://navalapp.com/maxsurf-license/).

All the courses are video-based and on-demand and can be followed at your pace. They contain videos, quizzes, and downloadable documents, and each one has associated a classroom which is a virtual place to interact with the instructors and fellow students. Students completing the course obtain the Course Certificate.

I hope this helps!

 

Thanks Pablo, I will take another look at those courses. My ideal course of study would involve design along with fabrication. Is it possible to get Rhino at a student level through Navalapp?

The cost of 1 or 2 years schooling and a decreased income during and after is starting to concern me. Wondering if I'd be better off 'keeping my day job' and outfitting a better shop space to pursue this as a hobby, so I could make off season repairs and boat in-season.

 

Unfortunately, unlike Maxsurf, it is still not possible with Rhino. We hope it will be soon.

I fully understand what you are saying about the income and the dizziness you may feel if you take this jump. Navalapp tries to minimize these barriers by making the courses as accessible as possible (also economically) and providing plenty of opportunities for the students to decide what and when to study based on their current time and budget availability. They can go for all, for a module, or build their new skills and capabilities one course at a time.

In case it interests you, my personal advice is that you may want first to test the new path you want to go on a small scale, especially if you have a family dependent on your current income. It will be hard to find time, but you can test, experiment, fail, build, and learn new skills about the market and its economics. Then, you will maybe have more data and experience to decide whether to go full-time or not.

 

@Tops,
There are several schools that, in courses of a few months, can provide you with a degree. Currently, online courses have become fashionable and there are an infinity of them to choose from.
Look carefully at everything that is on the market, do not let yourself be guided by beautiful and well-constructed phrases or by shocking images. A course is nothing more than what its tutors are and their experience in the actual practice of naval design and building is the only guarantee of quality that any course can offer you.
Read between the lines before deciding, study the profile and experience of the tutors, and good luck.

 

Which ones are these?

 

I'm not familiar with Minnesota, but have a fair bit of exposure with west coast boat building. The guys that do it and last with a measure of success have a niche that they fill. I'd suggest figuring out what niche you see in the area you want to live and work and decide what type of boat you'd like to build or work on.

Most of the guys building boats were either enthusiastic users of the product (common in the jet boat and commercial fishing boat building). Or were tied in with other similar companies and had their own ideas to do things a little differently. Overwhelming majority had ties to some form of related industry even if only tangentially.

Can think of a welder who made a very successful go at it and even a carpenter who made some beautiful plugs that turned into some beautiful boats. So it's certainly doable but they had very specific market demographics to rise to.

Once you figure out your specific goal, it could be as easy as working with an NA to compliment an existing skill set or an on the job learning from an existing boat builder.

I'd even shoot towards education or training in the region you want to build in. Some things like welding settings, or prop calculation is universal. But regions have fairly solid preferences. For example, a local guy likes to bring down east style hulls and fit them out alaska style. Outside of a very small percentage of folks, the boats are kinda a running punch line. As such they languish on the market a devalue faster than comparable equipped boats of a different design. Conversely a couple of hulls from one of our storied west coast builders went east. After a decade they were all sold and transported back west as the folks who bought them hated them. It's probably worthwhile to try and train towards the local that builds what you want to build. Mechanical concepts are universal, but the application is not.

 

You would most likely do either one of two routes:

1. After the Design course, do one related to fabrication and welding etc.
2. After the Design course, work in a shipyard, to understand how the boats are built.

Going down 1... go to your local colleges, they may also have such courses, for welding plate/sheet metal work etc.
This will also take time.

Going down 2...is generally what all naval architects do.
This also takes time.

Learning to Design - takes time, not just the theory, but also the practice.
Learning to fabricate - takes time, not just the basic theory and techniques.

There is no fast way...10 years experience, takes...yup...10 years!

 

Thanks Everyone, I appreciate the food for thought!