Links
The Gannon and Benjamin site provides a wealth of information on the boatyard and its projects. It should be the first stop for anybody who wants to explore this realm further.
WoodenBoat Magazine is essential reading or anybody interested in any wooden boats — and their website provides the most expansive coverage of the subject online. Besides the excellent articles that appear in the magazine and website, the WoodenBoat Forum provides discussion groups on every aspect of the history, design, construction, maintenance, and sailing of wooden boats.
There are a number of excellent non-profit organizations that focus on keeping wooden boat traditions alive and vibrant, and educating the public about wooden boat building skills, traditions and values. Among them are The Wooden Boat Foundation, The Center For Wooden Boats, The Spaulding Center. The American Schooner Association and The Ancient Mariners Sailing Society are organizations of dedicated enthusiasts who promote interest in classics sailing vessels, while The Wooden Boat Rescue Foundation’s mission is to save wooden boats by arranging for them to be given free to people who will restore them.
Maritime history is kept alive by scores of wonderful maritime museums. The Herreshoff Marine Museum and the Museum of Yachting present the racing and recreational sides of (largely) wooden boat sailing, while Mystic Seaport and The Mariners’ Museum are the premiere museums that look expansively at maritime history. There are numerous regional museums as well, such as The Maine Maritime Museum, The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (Nova Scotia), The New Bedford Whaling Museum, The North Carolina Maritime Museums, Lake Pontchartrain Maritime Museum, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Columbia River Maritime Museum, Vancouver Maritime Museum, and the Tuckerton Seaport (New Jersey), Independence Seaport Museum (Pennsylvania). The Counsel of American Maritime Museums provides an excellent list of maritime museums or every sort.
I am encouraged by the fact that there are a number of schools that have traditional wooden boat building programs. The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, The Apprenticeshop, and the The Great Lakes Boat Building School all offer comprehensive, multiyear programs in traditional boat building, while the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and the Argues School of Traditional Boatbuilding offer advanced apprenticeship programs. The Landing School, Seattle Central Community College and the IYRS incorporate traditional boat building in a wider boat building curriculum. For those who are interested in developing their knowledge and skills in short term workshops and classes The Wooden Boat School provides a fantastic array of offerings in a stunning setting.
Several programs provide young people the opportunity to experience traditional boat building. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s Apprentice for a day program admits 16 year olds and even younger people if accompanied by an adult. The Spaulding Wooden Boat Center’s “program provides middle and high school youth with a personal growth experience in the context of wooden boat craftsmanship, sailing, seamanship, and environmental stewardship … taught with an approach that is experiential and student-centered.” Rocking the Boat (South Bronx) and the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory teach boat building to young people from economically disadvantaged urban areas.
There are numerous schools that specialize in general education in the crafts — many of them are know as Folk Schools and their pedagogy connects hands on learning with the cultivation of practical skills, creativity, community, and sustainable modes of living and working. Among the most renowned schools are The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, The North House Folk School, The Driftless Folk School, The John C Campbell Folk School, and The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
The mission of the American Craft Council is to promote understanding and appreciation of contemporary American craft,, they also publish American Craft Magazine. The craft of documentary film making is tirelessly advanced by the International Documentary Association (IDA), which promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. The IDA believes that “the power and artistry of the documentary art form are vital to cultures and societies globally, and they exist to serve the needs of those who create this art form,” a sentiment with which I am in complete agreement.
