Wooden Boat Building Classes and Open House

Starting on Monday, 1/16, the Apalachicola Maritime Museum (AMM) Wooden Boat School (WBS) will be hosting a seven day wooden boat construction class for two touring kayaks. The vessels are constructed from laminated strakes made of Okume, a tropical hardwood from the Congo region of Africa.  Visitors and Volunteers are welcome to come by to view or take part in the construction project under the direction of AMM WBS program manager Nicholas Cupp.  The program is paid for by a sponsor or student who takes home the finished project at the end of the class.  There are a wide variety of vessels that are able to be constructed in the AMM WBS programs including the Passagemaker sailing / rowing dory, Whitehall rowing shell, Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP), Pirogue, Canoe and the most popular, wooden kayaks.  Examples of all of the foregoing constructed by the WBS staff are on display at the AMM at 103 Water Street.  Overall there are more than 60 models to select from.  Boat construction building sponsorship / student programs run from $250 to $2,500 based on the complexity and size of the vessel selected.    Week long classes start on the first and third Monday week of each month.  Contact the program manager via email at WoodenBoatSchool@AMMFL.org or by calling the AMM at 850-653-2500 or coming by the AMM at 103 Water Street in downtown Apalachicola.  A review from  the December class follows:

“First, the class in Apalachicola was a blast. The instructor, Nick Cupp, was terrific. Nick was patient, knowledgeable and skilled and made building a boat a blast. The other student and I hit it off as well and I think we are planning a tour once we complete our boats.”