Family and Community Boatbuilding: Come Build A Boat at the Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre! March 18-22, 2024

Accessible to all ages and skill levels, this course is a great way for families or small groups of friends to have fun, get their hands dirty and go home with a great practical little boat. Two or three participants per boat is ideal. We start on Monday morning and finish up Friday afternoon. You’ll go home with a boat that only needs a few hours of attention to get it painted and in the water.

The course works best when each boat has two participants building it.  Children should be at least 10 years old.  An extra body can be added for a nominal fee of $250 for adults - additional kids 16 and under are free.

Location: Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre, 1761 Cowichan Bay Rd.

Instructors: Lew Penney, Mike Webb, and Tony Owen

Date: March 18-22, 2024 (during spring break for local schools)

Cost: $1100 per group (includes two participants; additional adults are $250 each)

Grab a partner and build Grace’s Tender, designed by well-respected designer Arch Davis of Maine, using traditional plywood-on-frame boat building techniques. Participants will learn to become comfortable and safe working with hand tools, machinery, and epoxy in the workshop. Class will run from 9:00am to 4:00pm each day. Participants limited to four groups.

All tools and materials are provided and included in the cost. If you would like to bring some of your own tools, contact us for a tool list.

For more information about the design, see the designer’s website for Grace’s Tender at https://www.archdavisdesigns.com/davis_gracestender.html . A useful review of the design was published in Small Boats Annual 2009 and is available online at https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/graces-tender/.

Our course focuses on the rowing version of Grace’s Tender, but the instructors are happy to advise builders wanting to complete the sailing version after the course ends. If you would like more information or have questions for an instructor, please email cwbs@classicboats.org or phone Daphne Hachey at 250 746 4955.