Brooklin Maine Classes
The WoodenBoat School
In business for almost 40 years, the WoodenBoat School's sprawling campus fronts on Eggemoggin Reach and Penobscot Bay. Students stay in a beautiful old farmhouse, enjoy family-style meals, and after class may avail themselves of a classic fleet of wooden smallcraft on the waterfront. You are surrounded by wooden boats at every turn, and the pastoral beauty of Brooklin helps explain the literary inspiration of Brooklin's most famous resident: wooden boat enthusiast and writer E.B. White. The nearby Blue Hill Fair features in his "Charlotte's Web." Take a video tour.
Come to Brooklin and you'll understand why 60% of every class comprises returning WoodenBoat School alumni.
Build Your Own Annapolis Wherry
June 7 - 13, 2026 - In this six-day course, each student will build an Annapolis Wherry or an Annapolis Wherry Tandem from a Chesapeake Light Craft kit. The Annapolis Wherry is modeled after the graceful 19th century livery boats used on the River Thames.
Build Your Own Lapstrake Dinghy
June 21 - 27, 2026 - With the help of the instructor, each student will assemble his or her own dinghy from a Chesapeake Light Craft kit. The hull utilizes CLC's patented LapStitch construction method, in which stitch-and-glue techniques are used to create lapstrake hulls of traditional appearance.
Build Your Own Shearwater or Wood Duck Sea Kayak
June 28 - July 4, 2026 - In this 6-day class you will build your own Shearwater 14, 16, 17, or Shearwater Sport kayak from a Chesapeake Light Craft kit. Additional options include the Wood Duck 10, 12, 14, and Wood Duck Double.
Build Your Own Skerry
July 5 - 11, 2026 - Of all the classes we've taught in the last 20-odd years, "Build Your Own Skerry" is one of the most popular, always full and usually with a waiting list. In this class, you'll build your own Skerry, a rowing-sailing boat of Nordic heritage.
Build Your Own Northeaster Dorry
August 9 - 15, 2026 - Graceful round-sided lapstrake dories like this 17-footer were once the primary recreational craft on the New England coast. You’ll assemble a faithful reproduction in just a week, using plywood and epoxy.
Stitch-and-Glue Boatbuilding with John Harris
August 23 - 29, 2026 - The “stitch and glue” method is the easiest way to build a boat, as tens of thousands of amateur boatbuilders will testify. The approach, which emphasizes the use of epoxy adhesives and strategic fiberglass reinforcement combined with marine plywood, is ideal for first-timers.