Each year, DCMM hosts a wooden boatbuilding class, keeping alive the traditional maritime craft. Aspiring boat builders have an opportunity to learn firsthand skills of the age-old craft of building wooden boats. The class is open to beginners and experienced woodworkers, and includes about 25 days of instruction from October through May. Our volunteer instructors Jerry McNamara, David Morgan and Bob Schottmuller select a design, and students spend more than 1,500 hours building the vessel.
The 2023-24 class is building a 16’ Sweetwater row boat, and it is a sturdy one-of-a-kind vessel! This boat will pull easily through water, with the handmade oars that come with it! Raffle tickets for chances to win the rowboat will be on sale soon at the museum, and we’ll be at various festivals around Door County selling tickets this summer.
Purchase tickets, and you’re helping the Museum support and pass down this maritime craft and skills to upcoming generations. Tickets for chances to win the boat (and trailer!) are sold for $20 each, 3 for $50 or 7 for $100. Only 1,500 tickets will be sold for this boat! Buy yours at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay.
Stop by the museum to see the wooden boat workshop. In the Fall and Winter, visit on Fridays or Saturdays and you can watch the class work on the boat.