
	Near the Sea we forget to count the days!
About Us Boats Signs Boatbuilding Classes Consulting Shop Visits Newsletter Links Ordering Contact info	Beginning Boatbuilding Class Offered! Please consider signing up early for the winter 2008 session. A new beginning boatbuilding class will be offered this winter starting February 16, 2008. I will take 3-5 students for six Saturdays and we will build one 14' flat bottom skiff as a team. The cost of the class is $650. A $50 non-refundable deposit secures your place in the class. The balance is due the first day of class. The schedule is as follows. loft the boat full size make patterns and build mold and keel parts build keel/ install garboard plank planking/ oars/ spars build gun'ls/ seats oars/ rudder/ tiller cleats/ hardware/ finishing details Class description This is a rare opportunity to learn the tricks of the trade from a professional, working boat builder who has built more than 260 wood boats of all kinds and sizes since 1978. The class will cover all aspects of the process in great detail and be explained in a clear, friendly manner. Prospective students should have basic skills with woodworking tools and a desire to adapt them to Boatbuilding. The kind of boat that we build is usually a round bottom, lapstrake, steam bent frame traditional small craft, or a variation of the type such as a round-sided dory. This kind of vessel presents enough of a challenge to learn Boatbuilding skills on a fairly high level. The class is six Saturdays long. Each day begins at 9am and quits at 5pm with a break for lunch at Cousins Restaurant for their famous white chili and apple dumplings. All materials for the boat will be furnished and the boat is usually for sale at the end of each class. Students will be asked to bring a box of hand tools. Included should be a hammer (12oz finish hammer), pencils, tape measure, screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, dust mask, hearing protectors, long handle wood chisels (Blue Chips series - Woodcraft Catalog, 1-800-225-1153) and a Stanley #060 low angle block plane. A power screwdriver and a belt sander are optional, but handy. A tool belt or a work apron to keep your tools on you at all times are recommended. Be prepared to get dusty, work hard and build a beautiful boat! Mike Kiefer is an internationally known, award winning boat builder and instructor. He has a college degree with a double major - English and Industrial Arts (woodworking and building construction). He built homes for 12 years and has been building boats full time since 1985. A former school teacher, Mike is a good communicator of ideas and methods. He has taught Boatbuilding classes and workshops to hundreds of people in his shop and occasionally the Michigan Maritime Museum, the University of Wisconsin, the local Sea Scouts and taught the very first class (2007) for the new Great Lakes Boat Building School in Cedarville, Michigan. . For more information please call Mike at the boatshop. Wood Boatbuilding and classes since 1985!