Washington Business Spring 2018 | Washington Business | Page 58

doing business as
employer:
Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding
founded: 1981
location: Port Hadlock
website: www.nwswb.edu
Northwest School
of Wooden Boatbuilding
A small but valuable school tackles Washington’s skilled labor shortage
directly, while preserving the traditional art of wooden boatbuilding.
Andrew Lenderman
the story: In an age of digital disruption, a small school on the water trains new
generations of boatbuilders and maritime technicians to create a steady workforce
for Washington’s maritime industry. Years ago, master shipwright Bob Prothero was
concerned that craftsmanship was being lost and felt that the best way to preserve
it was through boatbuilding. He connected with educator Libby Palmer and
carpenter Henry Yeaton, and in 1981 the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding
was established in Port Hadlock. Since then, the school has trained more than
1,500 people on the skilled crafts of classic woodworking, drafting, traditional and
contemporary wooden boatbuilding. Students come from all over the world to learn
from the school’s master boatbuilders and marine systems instructors. This private,
post-secondary vocational school is committed to developing top-notch craftsmen
and women while teaching wooden boatmaking and contemporary maritime
skills. The school is currently expanding its reach with the Maritime Systems
program, which teaches students marine systems, electrical, corrosion, gasoline
and diesel engine repair and other skills that are in high demand throughout the
Pacific Northwest. “We’re building on traditional values like quality, integrity and
craftsmanship,” Executive Director Betsy Dav