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S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / W O R K F O R M E 35 M a n u f a c t u r i n g M aine's boatbuild- ing tradition goes b a c k c e n t u r i e s , some would say back to the early 1600s building of the Vir- ginia on the banks of the Ken- nebec River near what is today Popham Beach. Boatbuilding was taught through apprenticeships and by doing. Today's training relies part- ly on that model, but also on schools that offer credit akin to community colleges and short, intensive classes. A school for apprentices Owen Page, 24, who is from France, had trained as a me- chanical engineer at McGill Uni- versity in Montreal. But even as he was finishing his degree, he had second thoughts about going to work for an engineering firm. "I wasn't thrilled with my options as a professional engi- neer," Page says. "Then I started looking at my hobby of wood- working. I looked at furniture makers and guitar makers. What drew me to Maine was I grew up sailing, what drew me to Maine was boats. I started Googling and came across the Apprenticeshop." "I was looking at the Ap- prenticeshop all through my last year [at McGill]," Page says. "From Montreal to Rockland was about 6 hours. I rented a car and drove over at least three times that year." The Apprenticeshop, located just outside of downtown Rock- land, offers a range of wooden boatbuilding classes and ap- prenticeships that can last from nine months to two years, in a small setting. The recent aca- demic year featured 14 students. In addition to boatbuilding schools, the school offers on- the-water training. Students take part in two-week expedi- tions, navigating Penobscot Bay and other waters in the school's open sailboats and camping on Maine's islands. Nina Noah, the Apprentice- shop's 31-year-old director of student affairs and outreach, had a similar experience. She'd P H O T O / E R I N T O K A R Z Owen Page, who now works at Rockland Marine, had an engineering degree before he turned to the Apprenticeshop to learn boatbuilding skills. A traditional craft has some nontraditional ways to break in B Y P E T E R V A N A L L E N C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L O W I N G PA G E » They expect you to do your best on every project. — Owen Page The Apprenticeshop