PORT HADLOCK — The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding will begin construction this month on a 1,000-square-foot milling room to house large machinery.
“I’m very excited about this,” said Betsy Davis, who took over management of the school at 42 North Water St. in October.
“It will allow more efficient dust collection,” the executive director said, “and make it easier for the students to hear their instructors because they won’t have to compete with the sound of large milling equipment.”
The school, now in its 33rd year, attracts students from around world and from as far away as Australia, Austria, South Korea and Tanzania.
Its mission is to teach and preserve traditional and contemporary wooden-boat-building skills while developing the individual as a craftsman.
Students build boats ranging from 9 feet to 40 feet from scratch. Upon completing the one-year program, they are awarded an associate degree in occupational studies.
Construction of the new milling room will begin this month and take about 30 days, Davis said.
The heavy equipment now in the current 12,000-square-foot instructional facility will be moved into the addition, creating more instructional space for the school’s 64 students.
The school has raised 75 percent of the projected $120,000 construction cost from private donations with the remainder in sight, Davis said.
“We’ve had tremendous support from the community,” Davis said.
“It reminds me of a barn raising, where everyone pitches in.”
The new room will house a ship saw built in the mid-1930s that accommodates a 16-inch-thick timber when the blade is vertical and a 12-inch thickness at the extreme cutting angle of 45 degrees.
The saw is to be loaned to the school by Rosario Straits Group Inc., a project management company with a local representative that is also donating professional services to the project.
During the terms of the loan, Rosario will recondition the school’s ship saw, which is not currently operational, Davis said.
The school plans a series of open houses beginning the first Friday in February.
The monthly open houses will be at 3:30 p.m.
Davis said the new facility probably won’t be completed for the first open house but will hopefully be in progress.
“We want to open our doors to our friends locally to give them a tour and tell them what we are up to, and we want to invite friends from around the region to see the new changes at the school and also appreciate the other activities the Peninsula offers,” Davis said.
For more information, call 360-385-4948.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
