Intern with Boatwright Will Smallwood
Program Project – Restore a Vintage 12’ Skiff
About Program Mentor Will Smallwood
Will grew up in Port Townsend, Wa, surrounded by traditional maritime culture. After finishing the traditional small craft program at The Northwest School For Wooden Boatbuilding in 2016, will interned with Tom Regan at GHB, assisting with the build of Iain Oughtred’s Gannett racing dinghy and several other restoration projects.
In 2017 Will joined other BoatShop volunteers to compete in the Edensaw Boatbuilding Challenge at the Wooden Boat festival in Port Townsend. The team took first place, building a small lapstrake pram using all traditional methods. The team repeated their feat in 2019 with an even more complicated build.
Since then, Will has worked in the marine trades in Port Townsend on projects big and small. In 2020, he started his own business focused on small boats, furniture and interiors. After nearly 10 years, Will is excited to return to GHB to help further the mission and programs of the boat shop.
Program Project – Restore a Vintage 12’ Skiff
Mentor Will Smallwood’s Gig Harbor BoatShop Maritime Mentorship Program project is the restoration of a vintage 12’ skiff. The boat has many construction detail similarities to boats built by well-known Penn Yan Boat Company in New York, however we've yet to confirm that link. The boat spent decades on Center Island in the San Juans and was donated by Ron Wright.