Double-ender Shearwater
Photos by Joel Pagel
The mission of the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is to preserve Great Lakes maritime history and, in part, foster boatbuilding knowledge and skills. The museum has been hosting boatbuilding classes since 1998 and has produced 27 small boats. The most recent, built by the class of 2024, is a 16′ × 4′5″ Shearwater, a double-ender designed by Joel White, inspired by Norwegian faerings. In a weekly class that began in October 2023 and ended in June 2024, instructors Jerry McNamara, Bob Schotmuller, David Morgan, and John Pabich led students with a wide range of skills through the construction. The planks, three to a side, are ¼″ okoume plywood and the frames and backbone are native Door County white ash, locally milled. The finished boat was displayed at 10 area festivals, and was the prize of a raf e that raised funds to support the museum. The winner was announced in November and the boat, complete with trailer and oars, was taken to her home in Madison.