If boats could talk, what would they tell us about this place? We’re on a mission to find out. Will you join us?
The Backstory
When we founded The Boatshop in 2016, it was structured as a partnership with Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH, which provided the grounds on which to construct a space to hold workshops, events and, of course, our wildly popular hands-on boatbuilding camps in collaboration with the Gundalow Company.
The Boatshop’s location on the museum grounds also gave us the opportunity to participate in public events over the years, allowing us to share the joys and importance of traditional hands-on tool skills with a wide and diverse audience.
The enthusiasm of parents, campers and Boatshop visitors alike has reinforced our belief that small boats—and the stories they can tell us about the Seacoast region—matter.
What's Ahead
In order to respond to your calls for more programs, exhibits, and activities for boatbuilders of all ages, we’ve determined that the best path forward is to reimagine The Boatshop, not as a physical location, but as a framework for identifying projects and bringing together partners who are passionate about highlighting and celebrating our maritime region.
To that end, The Boatshop is no longer based on the museum grounds.
We are excited about this evolution and to navigate these new waters in the year ahead with the Gundalow Company as our continued program partner while we explore possibilities with other project partners and funders.
How You Can Help
In order to do all this, we need your help to get launched! You can affirm your belief in our mission and invest in this next chapter of The Boatshop’s evolution by joining us as a Friend of The Boatshop Patron and making a donation to our Growth Fund.
Your financial support right now will allow us to pay for operational expenses such as tool and material acquisition and storage, as well as help to fund the expansion and development of other partnerships and programs.
Why does The Boatshop matter?
We believe every place has a story to tell through its boats. For every watershed, there is a boat, or boats, that reflect the characteristics of the maritime environment and the people who designed, built and used those boats.
The Seacoast maritime region of New Hampshire and Maine is defined environmentally and geographically by the water that flows through and around us. Boats have been an essential component of the social and economic development of the communities we now call home. Boats are a reflection of human ingenuity, creativity and adaptability and, as such, have much to teach us today.
Why Boatbuilding?
We often say that in The Boatshop, we aren’t building boats, we’re building people.
When you place a tool in the hands of children and adults alike, there is an immediate spark. By working with traditional tools and learning the same skills that are needed to transform a piece of wood into a boat, we are tapping into an unbroken line of history and human civilization in this place.
Are you excited about this idea?
Then now is the time to transform enthusiasm into action and direct financial support. I invite you to become a Friend of The Boatshop Patron and donate to our Growth Fund today.
Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of The Boatshop !
Nate Piper
Boatbuilder & Founder, The Boatshop
Organizer
