Early in 2024, we were approached by Sean Koomen - past carpenter at BBY and now lead instructor of the boatbuilding program at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA – who asked us to partner with the school on a student project. The school has built a variety of wooden boats in their classes over the last several years, including both traditionally built plank-on-frame boats and modern wood-composite boats. This time, though, they wanted to do something differently; they wanted to build both a traditional boat and a modern version side-by-side. Jim Franken, a West Coast yacht designer, has drawn up a beautiful 26’ full-keel pilot cutter that will be built in a traditional manner. We were tasked with creating a design that would capture the essence of the pilot cutter but combine it with modern performance and introduce the students to the advanced wood-composite techniques we use in our builds.

The result of our design is a light and fast daysailer designed to maximize the fun-factor of sailing. Her relatively narrow beam, lightweight hull, and high ballast ratio will make her easily driven, so a massive rig and crew weight on the rail won’t be necessary to sail fast. The balanced hull lines will make her well-mannered, but with enough reserve righting moment and planning area aft that she will have plenty of “get up and go” downwind! She is decidedly a fast daysailer rather than a sportboat, and is intended to be sailed from within the cockpit rather than relying on hiking to keep her under control. An electric pod drive provides unobtrusive auxiliary power. Down below is simple- – she is wide open to minimize weight save for only essential sitting headroom and full-length settee/berths port and starboard- just enough for camping. This open aesthetic will also give the students a chance to highlight their growing woodworking skills, as every bit of the structure will be on full display! To read more about the design, visit the design page here.

As if this weren’t enough- to be a part of a unique teaching opportunity that furthers the craft of wooden boatbuilding- our own Oliver Lardner is part of the student group working on the Twins Project, and he will return to us after he completes his program at NWSWB in the fall of 2025.

To learn more about the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding and the Twins Project, visit their website here.