Northern Michigan’s Les Cheneaux Islands have drawn boating enthusiasts for centuries — but never before have boaters been able to build their own craft as part of the experience.
The Great Lakes Boat Building School aims to change that. Organized primarily as a vocational school in 2005, this Cedarville, Michigan, destination offers one-week and 10-day summer workshops that allow hobbyists to custom build their own boats. Most workshop participants hail from the Midwest, but the school has had participants from across the United States and Canada.
Part precision construction project and part time-honored craft, the art of building your own boat creates an intimate connection to the natural world, from the wood to the water, believes GLBBS director David Lesh.
And there’s nothing like sailing in a boat that you built yourself — from raw lumber to a finished craft with a custom design and a satin-smooth, honey-hued finish.
Workshops for 2010 include building a 26-pound Chesapeake Light Craft Sassafras 12, a Chesapeake sea kayak or a 14-and-a-half-foot canoe Voyager.
The students build their vessels during the day, and in the evenings they experience the beauty of the Lake Huron and Cedarville areas, dining on fresh-caught whitefish and exploring the islands.
Workshops cost approximately $100 per day plus materials and living expenses — comparable to the cost of heading into the Les Cheneaux Islands and buying a wooden boat from a specialty dealer. But the satisfaction that comes from having built the craft with your own two hands is something that money can’t buy.