The Boat School

The College for Nautical Knowledge

Joanne O'Grady

Fall Appeal

What is going on with that Boat School in Eastport anyway? Perhaps you’ve heard this question or asked it yourself. Well, here is the answer!

In 2012, as the Boat School’s new owners, FOBS suspended efforts towards reestablishing classes and focused on developing a five-year strategic plan, as the best approach to assure the school’s success in the 21st century.

Since then, we have collaborated with boatyard owners, alumni, civic leaders, and Maine’s youth to assess current market demands and have worked with consultants developing a strategic plan (2018-2023). FOBS is grateful to all the donors and foundations who supported this important work.

The City of Eastport and the State of Maine are investing time, energy, and funding into creating an inviting recreational resource on the Deep Cove waterfront. FOBS hopes to soon begin doing their part in reviving the area by installing a shiny metal roof fitted with solar arrays that will help power our “green” campus.

We reach out and ask you to help us keep our efforts moving forward.

If the Boat School played an important part in your life, you know how it can benefit others.

If you or someone you know dreams of working on the waterfront, invest in the future of the “oldest boatbuilding school in the United States of America”.

If you care about Eastport, consider City Manager Elaine Abbott’s prediction – ” The Boat School will be an integral part of our city’s bright future as FOBS progresses toward its vision” – and become a supporter. Thanks to a long time friend, FOBS will match all gifts up to $10,000 from new donors and the marine trades industry.




Or mail your check to:
16 Deep Cove Road
P.O. Box 16
Eastport, ME 04631

Thank you for your support.

Bring back the Boat School

WELCOME to our new website: theboatschool.org

We, the Friends of the Boat School, have been hard at work to “Bring back the Boat School”. To many of you, our story is familiar. For others, it is new.

The complex at 16 Deep Cove Road in Eastport, the MAINE MARINE TECHNOLOGY CENTER, is long the home of the BOAT SCHOOL. We envision our Harborhood Community Center and the Deep Cove Marine Science Station as constituents in support our mission.

Please join us to “Bring back the Boat School”. Together, we can do this! We have a Strategic Plan to guide us to success. We recruited friends, new and old, to help us.

Here is a peek at our Strategic Plan.

Whether you are a former student, a friend, a volunteer or are just curious, we would like to hear from you. Alumni can help by telling their stories. Friends can help by spreading the word. Volunteers can help by doing what we can not do alone. All together now, we can do this!

“Bring back the Boat School”

Please share your contact information with us and, if possible, hit that donate button.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Today, as we lay the keel for the future, it is with reverence for the visionaries of our past. Ernie Brierley, Doug Dodge, Fred Beal, the Calder brothers, Junior Miller, John Pike Grady, Peter Pierce, were among our stalwarts. They recognized that theirs was a world of knowledge deeply rooted in Maine’s maritime heritage. We respectfully submit our plan for the furtherance of their legacy. The new face of Maine Marine Technology Center will bring The Boat School into the 21st century creating an educational environment that values the skills of the marine trades and technology’s innovations.
Launching this process with us are Ellen Angel of Artifex Architects & Engineers, the STEINS team from the University of Maine at Orono Civil Engineering Dept., and Rafi Hopkins of Section Sign Design. We thank the Maine Community Foundation’s Washington County Fund, Belvedere General Charitable Grantmaking Fund, and the Donor Advised Fund which finances our pursuit, our community which nourishes us, and our consultant, Susan Coopersmith, who guides us. Special thanks to Will Hopkins and Elizabeth Drinker of Cobscook Bay Resource Center and the crew at Eastport Port Authority for opening their doors for our meetings and planning sessions.
“What we make has the opportunity to transcend expectation.” Antonio Dias, boatbuilder and author, Boats for difficult times, Boatbuilding graduate, class of ‘74

 

Charting our course

2011

The Friends assumes ownership of 16 Deep Cove Road, home of the Boat School.

 

2011-2016

Five year evaluation, restructuring, planning period.

 

2017

Maine Community Foundation Grant for strategic plan development awarded.

Susan Coopersmith, consultant, guides the board of directors through the strategic plan development process.

Artifex architect, Ellen Angel, and engineer, Scott Homer, provide pro bono evaluation of the facilities and identify priorities.

University of Maine at Orono Civil Engineering Dept student team (STEINS) selects our proposal as a senior capstone design project.

 

2018

Strategic Plan implementation process begins.

Section Sign LLC’s Rafi Hopkins provides pro bono website design and ongoing consultation.

STEINS project presentation of concept proposal for entrance reconfiguration, connector building, and parking lot

Our new domain, theboatschool.org, is launched.

The strategic planning committee continues meeting weekly to “Bring back the Boat School”.