Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op

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Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op A full-service shop providing quality craftsmanship since 1981.

10/16/2026

Scraps from our Sail Loft, turned into museum Art! Port Townsend artist and former yacht rigger Margie McDonald built this 25-foot rope installation for the new Mariners Hall at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. It hangs right beside the Cape Mendocino lighthouse Fresnel lens.
The piece is five panels, each about 200 pounds, with more than two miles of rope and over 5,000 knots.

Our own sailmaker Alison Wood, Margie’s best friend and fellow rigger, helped hang the panels and weave them together.

See the silvery streaks in the waves? That’s Dyneema, saved from the remnants trimmed off after splicing drifter luff lines in our Sail Loft.

Mariners Hall opens to the public Friday, November 20 at 1:00 PM. Full story coming next month on Shipwrights News & Stories.

Thank you to Margie McDonald and the Columbia River Maritime Museum!

Timelapse shared with us from Alison Wood.

10/14/2026

Ursula is stitching the leather cover by hand with needle and palm. The pennant is 1⅛" tubular Dacron webbing with Spectra webbing stuffed inside it. The Spectra runs a foot into the sail, built to handle the load from the furling drum.

The leather and Sunbrella are sacrificial layers. They take the beating from UV and chafe so the sail and its connections to the boat don't have to. Over time they'll wear, and that's by design. Because they're hand-stitched, they can be repaired with a palm and needle, and the sail stays protected for years to come.

Built to protect. Built to be repaired.

Isswat is tucked in for the winter. Jeff and Anders took her through the Ballard Locks to her covered slip at Lockhaven ...
10/13/2026

Isswat is tucked in for the winter. Jeff and Anders took her through the Ballard Locks to her covered slip at Lockhaven Marina. 🛥️

This year’s work on Jeff’s 1948 Alaska-built troller included a new mast and boom. Getting the proportions right was the main challenge, since a mast shapes how a boat looks. Her winter home also has a roof, so the top section was built on a hinge and folds down to clear it. Swipe through to see the mast at full height, folded under the railroad bridge at the Locks, and settled into her slip.

She’ll be back in Port Townsend after the Bell Harbor Rendezvous in late June!

The full story of her restoration: https://www.ptshipwrights.com/isswat-restoring-a-boat-built-to-work

10/09/2026

George Pocock never wrote down how he built his legendary racing shells. So when boatbuilder Steve Chapin was hired to recreate an unfinished frame from a 1923 photo of Pocock’s workshop for the UW Shell House restoration, he needed another way to get the shape.

Our team 3D scanned Buckley, a wooden Pocock four from Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club, to help him piece it together.

Read the full story on Shipwrights News & Stories: https://www.ptshipwrights.com/pocock-racing-shell

George Pocock was rowing’s most legendary boatbuilder, and his shells carried The Boys in the Boat to Olympic gold. But ...
10/07/2026

George Pocock was rowing’s most legendary boatbuilder, and his shells carried The Boys in the Boat to Olympic gold. But he never wrote down how he built them. No line drawings, no plans. So how do you recreate one?

UW is restoring Pocock's workshop in the ASUW Shell House and hired Port Townsend boatbuilder Steve Chapin to recreate an unfinished boat frame from a 1923 photo of the shop.

There's just one catch. The forms for the larger boats are long gone! Steve learned the craft the old way, passed down by word of mouth, but to recreate this frame, he needed its exact shape. To piece it together, Steve is using the historic photo and surviving Pocock shells as clues to how George built it.

That's where the Shipwrights came in. Griz met Steve at the annual Boatyard Barbecue and connected him with Grayson. Last Friday (Oct 2nd), Grayson brought our 3D scanner to Rat Island Rowing and Sculling Club to scan Buckley, a wooden Pocock four, capturing her shape at all 37 rib positions. The scan saves Steve the time of having to measure it all by hand and leaves behind something Pocock himself never had: a complete record of the boat.

Steve has built the strongback and is starting on the frame, which will go on display in George's workshop so visitors can finally see inside one of these remarkably spare boats.

Read the full story on Shipwrights News & Stories: https://www.ptshipwrights.com/pocock-racing-shell

Thank you to Steve Chapin, Noah Seixas, and Rat Island Rowing for letting us be part of it!

Historic photo: MOHAI, PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection.

10/01/2026

Tomorrow, Friday 10/2 at 7 AM, Oliver sets out from Point Hudson to begin his circumnavigation aboard Phoenix do Mar! It's been an honor to be part of the team preparing her for the journey.

Over the past months our shipwrights built a stainless stern tower, installed solar panels and Hydrovane self-steering, built a new fuel tank, made the dodger and Bimini canvas, and took care of general maintenance plus lots of upgrades and custom builds to set her up for the open ocean. Thanks to Oliver and our friends at Brion Toss Yacht Riggers for being such a great team to work alongside.

Let's give Oliver a proper Port Townsend send-off! Get out on the water off Point Hudson, or come on foot and gather on the Point Hudson breakwater boardwalk or the point at the RV park. Please stay off the docks.

Follow Oliver's voyage at on instagram. Fair winds, Oliver!

We are hiring! We have an in-person full-time position open in our front office for an administrative assistant. The ide...
02/17/2026

We are hiring! We have an in-person full-time position open in our front office for an administrative assistant. The ideal candidate is punctual, reliable, detail-oriented, and ready to learn. A knowledge of boats is handy, but not required! View the full job description and application at our website - https://ptshipwrights.com/employment/

Come see us at the Seattle Boat Show this Wednesday, the 4th! We will have shipwrights at the Port Townsend Rigging boot...
02/03/2026

Come see us at the Seattle Boat Show this Wednesday, the 4th! We will have shipwrights at the Port Townsend Rigging booth, West 8, and wandering the floor! Find a shipwright, and you may get a prize!

A row of Pacifics! From left to right, we have PACIFIC SWIFT, NEW PACIFIC, and PACIFIC GRACE! Inside the blue building o...
01/28/2026

A row of Pacifics! From left to right, we have PACIFIC SWIFT, NEW PACIFIC, and PACIFIC GRACE! Inside the blue building on the right is PACIFIC! Swift and Grace are tall ships operated by the SALTS Sail and Life Training Society based in Victoria, British Columbia, and offer a variety of different sailing programs. Check them out!

Scared to even look in the V-Berth of your boat? Time for an upgrade! New panelling, better storage lockers with ventila...
12/22/2025

Scared to even look in the V-Berth of your boat? Time for an upgrade! New panelling, better storage lockers with ventilation, LED lighting, and a comfy mattress with a durable cover transform this area, with all work done in-house by our skilled craftspeople!

Address

919 Haines Place
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+13603856138

Website

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