Woodworking & Holiday Craft Classes at Wooden Boat School

Woodworking & Holiday Craft Classes at Wooden Boat School

​Sessions for beginners include knife rack and nautical rope wreath

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Wooden Boat School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum will offer a number of holiday-themed woodworking classes throughout December. Fun and creative sessions enable students of all experience levels to create thoughtful and personalized gifts for family and friends, as well as locally made home decor. 

Students will create a matching live edge cutting board and knife rack during a 1-day class on Saturday, December 4. Each student will pick a flitch of locally harvested and kiln dried hardwood, then use draw knives, sanders, and other tools to plan dimensions, smooth their material, and embed magnets to custom make these common kitchen tools.

People can register for an intro to leatherworking session on Sunday, December 5, during which students will choose leather varieties and colors to make a handcrafted leather wallet. On Saturday, December 11, staff will offer a fun introductory class to create scroll saw holiday ornaments. Students will select designs, learn to read patterns, and use basic cutting techniques using a scroll saw. Other classes throughout December include a parent/child cardboard dulcimer build on Saturday, December 11, nautical wreath construction on Sunday, December 12, and a wooden block plane class on Saturday, December 18. A calendar and registration details can be found at www.hrmm.org/woodworking. 

Introductory woodworking classes at the HRMM Wooden Boat School are designed for beginner woodworkers. Curriculum includes an overview of materials, tool use, and shop safety. Instructors work with small class sizes which allow students to learn at their own pace and customize their creations. Also offered at the school are after-school youth sessions and an extensive foundations of woodworking series, as well as more advanced woodworking courses on timber framing, boat building, and vessel restoration.

The Wooden Boat School was founded by the Hudson River Maritime Museum in 2015 to preserve the maritime craft traditions of the Hudson Valley and to teach a hands-on interpretation of the living history of the Hudson River. The school offers diverse curriculum and opportunities which inspire skills in woodworking, boat building, and maritime craft. Also available are restoration services for wooden boats. A class calendar and details can be found at www.hrmm.org/woodworking.