Explore My Work
Paul Fritts Organ Builders
Parkland, WA
Case Maker
March 2015 - March 2021
Paul Fritts & Co. Organ Builders designs and builds world-class pipe organs entirely in house, from carefully selecting raw materials to producing the thousands of individual components that make up each instrument. With the exception of electric blowers and electronic preset systems, all design, fabrication, and assembly are executed by the firm’s craftsmen.
I spent six years building wooden organ cases and pipes for these rare and enduring instruments. The work demanded exceptional precision, patience, and coordination across a highly skilled team, often at monumental scale—organs comprising thousands of parts and rising several stories high. The images below show work in progress; additional documentation of the process can be seen in the Murdy Organ build for the University of Notre Dame.
The Center for Wooden Boats
Seattle, WA
Lead Boatbuilder
April 2011 - October 2014
The Center for Wooden Boats is a once-hidden gem on the shores of South Lake Union. Part boat museum, part community center—it is a place where people of all ages and abilities come together to enjoy the water, learn new skills and absorb a little bit of our region's rich maritime heritage.
I spent nearly four years at CWB as Lead Boatwright, during which time I worked on nearly every single one of 52 boats, 35'-10' in size, including seven Blanchard Junior Knockabouts, a hundred year old sailing Gillnetter, and countless rowboats of varying types and origins. These projects not only ensured a working fleet, but they also provided thousands of hours of hands-on learning for the rotating crew of over 100 volunteers and apprentices I supervised in the shop. My role at CWB encompassed boatbuilding and repair, as well as a great deal of teaching, community engagement, and not surprisingly, tool repair and shop maintenance.
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
St. Michaels, MD
Shipwright Apprentice
October 2010 - March 2011
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of the Chesapeake Bay and the communities shaped by its working waterfront. Its operating boatyard focuses on the restoration of traditional wooden vessels using historic methods and materials.
As a Shipwright Apprentice, I worked alongside Master Shipwrights restoring the museum’s historic fleet. My primary project was the restoration of the Edna E. Lockwood, a 54-foot oyster schooner built in 1889 and the last remaining log-built bugeye. This work involved traditional joinery, large-scale timber handling, and meticulous repair of historic fabric, contributing to the preservation of a vessel central to the Chesapeake Bay’s maritime heritage.
Schooner Creek Boatworks
Portland, OR
Boatbuilder
March 2009 - March 2010
Schooner Creek Boat Works is one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier full service boat yard facilities.
I worked on a three person crew building the 42' cold-molded Motor Sailor Enchantress. Tasks included lofting, setting up molds, strip planking, applying four layers of cold-molded planking, fiberglass reinforcement, body work, painting, varnishing, and construction of backbone, bulk heads, cabin, cockpit, and windows.
De Bootbouw School
Uitgeest, NL
Boatbuilding Apprentice
October 2006 - March 2007
De Bootbouw School is located in the picturesque Dutch countryside. It is a destination for people of all ages to learn traditional boatbuilding techniques.
During my time at De Booutbouw School I constructed a 17th century Dutch fishing boat for a museum in Zandaam. Tasks included setting up molds, construction of backbone, planking, frames, thwarts, spars and sails. Prepared molds and templates for the construction of the Newfoundland Trap Skiff, which was built by students in a course.
Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding
Port Hadlock, WA
Class of 2007
Traditional Large Craft
One of the best boatbuilding schools in the world, The Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding provides an education in craftsmanship, first and foremost.
As a student of the Traditional Large Craft program, I learned my trade while building a 32' motor sailor from the ground up and a Hereschoff 12.5’. The boat school provides the foundation needed for a lifetime of craftsmanship in the woodworking trades.
