The WoodenBoat School’s 2023 campus programs are done, but the school’s distinctive post-and-panel boat shed has yet to be fully closed and sealed, as you see here. The shed contains a number of WBS’s small boat fleet that will be stored there over the winter.
Inside the shed, the lines and textures of highly-crafted vessels present an almost a jarring contrast to the stolid terrestrial architecture and gravel floor that now holds the boats immobile:
These vessels that are designed for a seemingly limitless and fluid environment will soon be closed entirely into this confined space that is illuminated through skylights. It seems a bit like keeping butterflies in a terrarium, but Maine winters are not good for beautiful butterflies or beautiful boats. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine on October 23, 2023.)