Cole Meyerhoff of St. Michaels, Md., has joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum as a shipwright apprentice.
Meyerhoff comes to CBMM having spent the past two years doing wooden boat restoration and repair in Wittman, Md. He has experience as both a welder and sculptor, and previously worked at the Franconia Sculpture Park and Horn Point Oyster Hatchery. Meyerhoff holds a bachelor’s degree in both art and environmental studies from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
“I’ve across the river from CBMM my entire life, so it feels very comfortable to be here,” said Meyerhoff, who’s been on and around boats since he was just a few weeks old. “I’m really happy to join the team.”
Meyerhoff will take the lead on CBMM’s construction of Caroline, a new sailing log canoe. This Tilghman Island style, five-log canoe will be built from the excess loblolly pine logs used in the historic restoration of Edna E. Lockwood. The building process kicked off in September with milling of the logs, and will continue with shaping the hull into early 2019. Now that major components of building the hull are complete, the project has be moved to the corn crib, where the rest of construction will take place.
Beyond restoration and public programming, CBMM’s Shipyard is working to pass fading maritime skills on to a new generation of wooden boatbuilders. CBMM’s Shipwright Apprentice Program is on-the-job training in the form of a professional apprenticeship which gives apprentices the opportunity to work on a wide variety of Chesapeake Bay indigenous watercraft. To learn more and to read updates on current Shipyard projects, including Caroline, visit cbmmshipyard.org
