Sean’s journey to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding began early in his life. Born in California, he grew up in Minnesota where he had the run of he family farm, and spent “a lot of time messing around with tools.” In high school, a chance encounter with a “Build Your Own Boat” by Harold “Dynamite” Payson piqued his interest and set his course.
After graduating from the boat school, Sean continued to stay in touch with instructor emeritus Ray Speck, and that ultimately led to his return in June 2011 as an instructor.
“I think our school has the advantage of sharing the complete process of building a boat, and not a simple boat,” he said. “With the systems curriculum we have now, students can get the whole picture.”
Looking ahead, Sean sees the school continuing to refine its initiatives and one of his goals is to keep the boatbuilding program healthy and current with evolving developments.
Sean and his wife Anne are the parents of three children- Janneke, Bruny and Jaspar. They make their home in the North Beach area of Port Townsend. He and his family love to get out hiking, sailing, surfing and exploring the Olympic Peninsula.
