Great Lakes Boat Building School

Build a wooden boat!

Local people longed to restore the area's once-active industry for building wooden boats. When one booster learned that no such school existed anywhere on the Great Lakes, she got together people and funding to create this handsome 12,000-square-foot building in the style of some of the area's old boathouses. It was "built specifically for the teaching of woodworking, basic design, traditional and modern boat building, yacht joinery, repair, and restoration," according to the school's web site, greatlakesboatbuilding.org. Boat-building can be a year-round income source.

Now full-time students work from September to June, leading to a two-year associates' degree in conjunction with North Central Michigan College and now, thanks to Eastern Michigan University, a bachelor of science degree. Students use kits to build canoes, kayaks, and other boats on the one-week summer workshops. Visitors are welcome to drop in at the viewing room to see the workroom and finishing room. Boats are different kinds—all traditional wooden boats, from 12' rowing skiffs to 26' runabouts—at different stages of completion. For more extensive tours, call ahead.

485 S. Meridian Rd. a little south of the Cedarville marina and the causeway.
(906) 484-1081.

Return to Cedarville

CEDARVILLE
POINTS OF INTEREST

Carmeuse Limestone, Cedarville Plant . Big port for freighters loading limestone that underlies most of this region ... more

Gerstacker Preserve. 890-acre stunning bedrock shoreline preserve has rare plants. 2+ miles of trails wind through dunes, forests. See loons, pileated woodpeckers. Swim off sandy beach. ... more

Government Island. This island of birch and conifers, the only public island among Les Cheneaux, is a nice picnic or camping destination, with a swimming beach ... more

Great Lakes Boat Building School. In this region long known for fine wooden boats there is now an impressive school teaching the art ... more

Les Cheneaux Historical Museum. Exhibits and excellent videos illuminate the natural history development of the Cedarville/Hessel area, from Indian artifacts to lumber camps and tourist and resort eras. ... more

Safe Harbor Books. This personal bookshop has a good selection of regional, Great Lakes maritime and nature books, plus rubber stamping supplies. ... more

Les Cheneaux Maritime Museum. Boats & boat-related things in a 1920s boathouse: sailboats, canoes, rowboats, old photos ... more

Prentiss Bay Marsh. Scores of nesting boxes for tree swallows are scattered across this wetland. ... more

Cedarville Wi-fi Hotspot. Les Cheneaux Public Library has wi-fi 24/7 in parking lot. Open Tues, Wed & Fri 11-5, Thur 11-8, Sat 10-3. 75 E. Hodeck St., south from I-134. ... more

Best of the Best U.P. Maps

See our U.P. interactive maps that locate the best experiences the U.P. has to offer—from camping & hiking to good eating & vistas! We also have created useful maps to major U.P. TOWNS.

Incredibly Useful!
Hunt's Map Guide to the Upper Peninsula • Favorite hikes, beaches, restaurants, shops, lighthouses, scenic drives, waterfalls, & much more
• 13 detailed U.P. maps
• Full color, on sturdy, water-resistant paper
• Folds out to 12”x38”
• Only $6.95
To learn more & buy online, click here