The Boat School offering discounts for students from New Brunswick
John Miller


Maine’s most affordable and comprehensive marine trades training
program at The Boat School – Husson is offering New Brunswick residents, who have a desire to pursue a career in marine trades or composite technology the opportunity to attend The Boat School at the same tuition cost as Maine residents. That is a $6,030.00 CAD
savings over the annual tuition rate charged to residents of other States or from out of country.




“This is a great opportunity for our neighbors in New Brunswick to fast track into a great career in a great industry,” says Boat School administrator John Miller. “Our boat building program prepares you for both wood and composite technology. We also have programs in Marine Systems, Marine Painting and Composite Technology.”






The well equipped campus is located directly on the ocean in historic
Eastport, Maine. The Boat School is fully accredited and offers one and two year certificate and diploma programs in Boat Building and Composites Technology. Graduates are qualified for the following positions: Boatbuilding (Wood and Composite), Marine Joiner, Mold Maker, Lofting Technician, Marina Technician, Composite Technician, Hull Surveyor Assistant, Systems Installer, Job Estimator, Boat Repairer, Shipwright, Service Manager, Yard Manager, Straddle Lift Operator, Cabinetry Technician, Fiberglass Boat Repair Technician, Marine Painter and Marine Mechanical System Technician.





The Boat School also offers professional development training
for workers in Maine’s marine trades. These include one, two and
three day programs that cover topics such as Marine Painting, ACMA
Composite Technician Certification, Straddle Lift and Marine Fork
Lift Operations and safety Training, Rigging, Engine Alignment and
ShopBot CNC Training. Week-long summer programs are also offered.
The Boat School located just across the border in Eastport, Maine
was started in 1969 on the Calais campus of what was then the Washington County Vocational Technical School and is now Washington
County Community College. Many of the classes were held in the
Calais Armory.





The key players in the creation and building of The Boat School
were Peter Pierce, President of the Vo/Tec in Calais, Ron Renaud,
Dean of the school (and it’s second president), and Otto W. “Jr.”
Miller, Founding Director of the Boat School campus in Eastport.
After only two years in Calais, The Boat School had outgrown
its space. The program was moved to the old Coast Guard Station at
West Quoddy Head in Lubec. For the next six years the program grew.
President Peter Pierce and Ron Renaud moved forward to identify
and build a permanent campus that would meet all the needs of the
school including space for building boats, a wood working shop, labs
and a waterfront pier.





In the late 1970’s a 12-acre parcel of land with suitable buildings
and a magnificent waterfront and pier was identified on Deep
Cove Road in Eastport. Local citizens including newspaper publisher
Winifred French and local historian John Pike Grady took on leadership
rolls in assisting with the acquisition and funding for the new
Eastport campus. A one-million dollar grant was identified from
the Economic Development Administration (EDA). A half-million
dollars in matching funds were needed to secure the Federal funds.
David Rockefeller and the Rockefeller Foundation, along with IBM
President and United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union Thomas
J. Watson, Jr. became involved to provide the lion’s share of the
match.





The property was secured and extensive renovations done to the
buildings in time for The Boat School with 136 students, to move
to its new Eastport campus in 1978. Otto W. “Jr.” Miller, Manager
of South West Boat Corporation joined the team as Director of The
Boat School. Two years later Miller and Renaud secured another
$250,000 Grant from EDA for expansion of the pier and purchase
of a 60-ton Travelift. That was followed with another $300,000
EDA Grant with $75,000 in matching local funds that allowed the
school to build a state-of-the-art marine painting workshop. The
new campus offered courses in Boat Building, Marine Mechanics,
Marine Painting and Commercial Fishing. Under Miller’s leadership
the school developed and grew to be one of the best... attracting
students from all over Maine, the United States and around the
globe.





Today, almost 40 years after being founded, and 30 years after the
move to the Eastport Campus, The Boat School stands in testament
to what can be accomplished by a few dedicated citizens that have a
belief and passion for something noble.





In 2007, after 38 years under the stewardship of Maine’s Community
College System and its predecessors, The Maine Legislature turnedthe Boat School back to the City of Eastport. Husson, New England’s fastest growing private college took over delivering the Boat
School Courses and Programs. Everyone involved... from federal, state and local officials and community groups, to marine industry leaders and the school’s founding supporters have expressed excitement,
enthusiasm and support for Husson’s role, and commitment to this wonderful and unique Maine institution.





Thanks to Husson College and its President Bill Beardsley, in partnership with the City of Eastport, The Boat School proudly carries on the teaching of boatbuilding, an enterprise that dates back
thousands of years on our shores when our neighbors, The Passamaquoddy, built birch bark canoes, and more than 400 years ago
when the first ship built in America was built here in Maine.





“Maine and The Maritimes have a reputation that goes back centuries for building some of the best boats and ships in the world,” says Miller. “ We are proud to say that since 1969 our graduates have
continued that reputation all over Maine and beyond.”