On Sunday, Oct. 17, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., will host Douglas Brooks—boatbuilder, visiting master, writer, researcher, and winner of the 2014 Rare Craft Fellowship Award—for a demonstration on Japanese boatbuilding techniques and a slide presentation following the arc of his work in Japan apprenticing under seven different master boatbuilders.  

During the demonstration, scheduled for 2–4pm in CBMM’s working Shipyard, Brooks will fit two planks in the Japanese fashion. Then, he will use a special set of chisels to cut pilot holes for the nails and edge-nail the planks together. Brooks will discuss the tools and techniques specific to boatbuilding in Japan as well, and how these techniques are completely at odds with methods used in the west.  

Following the demonstration, from 4:30–6pm in CBMM’s Van Lennep Auditorium, Brooks will give a presentation titled, “Ways of learning: An apprentice boatbuilder in Japan.” Guests may attend the demonstration and talk for $35 per person, or the talk only for $15 per person. A 20% discount is available for CBMM members, with registration for all required to cbmm.org/JapaneseBoatbuilding.