The Composite Boat Building Program instructs students in the construction of modern boats and related parts using composite materials including fibers, resins and core.

Career Options for Graduates

The curriculum prepares students to work with modern vessels of any size. A graduate can assume a career as a boatbuilder, boat repairer or composite technician in the marine industry, or use his/her skills in other manufacturing fields such as transportation, infrastructure and energy.

Course Description

The Composites Boat Building Program provides a broad education in the rapidly evolving field of composite construction. The course is taught through lecture, labs, field-trips and construction of one or more composite boats so students learn how to use modern composite materials and construction processes through a balanced educational experience.

Students study the strength, stiffness and structural mechanics of many different materials, so they are knowledgeable about the range of fabrication choices available to today’s boatbuilders. They are given instruction in the fabrication of those materials, from hand layup to vacuum-infusion and pre-preg part-making in both open- and closed-molding environments.

In the lab-based segment of the curriculum, students work on the construction of one or more composite hulls, decks and related boat parts. Student-builders will construct one or more plugs and molds, starting with the lofting process and including fairing and finishing. Equipment such as ovens, vacuum bags, testing machines and woodworking tools are used in the processes.

Throughout the school-year, students examine the effects of the various composite materials on choice of production methods, assess their structural strengths first-hand and witness how the choices of materials interface with design and production of a boat. Boat design and systems elements are also incorporated into the curriculum so students have a foundation in the entire boatbuilding process, from concept through final construction.

Syllabus

The following modules are taught both in the classroom and in the lab as part of the Composite Boat Building Program:

• Shop practices, tools and safety
• Strength of materials and structural mechanics
• Quality control

• Composite material selection
• Composite construction details

• Composite tooling
• Composite fabrication techniques
• Composite repair and maintenance
• Design for composite boat builders
• Marine systems for composite boat builders
• Building a composite boat

Classroom Size
The maximum number of students enrolled at one time in the Composite Boat Building Program is 16.

Boatbuilding Projects
Instructors of The Landing School’s Composite Boat Building Program select the designs for the project boats based on the depth of information and skill that students can gain from their construction. Some of the designs built by students in the past include:

     Landing Dinghy (10’)                                 Lightning                                             F-82R                                    LS-20 sportboat