Brooklin Heights
Welcome to the boatbuilding capital of the world, so to speak.
“Waking or sleeping, I dream of boats.” E.B. White
The sign on Route 175 south of Blue Hill could be taken as an example of overzealous civic pride: “Welcome to Brooklin,” it proclaims, “the boatbuilding capital of the world.” But anyone looking for proof that it’s more than hyperbole can stop at eighth grade.
The Brooklin School has a unique graduation requirement. Each year its entire class of eighth-graders troops into the nearby forest to claim a tree that had been cut down for them several years before — by a previous eighth-grade class. They follow the log from woodlot to sawmill to the boatshop at WoodenBoat magazine. And then they build a boat. They loft it, they shape the wood, they hammer the nails, and spread the glue. [For the rest of this story, see the September 2008 issue of Down East.]
Comments may be edited for spelling. Profanity is discouraged. If you'd like your comment considered for inclusion in the magazine, please include your hometown and state.