Shane Elliott of Knoxville, TN and Joe Larochelle of Quebec, QC have joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, MD as shipwright apprentices.
Elliott recently completed a nine-month diploma program at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA. He holds a bachelor’s of architecture degree from the University of Tennessee’s College of Architecture and Design in Knoxville. Elliott’s apprenticeship begins with the restoration project of the skipjack Rosie Parks.
Elliott was introduced to the Chesapeake Bay in 2005 while working an architecture job in Fells Point, Baltimore. After sailing with a friend, he built a 12-foot plywood and epoxy dinghy, and hasn’t stopped building boats yet. Elliott continues as a longstanding volunteer with the Living Classrooms Foundation’s shipboard programs in Baltimore. During his one-year CBMM apprenticeship, he is living aboard in St. Michaels.
Joe Larochelle begins his apprenticeship working on the 1889 bugeye Edna E. Lockwood. He also brings a unique talent to his apprenticeship by offering interpretation of CBMM’s historic vessels and restoration work to French-speaking visitors.
Larochelle recently earned his Comprehensive Boat Building Certificate of Completion from the Great Lakes Boatbuilding School in Cedarville, MI. Prior to Great Lakes, he also completed a woodworking program at the L'École des Métiers du Meubles School in Montreal.
Larochelle became connected to CBMM through the recommendation of a former CBMM shipwright apprentice, Bud McIntire. McIntire currently serves as Student Services Coordinator for the Great Lakes Boat Building School. This past summer, Larochelle worked in the Muskoka region in Ontario, working on classic wooden runabouts. During his one-year CBMM apprenticeship, he is residing in St. Michaels.
Through educational, cultural and interactive exhibits and activities, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum celebrates the connections between the bay and its people. The museum’s waterfront campus includes twelve exhibit buildings in a park-like setting along the Miles River and the St. Michaels Harbor. Find CBMM online at www.cbmm.org.