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The Landing School: where craftsmanship and passion come together

It's one of Maine's oldest traditions and something The Landing School specializes in: boatbuilding by hand.

ARUNDEL, Maine — If you're driving through Arundel and pass The Landing School, at first glance you might assume it's just another building. Once you step inside, though, you'll find the next generation of boat builders.

The school is the only one of its kind in the world and offers four different programs: wooden boat building, composite boat building, yacht design, and marine systems.

"There are other organizations throughout the country that do similar things, but we're really the only one to have those four disciplines on one site," Director of Education Ken Rusinek said. "They get a chance to see a full spectrum of what goes on in the marine industry."

Those who attend the school will tell you it's a place where a passion for creating and working with your hands comes together. Instructors like Zachary Volpicelli and Rick Barkuff were actually students at the school. Barkuff was part of the very first class in 1979, and Volpicelli attended in 2003. Now they are back, passing on the tricks of the trade.

"A lot of these guys have no background in this stuff whatsoever," Volpicelli said. "It's actually been really fun to watch them learn."

Students are at the school five days a week. They spend mornings in lectures and in the afternoon put that knowledge to the test. Some of the students always knew they wanted to join the industry. Others recently found their passion for the trade.

Andre Ponticello worked as a sculptor in New York City until last year. He decided to check out the school and was hooked.

"I think that the problem I had personally in the fine arts is that it's hard to see the functionality sometimes," Ponticello said. "I think it's really amazing that you can produce something that's really beautiful and sculptural that works better the nicer it looks and then have it go into the world and be part of somebody's life."

Students must complete two of the four programs to earn an associate degree. In that time, each student is tasked with designing and building their own boat. It's a project that requires a steady hand and one that can take thousands of hours to complete. On the very last day of the school year, each student puts their creations in the water and sets sail. 

The students and staff say the work is rewarding.

"You have students that come here and some of them have never held a chisel, they've never held a screwdriver, they have no experience with tools and at the end of the day, this is what they've built," President Sean Fawcett said. "At the end of the year, they've built this after eight months and they can actually go out and sail the boat. It's an amazing, transformational place."

To learn more about The Landing School and the work they do there, click here.

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