Northwest Maritime Offers Guided Kit Boat Build Workshop for the Old Salt 15

Northwest Maritime's NWM Boatshop just wrapped its Old Salt Founders Build, a two-week guided workshop that gave participants the rare chance to put together one of the very first production Old Salt 15 plywood kit boats. Running March 2 through 13, nine hours a day from 9 AM to 5 PM, the program brought together amateur builders and the boat's own designers to work through the hull and key systems from scratch.

The Old Salt 15 was co-designed by Josh Colvin of Small Craft Advisor and Brandon Davis of Turnpoint Design, with a stated goal of making sailing easier, safer, and more enjoyable without sacrificing performance. Workshop participants built directly alongside Colvin, Davis, and the NWM Boatshop crew, learning modern plywood boatbuilding, rigging, and finishing techniques over the course of the build. The weekend of March 7 and 8 offered unstructured shop time, giving builders the chance to work at their own pace without formal instruction.

Registration ran $5,199 for non-members and $4,999 for NWM members. The rudder and centerboard kit, referred to in the program materials as the foils kit, was included in that price at no additional charge. The sail and mast were not part of the package but could be added for $2,200. Builders who needed a trailer had a discounted option through Westside Marine in Port Townsend, which offered the EZ-Loader 90-BS-14-18-2300 to Founder Builder attendees at a 5% discount, though the NWM program materials listed two different post-discount figures of $2,895 and $2,750, both plus tax. Given the Old Salt 15's flat bottom and light weight, NWM noted that builders were also welcome to bring their own used or flatbed trailers if they preferred.

Interest in the program was high on the Small Craft Advisor forum before the build began. Forum member Michael Moore wrote, "Very well designed boat to look at and sit in at the Festival! I see that the rig and sail are not part of the build, but I'm assuming that the hull build includes the foils. Now to decide whether I'm too old to build this old guy's boat!" Paul Topper raised questions that many prospective builders likely shared: "Does the price include the cost of the kit and supplies? Does every participant get to take the boat they build home with them? What materials are included? Mast? sails? hardware? foils? bare hull?"

NWM's program framing positioned the Founders Build as something more than a boatbuilding class, describing it as a chance to be "part of the boat's history, helping bring a new design to life while creating your own small cruiser to enjoy for years to come." For those who missed this inaugural cohort, NWM pointed interested builders toward the Old Salt 15 group on Facebook for updates and community discussion around future opportunities with the design.