Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2026

As 20th century designers and builders created our area’s maritime history, photographer Ken Ollar was there to record it. For over half a century, he sped through the Salish Sea aboard his motor vessel Shutterbug, capturing the action at Swiftsure, fleet and PIYA races, Opening Day celebrations, unlimited hydroplane races, and yacht club cruises. His collection of over 10,000 negatives, slides, prints and ephemeral, is now part of the Gig Harbor BoatShop’s Northwest Fleet Photography Collection. Using archival protocol, a team of volunteers are digitizing images for a publicly accessible database. As the body of work grows online, the historical importance of it becomes more apparent. Ken Ollar’s stunning work is filling our maritime past with narratives and details never heard before. We will share gems and highlights with you through projected images and stories.

Docking with dynamic springlines has become a lost art - with tragic results in marinas all around the world, not the least in the Pacific Northwest. Captain Phyllis Woolwine is leading a charge to bring these powerful skills & strategies back. Owner of Shearwater University - Maritime Education, “Captain Wooly” specializes in training boaters of all types to use springlines for maximum safety and boat control while leaving and returning to the dock - every time, in any conditions, with just two people. This seminar provides an overview on the physics of the core springline strategy we apply on all boats, every time, no matter the boat type or scenario.

Every boat begins as an idea.
Join a conversation with yacht designers as they explore the balance between beauty, seaworthiness, performance, and practicality in designing boats for real people and real waters. From traditional wooden craft to modern interpretations, this panel offers insight into the thinking, creativity, and experience that shape the boats we admire — and the lives built around them.
What makes a boat feel “right” on the water? Come find out.

Moderated by Ernie Baird, 
Brad Seamans, Pete Stein, Daniel Hawkins
Wood spars are at the heart of traditional sailing craft — shaping the way a boat moves, balances, and feels at sea. But what exactly goes into designing and building a wooden mast or spar?
Join a conversation with experienced spar makers as they explore the art, engineering, materials, and traditions behind these beautiful and highly functional structures. From selecting wood to shaping spars for vessels that sail everywhere from local waters to Cape Horn, this discussion offers a rare glimpse into a craft still actively practiced here in Port Townsend.

Moderated by Allison Woods
Megan Hudson, Mark Shiner, Chance Bates, Justin Lathrop, Ossian Smith, Bruce Tipton

A sailing rig only works when every piece works together.
Sails, rigging, and spars are deeply interconnected — each affecting how a boat performs, balances, handles, and endures at sea. It’s far more complex than simply ordering a sail or stepping a mast. Sail shape influences rig loads, rigging affects sail trim, spars bend and flex under pressure, and every detail must work in harmony.
Join working sailmakers, riggers, and spar makers for a fascinating conversation about the collaboration, craftsmanship, and problem-solving required to bring a successful sailing rig to life — from traditional wooden boats to modern voyaging vessels.