To see Pearl Farley putting the finishing touches on the cockpit sole of a 26’ traditional Nordic Folkboat, you’d never guess that she came into the wooden boat building program at NWSWB with no woodworking experience.
Pearl discovered the wooden boat school almost by accident after a disappointing stint as an undergraduate at a small liberal arts college and bartending work to support herself until she found her calling. “I felt kind of stuck,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to work in jobs where I had to put on a happy face.”
Then a friend told her about the wooden boat school. The one class she’d enjoyed as an undergraduate was ceramics. Maybe hands-on learning would be more engaging than classroom lectures.
“Up to that point education was something other people expected me to do. I had never felt excited about what I was being taught. Wooden boatbuilding school was completely different. All day, every day, you’re learning how to do things. You’re problem solving, using your hands to figure things out. From the get-go it was a really good fit.
“The whole wooden boatbuilding program was a lesson in being patient and gentle with myself. At first I was so nervous about making a mistake that it was paralyzing. Now I’m able to see mistakes as part of the learning process. That’s been the most valuable learning experience from boat building school, and it can be applied to every aspect of life.”
“Pearl’s work on the troller included traditionally built windows with laminated glass and bridle joints,” says Boatbuilding Instructor Leland Gibson. “It’s how a fish boat would have been built in the 1920s-1940s. It’s complicated, visually important work that involves a lot of fine joinery. Her dedicated effort, decision-making, and quality of woodworking have been exemplary.”
“Pearl did a ton of interior work on the Nordic Folkboat, says Boatbuilding Instructor Tucker Piontek. “After a year in the program, all her work was super high quality. She would bring options to me and we would discuss them as co-workers. She came to the school with no woodworking experience and now she’s ready to be in the yard.”
“Pearl brings a confidence and positive attitude towards any task -- whether it’s sanding, prep, or finish work,” says Boatbuilding Program Director Sean Koomen. “That made her an ideal candidate for the Prothero Internship.” The Prothero Internship, named for NWSWB co-founder Bob Prothero, is a paid position that allows one or two Boat School graduates each year to spend additional time at the school, honing their skills in an environment that offers increasingly more challenging work, at a faster pace, and with more independence.
In addition to her finish work on the troller and folkboat, Pearl spent part of her internship speaking to high school students who are exploring trade school as an alternative to four-year college. “I had no idea what I wanted to do at that age. I just knew that what I was doing was not it. Now I have a path that is really exciting to me. That’s just a huge thing and I want as many people to have that feeling as possible.”