The Story WoodenBoat Forgot to Print

Periodically WoodenBoat magazine remembers that there is quite an enthusiastic collection wooden boat owners, yards, schools, and boatwrights on the West Coast. During once such flurry of interest the magazine visited a one very unique yard focused upon woodies exclusively. Perhaps it was the setting, tied up to the bank in the heart of industrial Wilmington, or perhaps it was the absence of the usual acoutrement one associates with boatyards such as age old sawdust, cobwebs in the attic, a lofting floor, pipe smokers, a pot bellied stove etc., or perhaps it was the scorching sun rather than a quite little cove surrounded by evergreens and wildlife that gave WoodenBoat pause to print the story. We have no such reluctance. Visitors to this website need to know about this yard.... even though there is a two year backlog on the calendar!!!

It's called "BOATSWAYNE", and it's owned by Wayne Ettel. Wayne's interest in boats got started like a lot of us: SEASCOUTS!! From there it was an apprenticeship in a Newport, CA yard where he was noticed by someone who needed a boatwright for a very long project. Wayne's career shifted to more and more projects justifying his establishment of a "shop"...

In this case it's a former tug boat that has enough space to handle virtually any woodworking need.

Wayne's customers tie up alongside, are lifted aboard a barge, or are towed in by the owners as there is no railroad or cradle lift. Another service Wayne offers is that of renting yard space to do it yourselfers. In consideration for "lay days fees" which are cheaper than one pays for a berth anywhere in the So. Cal. region Wayne procures and sells materials to these yard inhabitants as well as provides advice and special tools for their use.

We've posted some pictures we took of Waynes "yard" and will follow up with captions for these pictures the next time we visit Wilmington. In the meantime you can call Wayne about getting on his calendar two years from now or about renting some space in his yard for your project at (310) 830-3121