Canoe Building Course

Enjoy a unique week away while learning something new.


Archipelago Folkschool
Archipelago Folkschool
Instagram followers1k

7 x 8 hours Class size 1 to 4 (public classes), 1 to 8 label £2,200

Join us for a magical week on the beautiful Isle of Mull and build your very own canoe to take home. Returning for our fourth year building canoes. We are again offering two different boats designed by Paul Fisher: either the Peterborough (15’7”) or the larger Prospector (17’). To see more about the boats, please look at the Our Boats page. Because of the larger size and extra seat in the Prospector, we charge an additional £250 for that boat.

We do our best to balance you building your own boat with making sure everything is done on time, so we’ll be on hand to help keep everything moving, but we’ll also work together as a group to get everyone done!

It’s a busy week to get everything done, this is an intensive week of quite hard work and you’ll be on your feet most of the time. We’ve always managed to get everyone’s boats built, but depending on the group, it can involve some long days - finishing after 7pm is not unheard of. Despite the hard work, it’s really good fun, very sociable and incredibly rewarding.

At the end of the week, your boat will be fully functional but will need around 30-40 hours of finishing work. We will offer complete guidance and support while you do this. You’ll need to transport the finished boat home so roof bars are essential.

Please note:

  • The course fee includes all materials, tuition, and all tools and equipment you need to get the boat built. We’ll provide an endless supply of tea, coffee, biscuits and fruit to keep you going too! The course fee includes camping on our croft and use of the workshop’s self-catering kitchen. We’ll provide a welcome meal on the Saturday night too.
  • This booking is for two people building 1 boat between them. It is possible to do it as a solo person but it’s a lot more work, so unless you are very sure of your abilities, we strongly recommend recruiting a helper. This course is also well suited to parent or guardians working with older children, we are happy to have younger people involved provided a responsible adult is always present. We’ve had kids as young as 9 working on these boats but we feel usually it suits those 12 or older. As we often need to provide a bit more support to solo builders or those with younger helpers, do get in touch before booking to be sure we have enough support on hand to make it work. We are really happy, in fact keen to be flexible. Many people have a family holiday around the boat build with other people stopping in to see what is happening, and even helping out if there is space and time! Feel free to let us know what would work for your group.
  • While this course includes camping, if you want more luxurious accommodation we strongly recommend that you book somewhere to stay on Mull as soon as possible, as many places get booked up early. We’ve written a guide here. Any problems or further questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
  • This non-refundable deposit secures your space and we’ll send an invoice for the balance owed due 8 weeks before your course starts (including extra for the larger boat if selected). Please be sure you have read our Terms and Conditions before booking.


What you'll get
All materials required to build your own boat, as well as tuition and an option to camp on the croft beside the workshop. Tea, coffee, and biscuits too, of course!
 
Session repeats

This class series runs over 7 consecutive days.

Suitable for

This class is perfect for beginners - no prior experience is needed.

This class is great for individuals and couples as well as for a team building activity, birthday or hen do.

This would also be a unique gift for her, gift for mum, anniversary gift or birthday gift.

Location

Torr A'Channaich, Ardtun, Bunessan

Canoe Building Course location
Your teacher
Archipelago Folkschool
Archipelago Folkschool

Instagram followers1k

Archipelago Folkschool is a collaborative social enterprise that connects people with craft. We run short courses in beautiful places as well as getting involved in all sorts of things.

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