About Eric Hvalsoe,  Master Boatwright

Eric Hvalsoe has nearly 30 years of experience in small wooden craft design and construction, marine carpentry and fine woodworking.  Trained as a professional boatwright, Hvalsoe has also taught students around the world in the finer points of wooden boat construction.

His maritime creations range from the beautiful Hvalsoe 13 and 16, traditional lapstrake rowing and sailing craft, to the stunning Aurora and Little Miss Canada IV, interpretations of 1930’s speedboats combining modern wood technology and high performance. 

National Recognition 

Eric’s work has graced the covers, and been featured in WoodenBoat Magazine, Northwest Yachting, Powerboating and The Center for Wooden Boats' Shavings.  

Born and raised on Lake Washington in the Seattle area,  Eric Hvalsoe has spent a lifetime in and around boats.  As a young boy, sailing and boat design fired his imagination. 

After completion of a two year preapprentice boatbuilding program at BatesCollege in Tacoma, Wash., and a voyage to Alaska, Eric established Hvalsoe Boats in 1981. 

Eric now works out of his recently built home ‘dream’ shop, in the city of Shoreline, on the northern edge of Seattle.  The shop space can shelter boats up to to 32 ft in length.  Eric Hvalsoe’s range of woodworking services has grown to include custom residential furniture and cabinet work. 

A Teaching Boatwright

In addition to working day in and day out as a professional shipwright, Eric is proud of his teaching experience. Since the mid-1980s, he has been teaching traditional boatbuilding skills, in particular, traditional lapstrake construction.  His teachings have taken him to Canada, Maine, and the Netherlands, as well as Seattle and Port Townsend.