Eric has a rich maritime heritage. His family moved from Superior Wisconsin to the Seattle area in 1965 so his dad could work in the Seattle shipyards. Soon after, his father built a wooden fishing boat and headed to Alaska.

The boat was a 30ʹ Bristol Bay double ender made for the rough waters of Alaska.

When Eric was just 10 years old, he spent the summer in Alaska fishing with his dad. In his early 20’s, Eric started boatbuilding on his own – making kayaks and other small boats. One of his first projects was a Greenland stitch and glue kayak kit – from England of all places! He learned to Eskimo roll with this boat and spent a lot of time paddling Puget Sound, including navigating the treacherous Deception Pass and getting caught in a gale which tested his rolling skills.

A few years later, Eric stumbled upon the book Norse boatbuilding in North America and became hooked on the Viking method of clinker boat building. Then he found Jay Smith, who he apprenticed under, and shortly after went to Scandinavia to visit the boatbuilding shops and museums. Five years ago Eric turned his part time passion into a full time career and founded North Fjord Boats.

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You can contact me at [email protected] to share your comments, feedback, stories, and wooden boat adventures.

Keep the bright side up and the barnacled side down - Wooden Boat Dan over and out :D

PS  Please note this podcast was recorded several years ago - some of the links, email addresses, phone numbers, and promos mentioned are outdated and no longer valid.