Lecture by Boat Builder Taylor Allen

When historical sea vessels—such as Mystic Seaport’s 62-foot schooner Brilliant—need a doctor, they often set sail for Rockport Marine in Maine, where owner Taylor Allen restores them to good health. The renowned boat builder will share his experience building and restoring wooden boats as part of the Falmouth Academy Community Series on Tuesday, January 6 at 7 p.m.

Taylor first began building boats as a teenager at Rockport Marine when the yard still belonged to his father, Luke Allen. After attending Amherst College, Taylor returned to Maine and eventually was named the president of Rockport Marine in 1980. Since then, Rockport Marine has grown steadily into a yard with an international reputation for wooden boat building and restoration.

Although Rockport’s work is primarily in vessel restoration, the firm recently launched two new wooden vessels: the replica of the Godspeed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, and the Spirit of Bermuda to celebrate the island’s nautical heritage.

Falmouth Academy is committed to serving the Falmouth community as a cultural resource, and one of the ways in which we fulfill that commitment is through the Falmouth Academy Community Series, a yearly speakers’ series that features experts who lecture on topics of global interest. This series introduces the community to provocative and entertaining ideas in a forum that allows interaction; every speaker opens the floor to audience questions, and our audiences are often standing-room only. The series has featured several prominent speakers in past years, including Robert Kaplan, Peter Gammons, Beth Schwarzman, Stefan Behnisch and Stephen Prothero.

The final 2008/2009 Falmouth Academy Community Series speaker is baritone John Murelle, who will present an evening of vintage Cuban music, on March 5. The program begins at 7 p.m.