After 15 years in construction and owning his own business, Nick Tonello (YD ‘20) was looking for a change.
A native of Massachusetts, Tonello grew up on Cape Cod and spent time boating with friends and exploring Martha’s Vineyard. It was during a conversation with one of those friends that the idea of entering the boat building field first came up. While he was familiar with trade schools, he didn’t know boat building schools even existed until that conversation.
After attending an open house at The Landing School, Tonello made the move to Maine. He started in the Wooden Boat Building program in September 2019 and took advantage of taking extra classes at night to gain his Associate’s degree.
“I was wrapping up a few builds in Massachusetts, taking as many classes as I could and driving back and forth,” said Tonello. “It was worth it because I knew The Landing School was where I wanted to be.”
Returning to school after more than a decade is no small undertaking, but Tonello wasn’t alone; his classes were filled with students from all different backgrounds and ages.
“It makes it feel diverse, everyone is more engaged and everyone’s there because they want to be, not because they have to be,” said Tonello. “Everyone’s been really helpful and responsive—it’s a tight-knit community within the boatbuilding industry.”
His fellow students ranged from age 22–63 and the small class sizes fostered a more hands-on and intimate learning experience. Tonello found that his decade of experience in homebuilding gave him an advantage in the boatbuilding program.
“I started knowing how to use all the tools and the basics of woodworking already, so I was able to focus on the art of the boat,” said Tonello. “Building a house is all square angles, a boat is curved and shaped in a completely different way.”
Though the COVID-19 pandemic delayed some on his hands-on courses, Tonello has finished his boat and launched it earlier this summer. Looking forward, he is planning to remain in Maine to be close to the ocean and the tight knit boat industry.
With so many different aspects of boatbuilding to learn, Tonello wants to continue his education in boats knowing that that he will never get bored with the challenge. He also has his sights on working for himself again, though this time he’ll be building boats instead of houses.