Ben Tyler
“I guess you could say I’ve been building boats all my life.”

Ben Tyler hails from Mississippi, where he received his forestry degree and built duck hunting boats. He moved to Idaho, where he earned a degree in wildlife resources and did fisheries research for the University of Idaho. He also spent time in the Bering Sea doing work for NOAA. In the off-season, he built drift boats on the Salmon and Clearwater Rivers in Idaho. Ben moved to Port Townsend and attended the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, graduating in 1987 and joining the Co-op, which at the time worked mostly on commercial fishing boats. His specialty is woodworking. Ben is currently retired from dog ownership, but occasionally dog sits.

Ric Brenden
Ric has been a metal fabricator and welder “all his life” (since 1977), having learned the trade in a community college welding program. His metalworking skills have been applied to buildings, bridges, and--of course—boats. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Ric spent four years working in Seattle prior to moving to Port Townsend in 1990, where he worked for Admiral for 7 years. Before joining the Co-op in 2000, Ric was self-employed doing mechanical and finish work on boats in P.T.  Ric has a 34’ sailboat (Shaman) and a Pomeranian “with attitude” (Porter).

Suzie Barnes


Suzie joined the Co-op in 2003. She handles all of the Co-op’s accounting and bookkeeping. In her 28 years of experience, she has handled every aspect of running a business financially. She has worked for colleges, CPA offices, individuals, and small and large companies. Originally from Odessa, Texas, Suzie moved to the Port Townsend area 8 years ago.

Antonio Salguero
“My greatest skill? I’d have to say it’s my versatility.

Antonio Salguero grew up in New England where he worked as an apprentice for the Gannon and Benjamin Boat Yard. He spent summers crewing on their 70’ yawl in the Caribbean, making some offshore boat deliveries, and fishing in Alaska. After graduating from the Maine Maritime Academy in 1992, he moved to Port Townsend and began working as a shipwright, independently and for several other businesses, including P.T. Boatworks and Baird Boat Co. Before joining the Co-op in 2004, he worked as a designer for naval architects Michael Kasten and John Anderson. His “niche” at the Co-op is spar-making, woodwork, and design.

Chris Brignoli
Chris Brignoli spent two years sailing around the world, visiting more than 20 countries. It seemed that everywhere he went, other cruisers kept mentioning a place called Port Townsend as a great place to visit. For Chris, it turned out to be a great place to settle. He moved here in 2000 and joined the Co-op in 2003.

Before joining the Co-op, Chris owned a boat repair business for 9 years—6 in Seattle and 3 in Port Townsend. Having majored in analytical logic and mathematics in college, Chris is well versed in the strong analytical thinking skills necessary for his specialty, designing and installing electrical systems. He holds ABYC certifications in both Marine Electronics and Corrosion.

Chris says he has been on boats all his life and has always loved wooden boats. He must also be fond of metal boats, since in his spare time he is restoring a 33’aluminum-hulled Mason, built in 1963, which is almost ready to relaunch. Chris found his dog Melten (Turkish for “the wind”) while cruising.

Bene Hoffman
“Nobody here has just one little niche. We’re all pretty versatile.”

Bene Hoffman is a long way from his birthplace of Münster, Germany. It was there that he learned the Boatbuilding trade and became a Commercial Master Mariner Unlimited, spending 3 years in school and 2 years in apprenticeship in Bremerhaven. For 10 years, he worked his way around the world as Chief Mate on cargo ships, with an additional 12 years with a nonprofit maritime organization

Bene came to Port Townsend in 1995 to attend the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. After graduating, he worked as a subcontractor for 2 years before joining the Co-op as a member in 2000. At the Co-op, he specializes in woodworking, but also helps with metal, finish, and systems work. Although Bene is passionate about wooden boats, he confesses to owning a plastic one. His Siberian husky, Leia, was named for Princess Leia of Star Wars fame. When asked what brought them to Port Townsend, many people claim that it’s the boats.

Pete Rust
Pete Rust didn’t have to go far when he decided to switch from construction work to pursuing a career as a shipwright. Venturing a couple of hours north from Vashon Island to Port Townsend, Pete attended the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, graduating in 1995. After 10 years working as an independent shipwright, he joined the Co-op in 2005

Pete was able to hone his woodworking skills during the restoration of his own boat, the pinkie schooner Pleiades, which he owned for 6 years and sailed in many local races (he had help from his wife, who is also a boat builder and boat school alum). He gets to claim the honor of having both the biggest and smallest dogs of the Co-op—Jasper and Stella.

Curtis Schloe
For Curtis Schloe, it literally was a boat that brought him here. After cruising by many times on his 30’ Islander sailboat, Solitude, he decided to drop anchor and never left. Curtis was originally hired by the Co-op as a contractor to work on Refrigerated Seawater Systems on wooden fishing boats. His training at Bensen Polytech, a trade school in Portland, Oregon, plus his previous corporate experience as a purchasing agent for a plumbing and industrial wholesaler, made him well qualified to work on all types of systems. He joined the Co-op as a member in 1991.

Curtis still has his sailboat and still goes cruising for a few weeks every year. He’s traveled all over the southern waters of Puget Sound and as far as the northern end of Vancouver Island.

Martin Mills Martin Mills can truly claim that he grew up around boats—his family owned the Anderson Boatyard in Everett,  Washington, for many years. Before moving to Port Townsend in 1997 to attend the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Martin worked as a carpenter in Alaska and “all over.” After graduation, he was an independent shipwright for four years prior to joining the Co-op in 2002. His expertise includes woodworking and mechanical systems.

Martin has owned and restored several boats, including Ipsut, a 28’ Swampscot junk-rig schooner, and Isswat, a small wooden tugboat. He spends his spare time as a “gentleman rancher” raising pigs and horses at his Flying Knucklehead Ranch on Marrowstone Island. Martin’s constant companion is Cowboy, a 5-year-old Black Lab.

Dave Griswold Growing up in Nevada, Dave Griswold wasn’t thinking much about boats. But he was interested in traveling, and when he picked up a stack of Wooden Boat magazines, the idea of building a boat and going sailing took hold. He headed to Port Townsend to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding in 1993. After finishing the six-month program, he started work as a shipwright and also taught workshops at the school.

In addition to woodworking, Dave specializes in traditional rigging and caulking. Currently the owner of a canoe, he keeps his sailing skills sharp by volunteering with the Port Townsend Sea Scouts and is passionate about getting kids out on the water. Dave’s appropriately named dog, Teak, is a Blue Heeler.

Jim Lyons Jim Lyons learned the Boatbuilding trade at Seattle Community College (previously the Edison Technical School). He took his skills to Alaska, working as a shipwright for the Columbia Ward Fishery, gaining hands-on experience working with many skilled tradesmen. Jim spent a year bicycling through Europe, visiting many boatyards in Southern England and Ireland. After returning home, he decided to build a boat—a 26’Friendship sloop. He moved to Port Townsend around 1975, where he did finish woodworking and built a 28’ boat alongside the designer, George Calkins.

In 1981, along with seven other shipwrights, Jim started the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op. He has seen the business grow steadily from the early days when the office and tool storage were housed in an 8x10 shed, and he still enjoys the style of a “peer-based” enterprise. Jim’s own small fleet of boats includes a 19’ Bartender and a canoe.

Chris Chase “One of our strengths at the Co-op is that although we each have specialties, we also all have broad experience in the whole range of Boatbuilding and boat repair skills…as well as backgrounds in sailing and fishing.”

In 1988--eighteen years ago--Chris Chase made the move from Colorado to Port Townsend to attend the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Following boat school, Chris stayed in Port Townsend and worked as a shipwright, joining the Co-op in 2001, and specializing in woodworking and fine joinery.

With good communication and “people” skills, Chris particularly enjoys the customer relations part of his work at the Co-op, making sure that clients have a good experience when they bring their project to Port Townsend. In his spare time, he keeps busy with backcountry skiing, sailing, fishing, and raising and riding horses. Not to mention the continuing restoration of Alerté, a 35’ French pilot cutter built in the 1950s. Chris has a 5-year-old black Lab named Ruby.