Apprentice path
For 1st–4th period WA-state plumbing apprentices considering the move from residential or commercial into marine. The file is always open; we hire as the schedule allows.
The shop is one of approximately a dozen WA-state-registered apprenticeship sites for plumbing apprentices working toward the journeyman test. Our particular flavor of the apprenticeship is marine: we are looking, in any apprentice we hire, for someone who has worked the residential or commercial side of the trade for at least one period and has decided, after some exposure to marine work (the September Wooden Boat Festival is the most common entry point), that this is the side they want to specialize in.
The apprentice we hire commits to a four-period stay (typically 18–24 months) culminating in the WA-state journeyman test. We pay at the published apprentice rate ($28/hr starting, $36/hr in the 4th period, plus benefits per the WA-state apprenticeship guidelines). We document every hour to the L&I apprenticeship office. We do not bill the apprentice's hours at our journeyman rate (see the Subscriptions & Service Rates page); the apprentice rate is the apprentice rate, and the customer's invoice reflects it.
The work is mixed: about 30% on the bench (manifold fabrication, fitting prep, tankage assembly), about 60% on hauled-out vessels in the yard, and about 10% in the office (the apprentice writes the Daybook and photographs the features). The bench-and-yard split is the one we recommend for the long-term marine plumbing career; the office time is the editorial leg that, on this small a shop, every full-time team member contributes to. Lucia, the current apprentice, has been with us since the spring of 2023; she will sit her journeyman test in spring 2027.
The qualification we look for: a current WA-state apprenticeship card; an interest in marine work that survives a winter morning at 39°F in a cold cabin; the patience to learn the trade's vocabulary in addition to its skills (the trade's vocabulary is the harder part); and a willingness to read. The reading list we hand to every apprentice on day one: Calder, Casey, the back issues of this journal, and the WoodenBoat bound annual indexes back to 1974.
To apply: email apprentice@bhwet.example with a one-page note describing your trade background, your apprentice period, and why you are interested in marine work. We do not require a resume; we will ask for one if we get to the second conversation. We read every note and respond within two weeks, even when we are not hiring.