Bruce MacKenzie

Bruce MacKenzie is a shipwright, boatbuilder, and educator with 50+ years’ experience in all manner of woodworking, from basic carpentry to serving as Senior Shipwright on USS CONSTELLATION in Baltimore Harbor for 10 years. This culminated in building three of the replicas of the ship’s boats, built with participation by students from Baltimore City schools through a STEM-based program at the Living Classrooms Foundation. Bruce’s work as an educator began in 1978 when he founded the boatbuilding program at North Carolina’s Cape Fear Technical Institute, now Cape Fear Community College, where the program is ongoing. Bruce’s methods in teaching applied math through boatbuilding using proven, hands-on projects and exercises have been adopted by Building to Teach, a national program. A Maine native, Bruce learned and pursued his craft in many of Maine’s most prestigious yards, including Rockport Marine and Wayfarer Marine. He spent two years as Director of Philadelphia’s Workshop on the Water, the boatbuilding shop at Independence Seaport Museum. There he oversaw the building of two replica whaleboats for the CHARLES W. MORGAN—the last surviving whaler—for the National Whaleboat Project at Mystic Seaport. When not trying to figure out how things fit together, Bruce pursues sailing, diving, and playing blues harmonica in a band. These days, Bruce has set up an independent shop and chooses to work on projects that captivate his interests.