The Boat Shop campus living offers a mix of personal and communal spaces. Each apprentice receives their own modest bedroom with basic furnishings and linens included. Apprentices are welcome to bring personal effects to make their bedrooms feel more like home. Bathrooms, kitchen spaces, laundry and other common areas are shared between housemates.

Accommodations are in two historic homes on our campus, the red farmhouse and the white farmhouse. The red farmhouse is the hub of our campus community and is where all meals are prepared and shared. Amenities in the red farmhouse include four apprentice dorm rooms, a large working kitchen and dining area, and a library. The red farmhouse also has two separate living areas for boat shop staff. The white farmhouse holds up to seven bedrooms occupied by apprentices or reserved for occasional guests, as well as a kitchen, common area, laundry and a separate staff apartment. Our Executive Director lives in a separate home within a short walking distance from campus.

Community spaces on our campus include the barn chapel which is used for special events, our Artist in Residence program, and guest living arrangements. The third floor of our main workshop also functions as a multi-purpose activity space with an extensive boatbuilding library, couches, exercise equipment, a small rockwall, ping-pong table, and A/V equipment for movie nights.

Community is an important part of the boatshop experience for apprentices. Apprentices work and live together among boatshop staff, sharing meals, dividing up chores and campus projects, and spending down time together. Community living presents wonderful opportunities as well as occasional challenges and requires all members to practice patience, clear communication, and care for self and others. Each week we hold a community meeting wherein apprentices and staff can bring up items for discussion, share general announcements, plan upcoming activities, and troubleshoot conflicts if needed.

The boatshop campus is open to the wider community, which encompasses visitors, neighbors, guests, and our dedicated group of volunteers called Friends of the Boatshop. Every workday at 10:00 am we pause to host tea time, which attracts many friends, neighbors, and new faces to our campus. On Tuesday mornings, Friends of the Boatshop do volunteer projects around campus and work on crafts that the Boat Shop sells to support our programs. Particularly during the summer months, visitors drop by for tea time and campus tours.