The Art of Boat Building

I’m going to drop this little gem right here: A YouTube channel we find particularly enjoyable is The Art of Boat Building with Bob Emser. This was a pandemic channel for us, and a sweet one it was. We watch it to this day because it’s beautiful, interesting, and engaging. 

The creator and star of the channel, Bob Emser, is an American sculptor from Eureka, Illinois – a stone’s throw away from here! His work dates back to 1978 and can be seen in cities, municipalities, sculpture parks, museums, and institutions of higher learning all around the world, including Chicago!

“If you’re going to make it, make it beautiful.” 

Emser was a sculptor before he was a YouTuber and you can see it in the way he builds, and creates his content. He combines traditional and modern methods to explore the creation and construction of wooden boats. He focuses on the aesthetics and beauty of wooden boat building, but his committment to quality is evident. What is notable and particularly fun, is how he engages with his followers, often responding to comments directly in the video, sometimes pushing back on something controversial or defending his choices. Recently, he partnered with another channel (Acorn to Arabella – another channel we enjoy watching) on a tremendous award-winning wooden boat project.

Bob ends every episode with, “If you’re going to make it, make it beautiful.” So fitting.

This probably sounds like a sponsored ad for the channel but I promise it is not. It’s just a really great channel that we genuinely enjoy. His passion for wooden boats shines through in every episode. If you are a boat enthusiast, an artist, or just appreciate craftsmanship and beauty, you will love this channel.