Crafting world-class wooden boats and a Great Lakes legacy in Boyne City: Ben Van Dam
A University of Michigan Engineering alum is creating opportunity by nurturing jaw-dropping craftsmanship.
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Impacts
- Leads design and production of one-of-a-kind wooden boats that bring world-class craftspeople to Boyne, Mich., supporting the local economy and spreading Michigan-made artisanship around the globe.
- Oversees a shop where nearly every component — hulls, metal fittings, electrical systems — is made in-house and master boat-builders train the next generation
Justin Stilson of Stilson Sign & Custom applies gold-leaf lettering onto a Van Dam boat being built at the company workshop.
Dave Snyder uses a hand plane to shape wood while restoring the a 1934 Walloon 17 sailboat.
About Van Dam
- Industry: Maritime
- Degree: Bachelor of science in engineering in naval architecture and marine engineering, ’05
- Title: President of Van Dam Custom Boats, a family-owned business operating in Northern Michigan since 1977 and listed by Robb Report as one of the world’s best wooden boat builders
With a raised hand, Ben Van Dam (BSE NAME ‘05) guides the trailered Alpha Z into the shop. Even at a crawl, the custom-built wooden boat has a presence: a late-’90s classic, built for 100 miles per hour.
After nearly thirty years, the boat has come home for restoration, and it’s hard not to feel the overlap of time: a 16-year-old Van Dam helped build the wooden vessel in 1998, sweeping the floors and “doing all the crappy jobs no one else wanted”. Today, he’s refurbishing the Alpha Z not as a helper, but as the president of Van Dam Custom Boats.
Ben grew up in the boat building shop that his parents, Steve and Jean Van Dam, started in 1977. They built their first boat, called “Feather,” in nearby Harbor Springs. Over the decades, the Van Dam family has transformed that small beginning into one of the most respected custom wooden boat builders in the world.
Ben Van Dam (left) discusses design options with Thomas Motyka, a recently hired naval architect in the company’s design room.
Ben Van Dam points to a Van Dam boat stored inside the company’s climate-controlled facility.
A Van Dam Custom Boats employee spray-paints boat components in the company’s paint shop.
A Van Dam Custom Boats employee spray-paints boat components in the company’s paint shop.
Van Dam Custom Boats typically builds just one custom boat each year. They’ve built sleek runabouts, classic sailboats and 1,100-horsepower monsters—each one completely unique. Nearly every component is made in-house, including hulls, metal fittings and electrical systems. The Van Dams also restore 35-60 classic vessels each year, and provide winter storage through their service company, Boyne Boat Yard. Together, the businesses employ 35 people.
Ben was encouraged by his parents to study naval architecture and marine engineering at U-M, and his time in Ann Arbor was transformative. “From a socialization standpoint for me, that was really positive. It made me realize how big the world is out there.” he said. He also met his future wife Erika there.
Ben and Erika have co-owned Van Dam Custom Boats for the past 10 years. She oversees finances, HR and IT while he focuses on operations.
“Our mission is to build the world’s finest wooden boats, bar none,” Ben said.
The company supports local suppliers and attracts world-class craftspeople. Those workers–and the young apprentices they train–help to preserve a wooden boat-building tradition deeply connected to the culture of the Great Lakes.
A Magnet for Master Craftspeople
Ben Van Dam (upper left) talks with Kate Brandsma, metal shop apprentice, and Jesse Brown, metal shop foreman, while Derek Cytacki paints a boat under construction in the Van Dam workshop.
Kate Brandsma, metal shop apprentice works in the company’s metal shop.
One of those apprentices is Kate Brandsma, who works in the Van Dam metal shop and also studies at nearby Northwestern Michigan College. “I grew up in Cadillac and I bought a house in Boyne Falls when I got the job here,” Brandsma says. She is grateful for the opportunity to learn from the highest caliber of craftspeople while staying close to home.
Her mentor, Jesse Brown, started on the engineering school path, but his search for a creative, craft-focused career led him to the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Maine. After graduating, Brown went on to spend 23 years working at the Van Dam shop.
“It’s a group of perfectionists,” Brown said, “and the nice thing is that we’re allowed to chase perfection, because the company wants that level of quality. Our customers buy a piece of art, not just a speed boat.”
Building More Than Boats
Each Van Dam boat begins as an idea—sometimes a sketch, sometimes a long conversation with a client, often both—and evolves into a one-of-a-kind vessel.
The process can take more than a year and involves thousands of individual steps.
But the boats themselves are only part of the story.
Despite their global clientele, Van Dam vessels remain deeply rooted in Michigan’s boating culture and Great Lakes heritage. Their sleek lines and meticulous details draw inspiration from the state’s automotive legacy, aircraft design and the precision of high-end watches. They contribute to the economy and culture of the Lake Charlevoix area.
Some of the company’s vessels cruise the lakes and waterways of the Midwest. Others leave for distant coastlines and harbors. But no matter where they end up, each boat carries a piece of Up North Michigan with it—a reflection of the place, people and skills that brought it to life.
“We’re proud to build boats in Boyne City,” Ben said, “and I think the community is proud to have us here.”
